All articles tagged with #acetate
New research shows that stopping heavy drinking causes a sharp, temporary drop in the brain’s ability to burn acetate, a fuel produced from alcohol, but brain acetate metabolism rebounds within about a month, returning to levels near light drinkers, indicating a reversible brain energy adaptation during detox and suggesting dietary or medical strategies to ease withdrawal.
A Science Signaling study shows acetate, a by-product of metabolism, enhances long-term memory in female mice by promoting histone acetylation and upregulating learning-related genes in the dorsal hippocampus; the effect is minimal in males and requires concurrent learning activity.
South Korean researchers have discovered that reactive astrocytes, rather than amyloid-beta plaques, may be the main cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The team developed a new imaging technique using PET scans with radioactive acetate and glucose probes to visualize the interaction between astrocytes and neurons in Alzheimer’s patients. This breakthrough could lead to a new method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and identify MCT1, an astrocyte-specific acetate transport, as a potential therapeutic target.