| Keywords [eng] |
Alzheimer's disease, neurodegenerative diseases, neurodegeneration, Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, dietary interventions, cognitive function, behaviour, Barnes maze, Y-maze, novel object recognition test, running wheel test, APP/PS1 mouse model, long-term memory, spatial working memory, learning. |
| Abstract [eng] |
Dementia is one of the most severe clinical symptoms of neurodegeneration, consisted of 60 – 80 % of Alzheimer‘s disease patients. This disease is mostly characterised by extracellular accumulation of amyloid beta plaques, intracellular aggregation of neurofibrillary tangles, synaptic and neuronal loss, which cause memory loss, cognitive decline, language difficulties, behavioural changes, apathy and hallucinations. The development is multifactorial, caused by the interaction of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Research suggests that nutrition plays a significant role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Specialised diets, enriched with antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and healthy fats, may have neuroprotective effects, potentially slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a functional diet on cognitive function and behaviour in the Alzheimer‘s disease mouse model. The objectives of this thesis were to analyse the effect of a functional diet on mice body weight, physical activity (using the running wheel test), spatial working (short-term) memory (using the Y-maze), long-term memory and object recognition (using novel object recognition test) and spatial learning and memory (using Barnes maze). Twenty wild type (WT) C57BL/6 and twenty-seven transgenic (GMO) APP/PS1 mice were used in this study. All mice were fed the same control diet till 7 months of age. Later, they were randomly assigned to dietary groups: Control wild type group receiving standard food (cWT, n¬ = 10); Experimental wild type group receiving functional food (xWT, n¬ = 10); Control transgenic group receiving standard food (cGMO, n ¬= 14); Experimental transgenic group receiving functional food (xGMO, n = 13). Behavioral measurements were taken four times: at the end of each month. Mice behavior and physical activity were tested one month before and three months after dietary intervention. Mice body weight was monitored weekly throughout the study. Overall, the results showed that the functional diet significantly increased body weight, while reducing the activity index in both the WT and the GMO groups. Additionally, functional diet did not have any significant effects on short-term working memory, spatial learning and long-term memory. |
