This topic has to do with Parkinson’s disease but you should still read this even if you do not care about Parkinson’s. Why you may ask? Well, you see our bodies really need iron. It is very useful for accepting and donating electron and is essential in our central nervous systems. It is needed for DNA synthesis, neurotransmission, myelination, oxygen transport, storage, and activation, mitochondrial electron transport, and metabolism. The oxidative stress from high levels of iron in the body is related to other diseases as well including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington disease, Friedreich ataxia, and ALS. However, the role it plays in Parkinson’s disease is what we will focus on today.
Parkinson’s disease is an illness that affects the nervous system and thus, movements. It also affects cognition. What makes it worse, is that it is not curable yet. This is a huge reason the public should care! What is currently known, and I think is important for you to know, is that proteins in the brain that regulate iron are messed up with excess iron which can leave the brain vulnerable to oxidative stress. This can lead to loss of neurons and to Parkinson’s disease. The toxicity of this excess iron can be due to iron-containing molecules not functioning properly.
There are drugs that can help with Parkinson’s disease that are iron chelators. These protects against dopaminergic neurodegeneration induced by iron. Also, people can go in for phlebotomy, which is the first treatment usually done. This involves removal of approximately 500ml of blood each week to reduce serum ferritin. Also, a fascinating inverse correlation with brain aging, dementia, and neurodegeneration has been noticed for plant-derived polyphenol flavonoids. These have metal-chelating capacity and can be found interestingly in green tea.
Parkinson’s disease does not sound like a fun disease to have. It should be researched further so that people can be cured of it instead of simply treated for it. However, in the meantime, make sure your body is using iron the right way. You don’t want to have to get poked by a needle every week and pay for drugs! Hopefully a cure will be found soon but in the meantime, drink your green tea!
