PNAS: The latest discovery! The common sweetener aspartame may be directly related to the development of anxiety disorders

Recently, an article published in the international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled "Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in.
" The Amygdala" study found that an artificial sweetener called aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in nearly 5,000 weight-loss foods and beverages
, may be associated with anxiety-like behavior in mice.

In addition, the researchers also found that in addition to the anxiety disorder behavior of mice that ingested aspartame, this effect continued from a few days to two generations in male mice exposed to the sweetener; Researcher Dr Pradeep Bhide said the study revealed that we need to look at environmental factors, because what we see today is not just what happened today, but what happened
two generations ago or even a long time ago.

Previously, researchers analyzed the cross-generational effects of your fixation on mice, and in this study they found that sperm cells in mice may have temporary or epigenetic changes that, unlike genetic changes (genetic mutations), can be reversed, which do not change the DNA sequence, but it can change the way
the body reads the DNA sequence.
Researchers are currently studying the effects of nicotine on the same type of model, but what happens to the children's bodies if the father smokes?

The common sweetener aspartame may be directly related
to the development of anxiety disorders.

Image source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022).
DOI:10.
1073/pnas.
2213120119

In 1981, the FDA approved aspartame as a sweetener, and today aspartame has an annual production of nearly 5,000 tons, when ingested into the body, aspartame will be converted into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol, all of which will have a strong effect
on the body's central nervous system.
In this study, the researchers provided mice with drinking water containing aspartame, where the dose of aspartame is about 15 percent of the maximum daily intake for humans approved by the FDA; This dose is equivalent to 6-8 8-ounce cans of diet soda per day, and this study spanned 12 weeks over a 4-year period
.
The researchers then observed whether the mice, which were multiple generations of descendants
of male mice exposed to aspartame, performed multiple maze tests to see if the mice exhibited significant anxiety-like behavior.

According to Jones, this is a very powerful anxiety-like trait, and I don't think any of us can predict the outcome we will see, and it's completely unexpected, usually you see some subtle changes
.
When diazepam, an English-language drug for anxiety disorders in humans, all generations of mice no longer exhibited anxiety-like behavior
.
At present, the researchers are planning to focus on analyzing how aspartame affects the body's memory ability, and further research is needed to identify the molecular mechanisms
that affect the intergenerational transmission of the aspartame effect.
(Biovalley Bioon.
com)

Original source:

Sara K.
Jones, Deirdre M.
McCarthy, Cynthia Vied, et al.
Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in the amygdala, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( 2022).
DOI:10.
1073/pnas.
2213120119