SYDNEY, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — A University of Queensland (UQ) study reveals that neuronal function in the brain is powered by fats alongside sugars, paving the way for treating metabolic and debilitating brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
The study challenged the long-held belief that neurons relied exclusively on glucose to fuel their functions in the brain, according to a statement released Tuesday by the university.
Researchers found that neurons also use fats for fuel as they fire off the signals for human thought and movement.
“Fats are undoubtedly a crucial part of the neuron’s energy metabolism in the brain and could be a key to repairing and restoring function when it breaks down,” said Merja Joensuu from UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, who led the study.
Joensuu said that the loss of a particular DDHD2 gene function was known to disturb the brain’s fat balance, which ultimately heralded the onset of hereditary spastic paraplegia 54 (HSP54), a disorder that causes progressive stiffness and weakness in the legs.
Researchers found that neurons use small fat molecules, called saturated free fatty acids, produced by DDHD2 for energy, to sustain neuronal communication.
“Understanding the alternative brain fuel could help unlock new and more effective ways to treat energy-related brain disorders and neurodegenerative conditions,” Joensuu said.
The research, published in Nature Metabolism with collaboration from researchers in Finland, Norway, and Egypt, laid the groundwork to develop a potential therapeutic for HSP54, and provides hope for other metabolic brain disorders and conditions previously thought untreatable, she said.
“We found that activated fatty acid supplements restored energy production and normal function even in neurons with the faulty DDHD2 gene in animal models, after an increase in sugars had proven ineffective,” Joensuu said, calling it “a huge paradigm shift.”
The team said they are now preparing preclinical studies to test the therapeutic efficacy and safety of the activated fatty acids ahead of clinical trials. ■