Dementia is growing worldwide, and robs millions of their ability to think and remember. More than 5.5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, and the Alzheimer's Association estimates that by 2050, the number of victims could reach 16 million.

The search is on to find new ways of fighting dementia, and a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that blueberry vinegar might offer help. In their study, blueberry vinegar restored cognitive function in mice.

Recent studies have shown that the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease have lower levels of the signaling compound acetylcholine and its receptors, and that blocking the receptors disrupts learning and memory. Drugs to stop the breakdown of acetylcholine have been developed to fight dementia, but they often don't last long in the body and can be toxic to the liver.

Natural extracts could be a safer treatment option, and some animal studies suggest that these extracts can improve cognition. In addition, fermentation can boost the bioactivity of some natural products. So, researchers decided to test whether vinegar made from blueberries, which are packed with a wide range of active compounds, might help prevent cognitive decline.

They gave blueberry vinegar to mice with induced amnesia. Afterwards, measurements of molecules in their brains showed that the vinegar reduced the breakdown of acetylcholine and also boosted levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein associated with maintaining and creating healthy neurons.

To test how the treatment affected cognition, the researchers analyzed the animals' performance in mazes and an avoidance test, in which the mice would receive a low-intensity shock in one of two chambers.

The blueberry vinegar improved the animals' performance in both tests, suggesting that their short-term memory was improved. The researchers say that blueberry vinegar could potentially be a promising food to help treat amnesia and cognitive decline related to aging.

Previous studies have found that other foods, including coffee, can help fight dementia. Caffeine may boost a protective enzyme in the brain, say researchers from Indiana University. The enzyme, called NMNAT2, reduces the damage caused by harmful proteins in the brain.

Researchers found that NMNAT2 plays two roles in the brain: a protective function to guard neurons from stress, and a function that fights misfolded proteins called tau. Tau proteins accumulate in the brain forming plaques that are caused by aging. Misfolded proteins have been linked to Alzheimer's as well as other neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.