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Potential Beneficial Effects of a Diet with Walnuts in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Brain Aging and Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disease that gradually results in loss of memory and impairment of cognitive functions in the elderly people. Amyloid beta (Ab) is the major protein of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with AD. Ab is known to increase the production of free radicals, i.e. reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neuronal cells, leading to oxidative stress and cell death. Oxidative stress and inflammation are prominent features in the aging process and in AD, which may be causally related to neuronal dysfunction and its death. Recently, considerable attention has been focused on dietary antioxidants that are able to scavenge ROS, thereby offering protection against oxidative stress. Walnuts are rich in components that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we review the evidence that walnut extract can inhibit the fibrillization of Ab, solubilise preformed fibrillar Ab and protects the cells against Ab-induced oxidative stress and cell death. Walnuts in the diet may offer protection against Ab-mediated cytotoxicity by (i) reducing the generation of free radicals, (ii) inhibiting membrane damage and (iii) attenuating DNA damage. This effect of walnut extract can be due to the active compounds present in walnuts, which may increase the capacity of endogenous antioxidant defenses and modulate the cellular redox state. A diet rich in walnuts may therefore reduce the risk of developing dementia of Alzheimer’s type by inhibiting Ab fibrillization, Ab-mediated cytotoxicity and oxidative stress.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by funds from the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, and California Walnut Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, 10314, Staten Island, NY, USA

    Abha Chauhan & Ved Chauhan

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  1. Abha Chauhan
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  2. Ved Chauhan
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Correspondence to Abha Chauhan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Mahendra K. Thakur

  2. , Department of Molecular Biology, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10-C, Aarhus-C, 8000, Denmark

    Suresh I.S. Rattan

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Chauhan, A., Chauhan, V. (2012). Potential Beneficial Effects of a Diet with Walnuts in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Thakur, M., Rattan, S. (eds) Brain Aging and Therapeutic Interventions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5237-5_16

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