A recent study by the Advanced Science Research Centre’s (CUNY ASRC) Neuroscience Initiative has uncovered the cellular mechanisms that link high-fat diets, specifically those rich in palm oil, to worsening symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
- By focusing on two enzymes—ceramide synthase 5 and 6—the study provides insights that may offer new strategies to protect neurons from diet-related damage in MS.
- Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that deteriorates the protective myelin sheath around nerves, leading to debilitating neurological symptoms.
- While MS treatments typically target immune responses, the precise processes driving neurodegeneration remain unclear.
- Previous findings have highlighted that high-fat diets can amplify the severity of MS symptoms, prompting researchers to investigate how diets high in palm oil might affect neuronal health.
- The study confirmed that by genetically deleting the enzymes CerS5 and CerS6, researchers could prevent neuron damage in the MS model, even when mice consumed a diet rich in palmitic acid.
