Part 9 Excitotoxins, Neurodegeneration and Neurodevelopment

Part 9 Excitotoxins, Neurodegeneration and Neurodevelopment
By Russell L. Blaylock, M.D

Conclusion

In this brief discussion of a most complicated and evolving subject I have had to omit several important pieces of the puzzle. For example, I have said little about the functional components of the receptor systems, the glutamate transporter and its relation to ALS and Alzheimer's dementia, receptor decay with aging and disease, membrane effects of lipid peroxidation products, membrane fluidity, effects of chronic inflammation on the glutamate/free radical cycle, stress hormones and excitotoxicity, the role of insulin excess on the eicosanoid system, or the detailed physiology of the glutamatergic system. I have also only briefly alluded to the toxicity of aspartame and omitted its strong connection to brain tumor induction.

But, I have tried to show the reader that there is a strong connection between dietary and indogenous excitotoxin excess and neurological dysfunction and disease. Many of the arguments by the food processing industry has been shown to be false. For example, that dietary glutamate does not enter the brain because of exclusion by the blood-brain barrier, has been shown to be wrong, since glutamate can enter by way of the unprotected areas of the brain such as the circumventricular organs. Also, as we have seen, chronic elevations of blood glutamate can breech the intact blood-brain barrier. In addition, there are numerous conditions under which the barrier is made incompetent.

As our knowledge of the pathophysiology and biochemistry of the neurodegenerative diseases increases, the connection to excitotoxicity has become stonger.94 This is especially so with the interrelationship between excitotoxicity and free radical generation and declining energy production with aging. Several factors of aging have been shown to magnify this process. For example, as the brain ages its iron content increases, making it more susceptible to free radical generation. Also , aging changes in the blood brain barrier, micovascular changes leading to impaired blood flow, free radical mitochondrial injury to energy generating enzymes, DNA adduct formation, alterations in glucose and glutamate transporters and free radical and lipid peroxidation induced alterations in the neuronal membranes all act to make the aging brain increasingly susceptible to excitotoxic injury.

Over a lifetime of free radical injury due to chronic stress, infections, trauma, impaired blood flow, hypoglycemia, hypoxia and poor antioxidant defenses secondary to poor nutritional intake, the nervous system is significantly weakened and made more susceptible to further excitotoxic injury. We known that a loss of neuronal energy generation is one of the early changes seen with the neurodegenerative diseases. This occurs long before clinical disease develops. But, even earlier is a loss of neuronal glutathione functional levels.

I included the material about the special function of ascorbic acid because few are aware of the importance of adequate ascorbate levels for CNS function and neural protection against excitotoxicity. As we have seen, it plays a vital role in neurobehavioral regulation and the dopaminergic system as well,which may link ascorbate supplementation to improvements in schizophrenia.

Our knowledge of this process opens up new avenues for treatment as well as prevention of excitotoxic injury to the nervous system. For example, there are many nutritional ways to improve CNS antioxidant defenses and boost neuronal energy generation, as well as improve membrane fluidity and receptor integrity. By using selective glutamate blocking drugs or nutrients, one may be able to alter some of the more devastating effects of Parkinson's disease. For example, there is evidence that dopamine deficiency causes a disinhibition (overactivity) of the subthalamic nucleus and that this may result in excitotoxic injury to the substantia nigra.95 By blocking the glutamatergic neurons in this nucleus, one may be able to reduce this damage. There is also evidence that several nutrients can significantly reduce excitotoxicity. For example, combinations of coenzyme Q10 and niacinamide have been shown to protect against striatal excitotoxic lesions. Methylcobolamine, phosphotidylserine, picnogenol and acetyl-L-carnitine all protect against excitotoxicity as well.

Of particular concern is the toxic effects of these excitotoxic compounds on the developing brain. It is well recognized that the immature brain is four times more sensitive to the toxic effects of the excitatory amino acids as is the mature brain.This means that excitotoxic injury is of special concern from the fetal stage to adolescence. There is evidence that the placenta concentrates several of these toxic amino acids on the fetal side of the placenta. Consumption of aspartame and MSG containing products by pregnant women during this critical period of brain formation is of special concern and should be discouraged. Many of the effects, such as endocrine dysfunction and complex learning, are subtle and may not appear until the child is older. Other hypothalamic syndromes associated with early excitotoxic lesions include immune alterations and violence dyscontrol.

Over 100 million American now consume aspartame products and a greater number consume products containing one or more excitotoxins. There is sufficient medical literature documenting serious injury by these additives in the concentrations presently in our food supply to justify warning the public of these dangers. The case against aspartame is especially strong.

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________________________________________
Article courtesy of Dr. Russell Blaylock and
The Medical Sentinel Journal
Authorized for replication as necessary to spread the truth.
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Spring Into Natural Cleaning

Spring is here and it's time to start thinking about spring cleaning. But what about the cleaners that you use. Well, here is a press release from one organization that wants people to learn about natural, safe cleaners. What a good idea!

