A recent study by a team comprising researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National University Health System (NUHS) revealed that low levels of ergothioneine (ET) in blood plasma may predict an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, suggesting possible therapeutic or early screening measures for cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly.
The results of their most recent study were published in the scientific journal Antioxidants on August 30, 2022.
The research team recruited 470 elderly patients and followed them for up to five years at the Memory, Aging and Cognition Centre. The researchers measured ET levels in the blood plasma of the participants and followed their cognitive and functional abilities at different time points. They then examined the link between low ET levels and the risk of cognitive and functional decline over time.
The researchers showed that participants with lower levels of ET displayed poorer cognitive performance at the start of the study and an accelerated rate of decline in cognitive and functional abilities over the follow-up period.
The team also observed structural changes in the brain seen from MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans of the participants, which suggested that the association between a low ET level in blood and cognitive decline was due to underlying disease pathology. These structural changes, including reduced cortical thickness, lower hippocampus volume, and white matter hyperintensities, are characteristic of neurodegenerative disease.
