A new mechanism for the development of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University in the Negev located A factor is found in the genes responsible for protecting the body against oxygen damage

Researchers from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, led by Prof. Stas Engel from the Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, point to the cause of the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which was not recognized until now. The cause is found in the genes responsible for protecting the body against oxygen damage.

In degenerative diseases of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or ALS, the neurological symptoms appear gradually and worsen over time. The prevalence of diseases in the population increases as life expectancy increases. Alzheimer's disease is the main cause of dementia in old age, Parkinson's disease attacks the movement system, and one of its characteristics is tremors and movement disorders, while ALS causes muscle degeneration, paralysis and death.

In a study published in a prestigious international scientific journal Redox Biology Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev offer a new and unconventional way of looking at neurodegenerative diseases.

Damage to the detoxification mechanism

Humans and animals use oxygen to produce energy from food compounds. In this process toxins of the type 'active oxygen derivatives' are formed. The nervous system produces a particularly large amount of these toxins due to high oxygen consumption. If not neutralized quickly, these substances damage various molecules in their environment, such as DNA, proteins and fats. The cells of the nervous system are subject to an increased risk of damage by the active oxygen derivatives from the rest of the body's cells.

In order to survive in an environment flooded with toxins, the nervous system was equipped with unique mechanisms that are particularly effective for dealing with the active oxygen derivatives. The researchers from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have identified the existence of an additional protective layer unique to the human nervous system for the treatment of active oxygen derivatives that does not exist in poor animals.

"This excess protection," says Prof. Stas Engel, "allows the human brain to perform complex and varied activities, while consuming huge amounts of oxygen without fear of self-poisoning - the situation that can be defined as perfect adaptation or over-adaptation to routine conditions."

However, the weak point of any system with over-adaptation to common and predictable conditions is loss of flexibility and fragility in unusual or unexpected conditions. Neurodegenerative diseases are an expression of the exposed fragility of the nervous system. That is, locating the fragile points of the nervous system is a necessary condition for understanding the mechanisms leading to neurodegenerative diseases and developing strategies to deal with them.

The researchers located a figure that points to the protein quality control system as a breaking point of the human nervous system. Neurodegenerative diseases are an expression of the fragility of the human nervous system which, during development, has lost its flexibility and is unable to deal with unusual disturbances. The disorder to which the human nervous system is not properly adapted is a high life expectancy. Therefore, when the body's ability to self-renew decreases, the chance of exposing the breaking point of the nervous system increases. One of the unusual disorders, to which the human nervous system is not accustomed, is a long life span. The proper functioning of the protein quality control system depends on the body's ability to self-renew. With age, the body's self-renewal capacity decreases and thus the fragile nature of the nervous system is revealed, which is reflected in the high incidence of neurodegenerative diseases.

"Degenerative diseases of the nervous system are a by-product of over-adaptation of the human nervous system to being in an oxygen atmosphere and of dealing with the active oxygen derivatives. The tendency to develop neurodegenerative diseases is engraved in human genes, while the high life expectancy increases the chance of suffering from them. This insight leads to the conclusion that effective treatments for degenerative diseases of the nervous system are expected to be based mainly on preventive strategies aimed at strengthening the fragile points of the nervous system. The current study may serve as a guideline for the development of these strategies", Prof. Engel concluded.

I have a link to Prof. Stas Engel's photo. Photo: Nachiyappan (Nachi) Venkatachalam: