Oxidative Stress in Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease
J Alzheimers Dis 2009 (Apr); 16 (4): 763–774
Oxidative stress plays a major role in diabetes as well as in Alzheimer's disease and other related neurological diseases. Intracellular oxidative stress arises due to the imbalance in the production of reactive oxygen/reactive nitrogen species and cellular antioxidant defense mechanisms. Oxidative stress also contributes to the production of advanced glycation end products through glycoxidation and lipid peroxidation. The advanced glycation end products and lipid peroxidation products are ubiquitous to diabetes and Alzheimer's disease and serve as markers of disease progression in both disorders. Antioxidants and advanced glycation end products inhibitors, either induced endogenously or exogenously introduced, may counteract with the deleterious effects of the reactive oxygen/reactive nitrogen species and thereby, in prevention or treatment paradigms, attenuate or substantially delay the onset of these devastating pathologies.
Resveratrol ~ Is Red Wine a Youth Potion?
Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals ~ February 2004
Man’s pursuit of long life, the so-called fountain of youth, edged closer to fruition with the recent announcement that a dietary component may increase the human lifespan to the point where it would be common to live 125 years. This red-coloured youth potion can be obtained from a bottle of vino, and perhaps as a dietary supplement. Lead researcher David Sinclair, PhD, assistant professor of pathology at Harvard University Medical School, says the lifespan of all life forms tested so far—yeast cells, fruit flies, worms and mice—has been dramatically lengthened by minute amounts of a red wine extract, resveratrol. You may also enjoy this Newsweek article by Dr. David Sinclair, titled:
Can We Slow Aging?.
Multiple Sclerosis, An Autoimmune Inflammatory Disease:
Prospects for its Integrative Management
Alternative Medicine Review 2001 (Dec); 6 (6): 540–566 ~ FULL TEXT
No pharmaceutical or other therapies exist that confer prolonged remission on MS, and obvious interrelationships between toxic, infectious, and dietary factors make a persuasive case for integrative management. The time-proven MS diet meticulously keeps saturated fats low, includes three fish meals per week, and eliminates allergenic foods. Dietary supplementation for MS minimally requires potent vitamin supplementation, along with the thiol antioxidants, the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, and adaptogenic phytonutrients. Gut malabsorption and dysbiosis can be corrected using digestive enzymes and probiotics. You may review other articles about
the nutritional treatment for Multiple Sclerosis
Natural Medicine and Nutritional Therapy as an Alternative Treatment in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Alternative Medicine Review 2001 (Oct); 6 (5): 460-471 ~ FULL TEXT
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder without a known cure. Conventional medicine typically approaches the disease with a treatment plan that includes the use of corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), antimalarial drugs, and chemotherapeutic agents. The results vary and safety is questionable. Conservative treatment methods, such as the use of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, have been shown to have an impact on the activity of the disease.
Effects of Multinutrient Supplementation on Antioxidant Defense Systems in Healthy Human Beings
J Nutr Biochem 2001 (Jul); 12 (7): 388–395
Oxidative damage is involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. The antioxidant defense system plays an important role in protecting the body from oxidative damage. Numerous studies have been shown that a single vitamin or mineral supplementation has the beneficial effect on the antioxidant defense system. However, the overall combined effect of multinutrient supplementation on antioxidant defense system remains to be clarified...until now. Read on!
Parkinson's Disease as Multifactorial Oxidative Neurodegeneration: Implications for Integrative Management
Alternative Medicine Review 2000 (Dec); 5 (6): 502–545 ~ FULL TEXT
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common movement pathology, severely afflicting dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra (SN) along with non-dopaminergic, extra-nigral projection bundles that control circuits for sensory, associative, premotor, and motor pathways. Clinical, experimental, microanatomic, and biochemical evidence suggests PD involves multifactorial, oxidative neurodegeneration, and that levodopa therapy adds to the oxidative burden. Rational, integrative management of PD requires: (1) dietary revision, especially to lower calories; (2) rebalancing of essential fatty acid intake away from pro-inflammatory and toward anti-inflammatory prostaglandins; (3) aggressive repletion of glutathione and other nutrient antioxidants and cofactors; (4) energy nutrients acetyl L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, NADH, and the membrane phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS); (5) chelation as necessary for heavy metals; and (6) liver P450 detoxification support.
Effect of Antioxidants on the Occurrence of Pre-Eclampsia in Women at Increased Risk: a Randomized Trial
Lancet 1999 (Sep 4); 354 (9181): 810–816
Supplementation with vitamins C and E may be beneficial in the prevention of pre-eclampsia in women at increased risk of the disease.
Antioxidants Resolve Radiation Side Effects
Radiation proctitis, characterized by rectal pain, bleeding, diarrhea, and incontinence, is a common side effect of radiation therapy for cervical or prostate cancers. Radiation generates large numbers of free radicals that harm nearby normal cells. Researchers asked 20 men and women with radiation proctitis to take a combination of 400 IU vitamin E and 500 mg vitamin C twice a day. All of the patients' symptoms, except pain, were reduced during the eight-week study, and some of the symptoms were completely resolved.
Sustaining The Brain With Antioxidant Protection
The end of the 1990s marked the completion of the so-called Decade of the Brain, a title bestowed upon this period by researchers and clinicians in the neurosciences. Their intent was both to enhance awareness of the various neurodegenerative diseases and to encourage research into the diverse genetic, infectious, environmental, traumatic and lifestyle influences on their development. But despite the commendable advances in our understanding of the causes of these maladies, lack of significant progress from a therapeutic perspective may mean that we will leave the Decade of the Brain to usher in the Century of Brain Dysfunction.
