"Roughly twenty years before the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear, inflammatory changes in the brain can be seen, according to a new study. The findings of the researchers, who monitored several pathological changes in the brain, suggest that activation of astrocytes at an early stage can greatly influence the development of the disease."
What's the connection? Research already has shown that glutathione levels are decreased in Alzheimer's patients. Astrocytes are a type of brain cell that rely on glutathione to maintain healthy brain function; in fact, astrocytes "shuttle" glutathione to neurons, which suggests that neurons depend on astrocytes for antioxidant defense. This new research shows that astrocyte-related
inflammation is increased years before the onset of symptoms in those susceptible to the disease. Glutathione is essential for resisting oxidative stress and controlling inflammation.
inflammation is increased years before the onset of symptoms in those susceptible to the disease. Glutathione is essential for resisting oxidative stress and controlling inflammation.
Further Reading:
Inflammatory changes in the brain twenty years before Alzheimer onset [January 2016]
The emerging role of glutathione in Alzheimer's disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24496077
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24496077
Microglial cells in culture express a prominent glutathione system for the defense against reactive oxygen species.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11111154
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11111154
Depletion of GSH in glial cells induces neurotoxicity: relevance to aging and degenerative neurological diseases.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20228251
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20228251
Elevation of glutathione as a therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer disease
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443911002262
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443911002262
Beta-amyloidolysis and glutathione in Alzheimer’s disease
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3640603/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3640603/
Brain Energy Metabolism: Focus on Astrocyte-Neuron Metabolic Cooperation
http://www.cell.com/cell-met…/fulltext/S1550-4131(11)00420-7
http://www.cell.com/cell-met…/fulltext/S1550-4131(11)00420-7
"Given the GSH decrease that is progressively produced with aging, we cannot discard the hypothesis that a defect in the mechanism of antioxidant cellular defense can be the silent trigger of the neurodegenerative process and neuronal death. It may be that an imbalance in the equilibrium between the formation of free radicals and their neutralization (oxidation–reduction) leads to a situation of oxidative stress with great organic risk that can be associated with neurodegenerative illnesses including, most often, Parkinson’s disease and AD."
Source: The Glutathione Connection
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