Increasing relative unsaturated fat intake to reduce Alzheimer's Disease risk

Fransen, Milton (2020) Increasing relative unsaturated fat intake to reduce Alzheimer's Disease risk. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

Preview	Text bBIO_2020_FransenMEJ.pdf Download (237kB) | Preview
	Text toestemming.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (97kB)

Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive eurodegenerative disorder, affecting almost 50 million people worldwide. AD is characterized by the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles & amyloid plaques. Since AD is a disease mostly occurring in the elderly population, research is important as the population ages due to population growth. With the rise of studies linking dietary habits with disease prevalence over the past decades, dietary fatty acids (FAs) seem to play a role in multiple disease patterns. Here, unsaturated FAs are generally considered favorable from a health perspective, whereas saturated FAs are considered unfavorable. This thesis discusses a selection of studies directly relating AD with unsaturated FA intake, as well as dementia and cognitive function as a whole. Besides, we discuss variants of unsaturated FAs and how they may attribute to a lower risk of developing AD. These studies are supported by an analysis of possibly involved pathways, also related to comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A relatively high unsaturated FA intake, as well as a healthy balance with saturated FAs, may lower the risk of developing AD. Future research is necessary, as current views and studies are scarce and susceptible to confounding factors.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Dijk, G. van and Heijningen, S. van
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2020 13:57
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2020 13:57
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/23317

Actions (login required)

View Item