BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Hungry mice might eventually lead the way to protect against Alzheimer's disease, a promising UAB study suggests.

Previous studies have shown that cutting calories may protect against Alzheimer's and other degenerative brain disorders. But this study, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, is believed to be the first to find that the feeling of hunger alone may be the protection.

To understand this, one must look at the research which involved mouse swimming, maze running, chocolate pills and genetic engineering.

Researchers used three groups of 12 mice, which had been genetically engineered to have the mutations known to cause Alzheimer's disease, said Inga Kadish, senior author of the study.

"One group got to eat to their heart's desire," said Kadish, assistant professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology in UAB's School of Medicine.

Or as Kadish put it: "The Western diet."

The second group of mice got a 20 percent caloric cut in their diet.

The third group, and this is the important one, was given a synthetic hormone which made them feel mildly hungry all the time, no matter how much they ate.

The synthetic hormone called ghrelin agonist, was given to the third group in a chocolate pill. The other groups, even the low-cal group, got a chocolate pill as a placebo without the ghrelin.

The mice were put through a series of tests to determine their cognitive skills, including an elevated maze and a water maze. In the water maze, for example, the mice swam around trying to find a hidden platform within 60 seconds. If the mouse doesn't find it, it is put on the platform. Normal mice will remember the platform and find it quicker with each dive in the pool.

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Hungry mice may lead the way to Alzheimer's treatment

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