Key point:  Sugar consumption not only increases risk of diabetes but also risk of memory problems and brain inflammation

Tuesday Oct 07, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating too much foods or drinking too much beverages with sugar like sucrose and high fructose corn syrup may cause memory problem and brain inflammation, according to a new study led by scientists at University of Southern California.

The study published online by the journal Hippocampus on Sept. 23  showed that adolescent rats were at elevated risk of suffering negative health effects from consumption of sugar sweetened beverages such as bad memory and pre-diabetes.

In the study, adolescent rats were allowed to freely consume large quantities of liquid solutions with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in concentrations comparable to those found in popular sugar-sweetened beverages developed memory problems, brain inflammation, and pre-diabetes.

However, adult rats fed the same sweetened solutions nor adolescent rats as controls who did not consume sugar solutions did not experienced the same effects.

"The brain is especially vulnerable to dietary influences during critical periods of development, like adolescence," said Dr. Scott Kanoski, corresponding author of the study at the USC.

In the study rats, about 35 to 40% of the calories came from sugar or HFCS, which is fairly high.  Many American teens may have their diets with about 17% calories from added sugar and HFCS, according to data from the U.S. government.

For the study, the rats fed on a high sugar diet were tested in mazes to determine the effect of sugar/HFCS on spatial memory ability.  Researchers found adolescent rats that consumed the sugary drinks particularly drinks with HFCS performed worse on the test among all groups tested.

Kanoski was cited as saying that the worse performance might result from the neuro-inflammation that was detected on the hippocampus.  

The hippocampus is part of the temporal lobe located deeply in the brain that controls memory.  Damage to the hippocampus has also been found in people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. (David Liu, PHD)

"Consuming a diet high in added sugars not only can lead to weight gain and metabolic disturbances, but can also negatively impact our neural functioning and cognitive ability," Kanoski was quoted as saying in a press release by the University.