Aussie new study of UHT milk helps understanding of age-related diseases

A new study on ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk is helping scientists to better understand age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and type 2 diabetes, the Australian National University (ANU) said on Thursday.

The university said the new study opens the door to improve treatments for these age-related diseases.

ANU Professor John Carver, co-lead researcher of the study, said that two unrelated proteins aggregate in UHT milk over a period of months to form clusters called amyloid fibrils, which cause the milk to transform from a liquid into a gel.

He said the same type of protein clusters are found in plaque deposits in cases of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

"Parkinson's, dementia and type 2 diabetes are big problems for the ageing population in Australia and many other countries around the world," said Professor Carver from the ANU Research School of Chemistry.

About 500 million people worldwide suffer from these diseases, which cause millions of deaths each year.

"Our interest in milk proteins led to a discovery of the reason for this gelling phenomenon occurring in aged UHT milk," Carver said.

He said if scientists could stop UHT milk going bad and forming the protein clusters, it could one day translate to a cure for human diseases.

Meanwhile, he stressed that the research does not suggest UHT milk can cause these age-related diseases.

Carver said milk proteins changed structurally when heated briefly to around 140 degrees Celsius to produce UHT milk, causing the gelling phenomenon with long-term storage.

He said normal pasteurised milk did not form amyloid fibrils.

The research result is published in the journal Small. Endit