Artificial sweetener may treat Parkinson’s disease
Washington: An artificial sweetener may ward off Parkinson's by preventing build-up of a brain protein which is characteristic of the disease, scientists have found.
Mannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria, and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy.
The sweetener is also used in the medical field - it's approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a diuretic to flush out excess fluids and used during surgery as a substance that opens the blood/brain barrier to ease the passage of other drugs.
Now researchers from Tel Aviv University's Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience found that mannitol also prevents clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein from forming in the brain - a process that is characteristic of Parkinson's disease.
After identifying the structural characteristics that facilitate the development of clumps of alpha-synuclein, the researchers began to hunt for a compound that could inhibit the proteins' ability to bind together.
In the lab, they found that mannitol was among the most effective agents in preventing aggregation of the protein in test tubes.
Next, to test the capabilities of mannitol in the living brain, the researchers turned to transgenic fruit flies engineered to carry the human gene for alpha-synuclein.
To study fly movement, they used a test called the "climbing assay," in which the ability of flies to climb the walls of a test tube indicates their locomotive capability.
In the initial experimental period, 72 per cent of normal flies were able to climb up the test tube, compared to only 38 per cent of the genetically-altered flies.
The researchers then added mannitol to the food of the genetically-altered flies for a period of 27 days and repeated the experiment. This time, 70 per cent of the mutated flies could climb up the test tube.
In addition, the researchers observed a 70 per cent reduction in aggregates of alpha-synuclein in mutated flies that had been fed mannitol, compared to those that had not.
These findings were confirmed by a second study which measured the impact of mannitol on mice engineered to produce human alpha-synuclein, developed by Dr Eliezer Masliah of the University of San Diego.
After four months, the researchers found that the mice injected with mannitol also showed a dramatic reduction of alpha-synuclein in the brain.
Although the results look promising, it is still not advisable for Parkinson's patients to begin ingesting mannitol in large quantities, researcher Daniel Segal cautioned.
More testing must be done to determine dosages that would be both effective and safe, he said.
-Manorama Online
==================================
