AUTHOR=Espina Abigail , Mendoza Eduardo , Lao Angelyn 

TITLE=Modelling the Effects of Medium-Chain Triglycerides on Cerebral Ketone Body Metabolism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Biology

VOLUME=Volume 2 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-biology/articles/10.3389/fsysb.2022.907957

DOI=10.3389/fsysb.2022.907957

ISSN=2674-0702

ABSTRACT=Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes drastic structural brain atrophy and affects multiple brain functions. Cerebral glucose hypometabolism, associated with senile plaque density formation, is a pre-symptomatic feature of AD and significantly contributes to AD’s future development and progression. As cerebral glucose metabolism gradually slows down due to advanced aging, a healthy adult brain experiences an 8% decrease in cerebral glucose metabolic rate (CGMR) compared to a decline of 20-40% CGMR in AD patients. To bridge the increasing brain energy gap caused by glucose hypometabolism, ketone bodies (KBs) are used as a supplementary source of energy as cerebral KB metabolism remains unaffected in AD patients. Ketogenic interventions such as Medium-Chain Triglyceride (MCT)-induced treatment can help augment the brain’s energy source availability and might delay further cognitive decline. With this, we constructed a mathematical model on cerebral glucose and KB metabolism to illustrate the drastic effects of glucose hypometabolism on healthy aging individuals and MCI/AD patients. Through the generated simulations, we have shown that KB concentration levels rise during prolonged starvation, and in consideration of glucose hypometabolism, MCT-induced intervention increases the concentration levels of acetyl-CoA (AC) in MCI/AD patients. Furthermore, MCT-induced supplement helps increase the AC concentration levels in healthy adults under normal conditions.