A super supplement has been found to boost memory and muscle health in older age, a discovery that researchers say opens up a “promising avenue” for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Beta-hydroxybeta-methylbutyrate, also known as HMB, is not a prescription drug or steroid; it is an over-the-counter supplement that can be purchased at any sporting goods or fitness store.
Bodybuilders regularly use HMB to promote exercise-induced increases in muscle size and strength and to improve athletic performance. HMB is considered safe for long-term use with no known side effects.
Bodybuilders regularly use HMB to promote exercise-induced increases in muscle size and strength.
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There is a lot of evidence showing that HMB is effective in improving strength and performance.
For example, in a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and AgingResearchers evaluated the benefits of HMB supplementation in older adults with sarcopenia, a condition characterized by extreme muscle loss.
This study found that HMB significantly enhanced the effects of resistance training on strength, performance and muscle quality. It also reduced markers of inflammation.
Researchers are now exploring the possibility of enhancing cognitive abilities.
Studies in mice with Alzheimer’s disease have shown that HMB effectively reduces plaque, increases nerve growth factor, and protects learning and memory.
A mouse study published in the journal Cell Report, The researchers investigated whether HMB enters the brain after oral administration.
Three days after oral administration, HMB was detected in the hippocampus of mice that received HMB compared to untreated control mice, indicating that HMB can cross the blood-brain barrier.
The hippocampus region of the brain is responsible for learning and memory, and leakage of the blood-brain barrier has been linked to age-related forgetfulness.
HMB was detected in the hippocampus of mice that had taken HMB.
Cell Report
Previous studies have shown that the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease show dramatic declines in a family of proteins known as neurotrophins, which help neurons – the cells that send messages from the body to the brain and back – survive and function.
“Our study found that after oral ingestion, HMB enters the brain and increases beneficial proteins, repairs neural connections and improves memory and learning in mice with Alzheimer’s-like pathologies such as plaques and neurofibrillary tangles,” said Kalipada Pahan, Ph.D., professor of neurology at Rush Medical College.
Research has shown that HMB stimulates nuclear hormone receptors called PPAR?, which regulate fatty acid transport in the brain, and this may be key to its success as a neuroprotective supplement.
“If the results in mice using HMB can be replicated in people with Alzheimer’s disease, this could open up promising avenues for treating this devastating neurodegenerative disease,” Professor Pahan said.
“This may be one of the safest and simplest ways to halt disease progression and preserve memory in Alzheimer’s patients,” he added.
