Obesity and type 2 diabetes are known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. While research in animal models shows that calorie or protein restriction can improve metabolism and slow the onset of Alzheimer’s, such diets are hard to maintain over time.
This challenge led Dr. Dave Harris, Assistant Professor of Minimally Invasive Surgery, to investigate whether weight loss surgery could reduce Alzheimer’s risk. Backed by a two-year, $311,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging, Harris and his team at the Wisconsin Surgical Laboratory in Metabolism (WiSLiM) are launching a study to find out.
“Sleeve gastrectomy is the most common bariatric surgery today. It significantly improves obesity, metabolic health, and the condition of organs, and can add up to 10 years to a person’s life,” said Harris. “Smaller studies also show it may boost cognitive function, increase brain grey and white matter, and lower levels of amyloid precursor proteins linked to Alzheimer’s. But we still don’t know exactly how it works.”
To explore this, the WiSLiM team will perform sleeve gastrectomy on obese mice that have been fed a high-fat, high-sugar Western diet. After surgery, the researchers will test the mice for changes in frailty, brain function, and molecular brain structure. They will also examine how the procedure affects the body’s overall metabolic profile, including genetics, gut health, diet, and other lifestyle factors.
“This research could help us understand how changes in the gut may influence the brain,” Harris said. “We hope it will point to new ways of treating or preventing dementia-related diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
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