This study is being conducted in collaboration with:

Dr Gerald Münch (Chief Investigator, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, James Cook University) [Now at University of Western Sydney? Link]
Dr Markus Wenk (Chief Investigator, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Prof Barry Halliwell (Chief Investigator, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Prof Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath (Chief Investigator, Department of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, India)

Efficacy of Combined Nutritional Supplement Therapies in the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease in a mouse model of AD

Diet is now considered to be an important environmental factor in Alzheimer's disease, with a recent study of 3,718 subjects aged over 65 years showing that over a 6 year period, those subjects with the highest vegetable intake were associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline.

Converging epidemiological data has also suggested that a low dietary intake of omega-3 essential fatty acids is another possible risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

Therefore, the use of complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies offers the potential for preventative therapies. However, these therapies need to be critically evaluated for their mechanisms, efficacy and safety before human clinical trials are undertaken.

This project will evaluate, in a mouse model for AD, the efficacy of the nutritional supplements:

EGCG from green tea,
curcumin,
omega-3 essential fatty acids, and
lipoic acid

to determine whether these treatments in combination offer preventative therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The development of effective preventative strategies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is critical if we are to reduce the number of people that are expected to develop the disease over the next 50 years, due to the rapidly aging population.

This is an exciting approach that builds on our long term understanding of different antioxidants and beta amyloid metabolism resulting in a combination of these compounds to provide maximal synergy.

If successful in the current animal study, it has the advantage of being able to progress rapidly to clinical trials as these antioxidants are food products known to be very safe for human consumption.