Scientists investigating dementia have discovered that an amino acid, previously believed to boost cognition and memory, can actually trigger a gene that causes Alzheimer’s disease to develop.
Research published in 2022 in Cell Metabolism expanded upon earlier studies examining an enzyme called ‘PGDH’ which is commonly detected in the bloodstream of elderly individuals and can trigger Alzheimer’s onset whilst also impacting over half of those suffering from dementia. The NHS website states that more than 944,000 people across the UK are living with dementia, with one in 11 individuals over 65 affected.
Dementia serves as an umbrella term for various conditions that impact memory, thinking, language, mood changes and general brain function.
Alzheimer’s disease represents a brain disorder that gradually destroys memory, cognitive abilities and the capacity to perform daily activities, reports Surrey Live.
It stands as the leading cause of dementia.
The Alzheimer’s Society maintains that research into these conditions remains severely underfunded, with cancer research attracting four times as many scientists as dementia studies.
Following their findings, the study’s authors are cautioning against taking supplements containing the amino acid serine and using such products as an Alzheimer’s treatment.
The researchers discovered, through examining brain soft tissue, that PGDH enzyme levels were significantly elevated in adults with Alzheimer’s disease, including those with “a-symptomatic” forms of the condition. PGDH serves as the crucial enzyme in generating the amino acid serine, with this elevated level of PGDH in Alzheimer’s sufferers indicating they are already manufacturing above-normal quantities of serine.
Study co-author Riccardo Calandrelli, who serves as a research associate in Professor Sheng Zhong’s laboratory, stated: “Anyone looking to recommend or take serine to mitigate Alzheimer’s symptoms should exercise caution.”
The research revealed that heightened PGDH presence can also serve as a marker for dementia severity and the extent of cognitive deterioration.
PGDH concentrations proved significantly higher in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers, leading scientists to hope it might provide the foundation for a revolutionary early dementia screening capable of detecting the condition’s emergence even in healthy adults.
“The fact that this gene’s expression level directly correlates with both a person’s cognitive ability and disease pathology is remarkable,” said Professor Zhong.
“Being able to quantify both of these complex metrics with a single molecular measurement could potentially make diagnosis and monitoring progression of Alzheimer’s disease much simpler.”