Key Points
New York [US], November 1 (ANI): The study, led by Patrizia Casaccia, founding director of the Advanced Science Research Centre at the CUNY Graduate Centers (CUNY ASRC) Neuroscience Initiative and Einstein Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at the CUNY Graduate Centre, investigated how enzymes known as ceramide synthase 5 and 6 are responsible for the toxic effect of a palm oil-rich diet on neurones in the central nervous system, which leads to an increase in the severity of MS symptoms...
Current treatments focus on controlling the immune systems response, but the precise mechanisms contributing to neurodegeneration in MS remain poorly understood. Previous work from the Casaccia lab and others had reported on the toxic effect of a high-fat diet on the severity of MS symptoms..
Using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of inflammatory demyelination, the research team found that diets high in palm oil led to a more severe disease course in mice...
We reasoned that inside neuronal cells, palm oil is converted into a toxic substance called C16 ceramide by specific enzymes called CerS5 and CerS6, said principal investigator Casaccia..
We hope this information can empower patients to make informed dietary decisions that could positively impact the course of the disease, while identifying strategies to counteract the effect of cerS5 and CerS6 in a neuron-specific fashion..
