sugar – The Science of Parkinson's

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Without a shadow of doubt, one of the most popular topics that readers search for on this website is ‘mannitol’.

It is a widely used sweetner that became very popular in the Parkinson’s community after a 2013 research report presented compelling results that this molecule exhibited robust anti-aggregation properties on the Parkinson’s-associated protein alpha synuclein.

Recently the results of a carefully designed clinical trial evaluating mannitol have been published.

In today’s post, we will look at what mannitol is, review the previous research conducted on this agent in the context of Parkinson’s, and consider the results of the clinical trial.

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Source: History

During the forty years that the Israelites wandered the desert after leaving Egypt, they faced many hardships, most notably a scarcity of food. To resolve this particular issue, God kindly provided the Israelites with “bread from heaven”.

According to the scriptures, it was a “fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground” and “It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (Exodus, Chapter 16).

They called “manna”.

Hence the phrase: Like manna from heaven

More recently, a substance called manna, has been the focus of a lot of attention in the Parkinson’s community.

A group of Israeli researchers have been exploring the potential of the sweetener ‘Mannitol’ (also known as Manna sugar) in the context of Parkinson’s.

What is mannitol?

Continue reading “The mannitol clinical trial results” →

An Advanced Glycation Endproduct (or AGE) is a protein or lipid that has become glycated.

Glycation is a haphazard process that impairs the normal functioning of molecules. It occurs as a result of exposure to high amounts of sugar. These AGEs are present at above average levels in people with diabetes and various ageing-related disorders, including neurodegenerative conditions. AGEs have been shown to trigger signalling pathways within cells that are associated with both oxidative stress and inflammation, but also cell death.

RAGE (or receptor of AGEs) is a molecule in a cell membrane that becomes activated when it interacts with various AGEs. And this interaction mediates AGE-associated toxicity issues. Recently researchers found that that neurons carrying the Parkinson’s associated LRRK2 G2019S genetic variant are more sensitive to AGEs than neurons without the genetic variant.

In today’s post we will look at what AGE and RAGE are, review the new LRRK2 research, and discuss how blocking RAGE could represent a future therapeutic approach for treating Parkinson’s.

The wonder of ageing. Source: Club-cleo

NOTE: Be warned, the reading of this post may get a bit confusing. We are going to be discussing ageing (as in the body getting old) as well as AGEing (the haphazard process processing of glycation). For better clarification, lower caps ‘age’ will refer to getting old, while capitalised ‘AGE’ will deal with that glycation process. I hope this helps.

Ageing means different things to different people.

For some people ageing means more years to add to your life and less activity. For others it means more medication and less hair. More wrinkles and less independence; more arthritis and less dignity; More candles, and less respect from that unruly younger generation; More… what’s that word I’m thinking of? (forgetfulness)… and what were we actually talking about?

Wisdom is supposed to come with age, but as the comedian/entertainer George Carlin once said “Age is a hell of a price to pay for wisdom”. I have to say though, that if I had ever met Mr Carlin, I would have suggested to him that I’m feeling rather ripped off!

George Carlin. Source: Thethornycroftdiatribe

Whether we like it or not, from the moment you are born, ageing is an inevitable part of our life. But this has not stopped some adventurous scientific souls from trying to understand the process, and even try to alter it in an attempt to help humans live longer.

Regardless of whether you agree with the idea of humans living longer than their specified use-by-date, some of this ageing-related research could have tremendous benefits for neurodegenerative conditions, like Parkinson’s.

What do we know about the biology of ageing?

Continue reading “Reduce your RAGE as you AGE” →