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Frequent Tail-tip Blood Sampling in Mice for the Assessment of Pulsatile Luteinizing Hormone Secretion
Published on: July 4, 2018
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Serum Lutein is related to Relational Memory Performance
Corinne N Cannavale1, Kelsey M Hassevoort2,3, Caitlyn G Edwards4
1Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61801, USA. cannava2@illinois.edu.
Nutrients
|April 17, 2019
Summary
Higher serum lutein levels may improve relational memory in adults with overweight or obesity. This suggests lutein
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Nutritional Science
- Human Health
Background:
- Dietary carotenoids, potent antioxidants, are found in neural tissue.
- Lower carotenoid concentrations are observed in individuals with obesity.
- Excess adiposity is linked to impaired memory function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dietary, serum, and macular carotenoids and relational memory.
- To explore the potential neuroprotective role of carotenoids in adults with overweight or obesity.
- To assess carotenoid status using diet records, serum analysis, and macular pigment optical density (MPOD).
Main Methods:
- 94 adults aged 25-45 with overweight or obesity completed a spatial reconstruction task.
- Dietary carotenoids were assessed via 7-day diet records.
- Serum carotenoids were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography.
- Hierarchical linear regression analyses were employed to examine carotenoid-memory associations.
Main Results:
- Initial positive correlations between dietary lutein, beta-carotene, and serum beta-carotene with memory performance were not significant after covariate adjustment.
- Serum lutein demonstrated a significant positive association with object binding accuracy and an inverse relationship with misplacement error, even after controlling for covariates.
- No significant relationships were found between macular carotenoids and memory performance.
Conclusions:
- Serum lutein may play a crucial role in hippocampal function, specifically in relational memory, for adults who are overweight or obese.
- While other carotenoids showed initial promise, serum lutein emerged as a key nutrient associated with better memory performance in this population.
- Further research is warranted to confirm the neuroprotective effects of lutein and its mechanisms in managing cognitive function within the context of obesity.
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