Eficacia de una intervención nutricional basada en suplementos de triptófano sobre la cognición social y la depresión asociadas al envejecimiento humano, en base a los genes SLC6A4 y BDNF

Abstract

Aging is a multifactorial process which is related to several diseases, like depression. (which compromise the health and well-being of humans). It is expected that the proportion of people aged 65 and over, is going to continue growing during the next years. Social cognition, usually get compromised through the aging process, and decrease significantly the quality of life. Once it is impaired, individuals are not able to continue having a healthy and a plenty life. From a molecular point of view, aging is accompanied by a decrease in serotonin (neurotransmitter involved in the processing of affective and social information) levels. Previous research suggests that despite of the drugs used to treat depression and social cognitive impairment, there is a proportion of people who does not respond properly to the treatment, and there is not yet any effective nutritional treatment for these patients. Therefore, this PhD work assess the efficacy of food supplements enriched with Ltryptophan, an essential amino acid, on the reduction of age-related depressive symptoms and social cognitive impairment in healthy subjects. The trial was conducted in two different populations, a young population with undergraduate students, and an older population with subjects aged 50 and over. Due to the latest advances in the field of nutrition and nutritional genomics, 5-HTTLPR and rs25531 polymorphisms of the SLC6A4 gene were studied. As well as the interaction both polymorphisms had with rs6265 polymorphism of the BDNF gene, all of them were previously associated with depression and/or social cognitive impairment.