Parkinson's Defense
While the underlying causes of PD remain unknown, three factors are proposed. Genetics probably plays a role in PD development because 15 to 20 percent of PD patients have had a close relative with the disorder. [ 3 ] Environmental toxins such as pesticides are also considered a cause. A population-based case-control study of 608 men and women older than 50 at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit revealed an association between PD and occupational exposure to herbicides and insecticides. [ 4 ] Animal studies show that pesticides that produce free radicals damage cellular mitochondria, selectively destroy dopamine-producing neurons, and produce PD-like behavioral symptoms. [ 5 ] These studies also support the third potential cause, and the most common theory, which is that PD stems from free radical-mediated degeneration of dopamine-producing cells and oxidative destruction of dopamine.
Antioxidants Quell Sickle-Cell
Researchers at the Philadelphia Biomedical Research Institute asked 10 patients with sickle-cell anemia to take a combination of 6 g aged garlic extract, 6 g vitamin C, 1,200 IU vitamin E, and 1,000 mcg folic acid per day for six months. Twin siblings took only folic acid. Patients taking the antioxidants had one-third as many as painful sickle-cell episodes and also reported higher energy levels.
Aging Gracefully With Antioxidants
Living well includes getting enough relaxation, exercise, community spirit and nutritious foods. It may also include taking vitamins. An avalanche of research data suggests that high intakes of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables and supplements lowers the risk of old-age diseases.1
Anthocyanins
Eaten in large amounts by primitive humans, anthocyanins are antioxidant flavonoids that protect many body systems. They have some of the strongest physiological effects of any plant compounds, and they are also things of beauty: anthocyanins provide pigment for pansies, petunias, and plums.
Antioxidant Vitamins Block Homocysteine's Acute Toxic Effects
About one-fourth of all American adults have excessively high blood levels of homocysteine. This amino acid is formed from methionine, which is taken into the body via animal-derived foods. High levels of homocysteine translate into a significant increase in hardening of the arteries known as arteriosclerosis. In that way, homocysteine is similar to cholesterol because prolonged, elevated levels of it gradually damage the inner linings of blood vessels, causing atherosclerotic plaque and narrowing of the arteries. However, for a catastrophic end result of this process to occur — a heart attack or a stroke — it typically takes more than just narrow arteries: It requires the blood within the artery to congeal into a clot, suddenly causing an obstruction.
|
The Role of Chronic Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease and its Regulation by Nutrients
Alternative Medicine Review 2004 (Mar); 9 (1): 32–53
Nutrients such as arginine, antioxidants (vitamins C and E, lipoic acid, glutathione), and enzyme cofactors (vitamins B2 and B3, folate, and tetrahydrobiopterin) help to elevate nitric oxide levels and may play an important role in the management of cardiovascular disease. Other dietary components such as DHA/EPA from fish oil, tocotrienols, vitamins B6 and B12, and quercetin contribute further to mitigating the inflammatory process.
Randomized Trials of Dietary Antioxidants in Cardiovascular
Disease Prevention and Treatment
J Cardiovasc Risk 1996 (Aug); 3 (4): 368–371
The hypothesis that antioxidant vitamins might reduce cardiovascular disease risk is based on a large body of basic and human epidemiologic research. Basic research provides a plausible mechanism by which antioxidants might reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. A large number of descriptive, case–control and cohort studies provide data suggesting that consumption of antioxidant vitamins is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease. These data raise the question of a role
of antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and beta–carotene, in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, but do not provide a definitive answer.
Supplementation with Vitamins C and E Suppresses Leukocyte Oxygen
Free Radical Production in Patients with Myocardial Infarction
European Heart Journal 1995 (Aug); 16 (8): 1044–1049
Clinical studies suggest that neutrophil activation during acute myocardial infarction (MI) aggravates tissue injury. Activated neutrophils are an important source of oxygen free radicals (OFR), the injurious effects of which are counteracted by endogenous antioxidants. We have previously shown in healthy subjects that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins C and E suppresses OFR production by isolated neutrophils assayed by chemiluminescence (CL).
|
Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Vascular Complications
Diabetes Care 1996 (Mar); 19 (3): 257–267
Long–term vascular complications still represent the main cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Although prospective randomized long–term clinical studies comparing the effects of conventional and intensive therapy have demonstrated a clear link between diabetic hyperglycemia and the development of secondary complications of diabetes, they have not defined the mechanism through which excess glucose results in tissue damage.
Status of Antioxidants in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus with
and Without Late Complications
Aktuel. Ernahr. Ed. Klin. Prax 1994; 19 (3): 155–159
The role of antioxidative vitamins in the therapy of diabetes mellitus is of growing importance. The development of diabetic late complications (cataract, retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy and others) is associated with an increased presence of free radicals, and therefore, elevated oxidative stress of the human body. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of the vitamin and selenium status of diabetics.
Diabetes Mellitus –– A Free Radical–associated Disease. Results of Adjuvant Antioxidant Supplementation
Z Gesamte Inn Med 1993 (May); 48 (5): 223–32
Our investigations carried out in patients with diabetes mellitus revealed oxidative stress loads. The study presented here was to clarify whether a therapy with antioxidants can contribute to an improvement of prognosis. 80 patients affected with a long term diabetic late syndrome were randomised and arranged to 4 groups of n = 20 each.
Rationales for Micronutrient Supplementation in Diabetes
Med Hypotheses 1984; 13 (2): 139–51
Available evidence– some well–documented, some only preliminary– suggests that properly–designed nutritional insurance supplementation may have particular value in diabetes. Comprehensive micronutrient supplementation providing ample doses of antioxidants, yeast–chromium, magnesium, zinc, pyridoxine, gamma–linolenic acid, and carnitine, may aid glucose tolerance, stimulate immune defenses, and promote wound healing, while reducing the risk and severity of some of the secondary complications of diabetes.
|
