Ames, Iowa — (RI) — Researchers at Iowa State University are studying why an antioxidant that protects the brain is also associated with deterioration in areas of the brain that are susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
Auriel Willette, an ISU professor of food science and human nutrition, says the focus was on what’s called SOD-1, an antioxidant produced in the brain.
Willette says the study involved nearly 300 people participating in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, while the ISU research zeroed in on the impact of SOD-1 on the brain in combination with the toxic protein.
While the protective SOD-1 is produced naturally in our brains, he says it’s possible to supplement what we already have through certain foods.
ISU researchers say more study is needed to determine if increasing the production of the antioxidant through diet or medication might delay the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Photo Courtesy Radio Iowa
