Affiliations: Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Dr. Karen M. Mearow, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 300 Prince Philip Dr., St. John's, NL A1B 3V6, Canada. Tel.: +1 709 777 6888; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Dietary supplementation has been studied as an approach to ameliorating deficits associated with aging and neurodegeneration. We undertook this pilot study to investigate the effects of coconut oil supplementation directly on cortical neurons treated with amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in vitro. Our results indicate that neuron survival in cultures co-treated with coconut oil and Aβ is rescued compared to cultures exposed only to Aβ. Coconut oil co-treatment also attenuates Aβ-induced mitochondrial alterations. The results of this pilot study provide a basis for further investigation of the effects of coconut oil, or its constituents, on neuronal survival focusing on mechanisms that may be involved.
