Seaweed may be able to inhibit Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease, which affects 50 million people worldwide, may be slowed down by a substance found in seaweed. This is the conclusion of a study at universities in Hasselt and Rotterdam. Research on mice showed that seaweed containing the substance Saringosterol reduces the deposition of amyloid proteins in the brain by up to 80 percent. This protein is seen as the cause of the slow but steady deterioration of the brain in Alzheimer's disease. Diver's Guide Support Team: Marga Sipon.

Hopeful results

The test was carried out with the seaweed Sargassum Fusiforme. This seaweed contains the substance Saringosterol. For the research, a group of mice with Alzheimer's characteristics were fed the seaweed. A control group was given a different diet. "The results of the study are surprising," researchers Tim Vanmierlo and Jeroen Bogie say: "Not only did the mice that were fed the seaweed score better on cognitive tests than the control group. The development of amyloid proteins in the brains of the mice was also inhibited by up to eighty percent. The researchers hope that this study, after follow-up research, will lead to a drug against Alzheimer's disease.