Metabolic and nervous system changes resulting from nutritional, cognitive and physical training interventions

Project: Research Project

Project Details

Description

Metabolic disturbances produce deleterious effects throughout the body that can compromise the function of different organs including, among others, the retina, pancreas, kidney and nervous system. This pathological integration has been described among common diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Alzheimer's disease. In fact, DM is now considered a risk factor for the development of sporadic Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent form of this neurodegenerative disease. It has been proposed that there may be a common link between these two pathologies, involving the receptor for advanced glycosylation products (RAGE), since both advanced glycosylated products (generated by excess circulating glucose) and beta-amyloid peptide (the main responsible for the pathological changes of Alzheimer's disease) can bind to and activate this receptor. In addition, the RAGE receptor has a wide distribution in the nervous system, being expressed in cells such as neurons, astrocytes and microglia. Despite the high frequency of these two pathologies, many pathophysiological details are not yet known, nor are there any curative therapeutic or nutritional measures.
The study of nutritional and exercise interventions on metabolic disorders and cognitive changes represents an open and dynamic field of current research, which also involves the area of neuroscience. Numerous plants and foods have been studied to understand what kind of metabolic effects they can exert on the organism, however, due to the inherent difficulties of dietary studies and the complexity of metabolic interactions, the results of most of these studies have been inconclusive. Moringa oleifera is being studied as a possible regulatory agent of glucose metabolism and could be useful as a cofactor in the therapeutics of pathologies such as DM. On the other hand, exercise is considered as a protective agent that could generate a double benefit, on the one hand, to improve the metabolic indices of the subjects and on the other hand, to improve cognitive performance. The objective of this research is to review the general metabolic and nervous system effects of the Moringa oleifera plant on the organism and, additionally, to discuss the possible benefits or cognitive changes (executive functions, game intelligence, memory, etc.) obtained from the combination of exercise and selective cognitive training.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date8/31/1712/31/18

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Main Funding Source

  • Installed Capacity (Academic Unit)

Location

  • Bogotá D.C.

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