Almost forgot to post this.
From Nature Neuroscience:
Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults
HT: Columbia University Medical Center:
Dietary
cocoa flavanols—naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa—reversed
age-related memory decline in healthy older adults, according to a study
led by Columbia University Medical Center scientists. A cocoa
flavanol-containing test drink prepared specifically for research
purposes was produced by the food company Mars, Incorporated, which also
supported the research, using a proprietary process to extract
flavanols from cocoa beans. Most methods of processing cocoa remove many
of the flavanols found in the raw plant. (Credit: Mars, Incorporated)
Dietary cocoa flavanols—naturally occurring
bioactives found
in cocoa—reversed age-related memory decline in healthy older adults,
according to a study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC)
scientists. The study, published today in the advance online issue of
Nature Neuroscience,
provides the first direct evidence that one component of age-related
memory decline in humans is caused by changes in a specific region of
the brain and that this form of memory decline can be improved by a
dietary intervention.
As people age, they typically show some
decline in cognitive abilities, including learning and remembering such
things as the names of new acquaintances or where they parked the car or
placed their keys. This normal age-related memory decline starts in
early adulthood but usually does not have any noticeable impact on
quality of life until people reach their fifties or sixties. Age-related
memory decline is different from the often-devastating memory
impairment that occurs with Alzheimer’s, in which a disease process
damages and destroys neurons in various parts of the brain, including
the memory circuits.
Previous work, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, MD,
had shown that changes in a specific part of the brain—the dentate
gyrus—are associated with age-related memory decline. Until now,
however, the evidence in humans showed only a correlational link, not a
causal one. To see if the dentate gyrus is the source of age-related
memory decline in humans, Dr. Small and his colleagues tested whether
compounds called cocoa flavanols can improve the function of this brain
region and improve memory. Flavanols extracted from cocoa beans had
previously been found to improve neuronal connections in the dentate
gyrus of mice....MORE
See also the National Institutes of Health: