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Diet, Epigenetics, and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and Epigenetics

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Abstract

Because of the longer average life span of the human population, age-associated cognitive deterioration is an increasing health concern in Western countries. Consequently, health maintenance throughout life has become one of the major challenges in population aging, and the consumption of healthy food is one of the key allies in the protection of brain function and preservation of cognitive abilities. Representing one of the most important lifestyle factors, diet can strongly influence the incidence of a range of inflammatory neurodegenerative conditions, most notably Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and thus a healthy diet is an essential factor for healthy aging. For example, a convincing body of evidence demonstrates that a Western diet – one high in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates – can damage various brain systems. These include dietary-induced reductions in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin resistance, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and impaired blood-brain barrier integrity.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

APP:

Amyloid precursor protein

BBB:

Blood-brain barrier

CR:

Caloric restriction

KD:

Ketogenic diet

MCI:

Mild cognitive impairment

MD:

Mediterranean diet

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

VaD:

Vascular dementia

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery “P. Valdoni”, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Fuso

  2. Largo Alessandria del Carretto, Rome, Italy

    Cristina Domenichelli

Authors
  1. Andrea Fuso
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  2. Cristina Domenichelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea Fuso .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Research Division, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

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Fuso, A., Domenichelli, C. (2019). Diet, Epigenetics, and Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V. (eds) Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and Epigenetics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55530-0_99

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55530-0_99

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