Nature Neuroscience：高盐饮食可以导致痴呆！

已有研究指出，高盐摄入可增加脑血管相关基因疾病和痴呆的发生，但高盐对大脑的伤害机制尚不明确。近日，《Nature Neuroscience》发表了题为“Dietary salt promote sneurovascular and cognitive dysfunction through a gut-initiated TH17 response”的研究论文，论文研究了高盐摄入和认知功能障碍之间的关系，研究表明高盐饮食（用含盐量超过正常老鼠饲料的8-16倍的饲料饲喂小鼠）会降低静息脑血流量，从而导致小鼠发生认知功能障碍，甚至痴呆（具体细节请参阅原文：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-017-0059-z）。

Abstract: A diet rich in salt is linked to an increased risk of cerebrovascular diseases and dementia, but it remains unclear how dietary salt harms the brain. We report that, in mice, excess dietary salt suppresses resting cerebral bloodflow and endothelial function, leading to cognitive impairment. The effect depends on expansion of TH17 cells in the small intestine, resulting in amarked increase in plasma inter leukin-17 (IL-17). Circulating IL-17, in turn, promotes endothelial dysfunction and cognitive impairment by the Rhokinase–dependent inhibitory phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxidesynthase and reduced nitric oxide production in cerebral endothelial cells. The findings reveal a new gut–brain axis linking dietary habits to cognitive impairment through a gut-initiated adaptive immune response compromising brain function via circulating IL-17. Thus, the TH17 cell–IL-17 pathway is a putative target to counter the deleterious brain effects induced by dietary salt and other diseases associated with TH17 polarization.