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The impact of continuous and intermittent ketogenic diets on cognitive behavior, motor function, and blood lipids in TgF344-AD rats
Research indicates that in rat models of aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), ketogenic diets (KD) may enhance cognition. The TgF344-AD rat model of AD was used in this investigation by Rutkowsky et al. (2024) on the use of continuous or intermittent KD (IKD) to potentially improve cognitive functioning. For a period of two or six months, rats (TgF344-AD and wild-type [WT] littermates) consumed one of three diets twice daily: control (CD), KD, or IKD (achieved by providing CD in the morning and KD in the afternoon). Assessments were conducted on blood lipids, AD biomarkers, circulating β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), cognitive and motor function. Analysis of the results demonstrated that animals fed a KD diet showed a rise in circulating BHB, which was intermediate in IKD mice compared to CD and KD. In comparison to CD, neither KD nor IKD mice showed enhanced motor function. Furthermore, at 8 and 12 months old, TgF344-AD rats showed a redeuction in spatial learning memory performance in the Barnes maze, along with impediment in motor coordination specifically at 12 months old. The blood lipid levels of TgF344-AD rats were raised at 12 months of age. Lipids were brought down to WT levels by IKD, while cholesterol was further brought down to WT by KD. The authors comment that their study demonstrates how KD or IKD intervention did not enhance measures of motor behavior or cognition at 8 or 12 months of age in TgF344-AD rats; nevertheless, both KD and IKD had a favorable effect on circulating lipids. [NPID: Ketogenic diets, memory improvement, Alzheimer’s disease, TgF344-AD rats, cognitive behavior, intermittent fasting, lipids]
Year: 2024
