hi members
Julie, Marc and myself recently met with Dr Dayan Goodenowe, a scientist working in the field of plasmalogens. These are a special kind of phospholipid in the membrane of cells, especially abundant in neural tissue. To actually think, we need to release acetyl choline from little vesicles in the presynaptic neurone. A stiff membrane impedes this process, and a fluid membrane facilitates it. The more plasmalogens in the membrane, the more fluid it is and the better the acetylcholine is released. He has post mortem and human studies which show impressive correlation between plasmalogen levels and dementia, even in e4s. The higher plasmalogen levels attenuate significantly the effect of our e4 allele.
there are as yet no lifestyle interventions we can confidently say raise plasmalogen levels, but it will be available as a medical food in the future.
Here is his power point, and my notes. I didn't fully understand his few slides on lipids and e4s, I will contact him to explain and I will relay this to our community.
Thoughts?