Thanks Imark. It is so encouraging to find something that we have a little control over!
I thought it particularly interesting to read that the
protective effects were more pronounced when both N-A-C and LA were present.
I wanted to mention also that I just read in the MAY 2011 issue of Total Wellness that Dr. Sherry Rogers publishes that "...supplements that contain alpha lipoic acid or even worse just lipoic acid are only 50% used by the body, whereas R-lipoic Acid is 100%."
So, I think I'll see if I can find the R-lipoic Acid and take it at the same time as the N-A-C.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imark3000
Lipoic acid and N-acetyl cysteine decrease mitochondrial-related oxidative stress in Alzheimer disease patient fibroblasts.
Moreira PI, Harris PL, Zhu X, Santos MS, Oliveira CR, Smith MA, Perry G.
SourceCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal.
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the effect of lipoic acid (LA) and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on oxidative [4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine and heme oxygenase-1] and apoptotic (caspase 9 and Bax) markers in fibroblasts from patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and age-matched and young controls. AD fibroblasts showed the highest levels of oxidative stress, and the antioxidants, lipoic acid (1 mM) and/or N-acetyl cysteine (100 microM) exerted a protective effect as evidenced by decreases in oxidative stress and apoptotic markers. Furthermore, we observed that the protective effect of LA and NAC was more pronounced when both agents were present simultaneously. AD-type changes could be generated in control fibroblasts using N-methylprotoporphyrin to inhibit cytochrome oxidase assembly indicating that the the oxidative damage observed was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. The effects of N-methylprotoporphyrine were reversed or attenuated by both lipoic acid and N-acetyl cysteine. These data suggest mitochondria are important in oxidative damage that occurs in AD. As such, antioxidant therapies based on lipoic acid and N-acetyl cysteine supplementation may be promising.
PMID:17917164[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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