DSM joins Dutch university ageing programmes

Royal DSM and the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands have signed a deal to work together on healthy ageing projects.

DSM will invest in projects exploring the role of micronutrients in healthy ageing. There will be a focus on vitamins.

Under the deal micronutrient research projects in metabolism and gene-regulation will be established in ERIBA (European Institute for the Biology of Ageing).

“Nutrient intake and markers of nutritional status, as well as the impact of nutrient inadequacies throughout the lifecycle will be monitored in the LifeLines program,” DSM said in a statement.

The company was not available for further comment at the time of publication.

DSM added: “LifeLines is a large prospective cohort, comprising a representative sample of 165.000 participants from the northern provinces of the Netherlands in a three-generation family design. The aim of LifeLines is to study universal risk factors and their modifiers for multifactorial diseases.”

Nutrient-gene interactions

The partnership will see PhD students working at both UMCG and DSM laboratories.

“By this approach the translation of new scientific approaches to nutritional solutions will be enhanced,” DSM said, adding of the need to combat ageing with nutrition:

“It is well established from scientific studies that a balanced diet containing essential nutrients and minerals makes a significant contribution to reducing the burden of chronic diseases and contributing to a healthy ageing.”

“It is essential to elaborate evidence-based concepts to improve nutrition and to provide fact-based information on micronutrients in order to progress the field and to promote their potential for healthy living. Recent scientific advancements in nutrient-gene interactions as well as in analytical chemistry open new insights on how vitamins work, and on individual differences regarding nutrient requirement.”