21st February – Maintain your zinc intake – A way to improve memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease? – Dr Catherine Lawrence

Inflammation is a response of our immune system that occurs following infection or tissue damage to help us fight infection and promote tissue repair. However, too much inflammation or inflammation that occurs under inappropriate circumstances (e.g. in the absence of infection) can be damaging to our body, especially the brain, and is increasingly implicated in the worsening of disease, including Alzheimer’s disease.

The chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease increase with age and, as we get older, we often eat a less nutritious diet, which can lead to a deficiency in important vitamins and minerals such as zinc. Zinc deficiency affects up to 2 billion people world-wide and is particularly common in aged individuals. Low levels of zinc are suggested to contribute to the worsening of Alzheimer’s disease, and there is some evidence that dietary zinc supplements may be protective.

In this talk Dr Catherine Lawrence from University of Manchester’s Brain Research Centre in the School of Biological sciences will therefore discuss the research that links zinc deficiency to excessive inflammation in the brain and greater memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease.

This is an online event. Registration is FREE via Eventbrite.