For Immediate Release
March 20, 2008

Contact:
Sian Wu, sian@resource-media.org, 206-374-7795 x102

Ali Solomon, Women’s Voices for the Earth
ali@womenandenvironment.org, 406-543-3747

Concerned Consumers Spur Eco-Cleaning Movement
Nationwide Green Cleaning Parties Raise Awareness of Toxic Chemicals

MISSOULA, Mont.—Starting today, people across the country will host parties to teach friends and family how to make their own “green cleaners” from ingredients they know are safe and non-toxic. Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), a national environmental health group, is using the first day of spring and National Poison Prevention Week (March 16 – 22) to inform consumers that the cleaners they buy may not be as safe as they think.

“For many people, springtime means deep cleaning,” says Dori Gilels, executive director of Women’s Voices for the Earth. “But some of the products consumers rely on to create a clean, healthy environment can actually lead to long-term health problems.”

WVE released a report last summer, “Household Hazards” that found that several chemicals in common household cleaning products have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems, and even asthma, the most common serious chronic childhood disease, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

More than 100 people, from Florida to Hawaii, have already pledged to host green cleaning parties in their communities as part of a grassroots movement to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals in the home. The green cleaning party movement will go beyond the ritual of spring cleaning, with hundreds more parties expected in towns and cities across America through the rest of the year.

Alexandra Gorman Scranton, director of science and research at WVE says that a growing body of research shows that even minute traces of certain chemicals found in everyday products, like household cleaners, can potentially disrupt hormones, interfere with development and lead to disease. According to Gorman Scranton, “There’s no reason to include toxic ingredients, even in trace amounts, in products that consumers use on a daily basis when safe and equally effective alternatives exist.”

Several studies have shown that regular household vinegar, which is one of the main ingredients in WVE’s homemade recipes, is as effective or nearly as effective as commercial cleaners in eliminating microbes like E.coli from surfaces and sponges, effectively eliminating between 90-98 percent of bacteria.

Green cleaning party kits developed by WVE provide party hosts with everything they need to have a successful event, including recipe cards, environmentally friendly cleaning tips, an informational DVD, and advocacy information on how to contact local policy makers and cleaning product manufacturers. All homemade recipes have been tested by both consumers and professional cleaners and were found to be economical and just as effective as their branded counterparts.

"In my community, people are getting more and more concerned about exposure to toxic chemicals. The increase in allergies, especially among my family and friends has really made this a priority for me,” says Stephanie Kline, who is hosting a party in her home in Novato. “I think it's great that home made cleaners are so economical. It means they can be made available to anybody who wants to avoid using toxic chemicals in their homes."

Currently, household cleaning companies are not required by law to list ingredients on product labels. When asked by WVE in writing in July of 2007 to disclose this information, many of the leading manufacturers said they could not reveal trade secrets. Yet, food companies have to label ingredients despite their need to protect “secret recipes.” This system works well in alerting shoppers to ingredients they wish to avoid, for allergy reasons or otherwise.

“There’s so much excitement around green cleaning parties because people are concerned and confused about reports of toxic chemicals in products that they once trusted were safe,” says Gilels. “Until companies come clean about what they use in their products, we are encouraging people across the country to make their own.”

WVE works directly with cleaning product companies to promote full disclosure of ingredients on product labels, and advocates for better government regulation of toxic chemicals in consumer products. These green cleaning parties are part of their larger Safe Cleaning Products Initiative, a national effort to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals in household cleaners.

Go to www.womenandenvironment.org for more information about party locations around the country, fact sheets and state-specific policies.

WOMEN’S VOICES FOR THE EARTH(WVE) is a national women centered environmental health and justice organization basedin Montana. WVE works toeliminate and reduce environmental toxins that impact human health and to increase women’s participation in environmental decision making.

# # #


WOMEN’S VOICES FOR THE EARTH (WVE)
is a national womencentered environmental health and justice organization based in Montana. WVE works to eliminate and reduce environmental toxins that impact human health and to increase women’s participation in environmental decision making.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dori Gilels

WVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lisa Woll - President

CEO, Social Investment Forum
Rockville, MD

Gloria Flora - Secretary
Director, Sustainable Obtainable Solutions
Helena, MT

Christine Kaufmann – Treasurer
Director, MT Human Rights Network
MT State Senator
Helena, MT

Aimee Boulanger
Program Director, Institute for Children’s
Environmental Health
Freeland, WA

Joyce Mphande-Finn
Private Counseling Practice
Stevensville, MT

Angela Park
The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group
Hartland, VT

Anja Rudiger
National Economic and Social Rights
Initiative (NESRI) and the National
Health Law Program (NHeLP)
New York, NY

Lexi Shultz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, DC
P.O. Box 8743
Missoula, MT 59807-8743

Phone: 406.543.3747
FAX: 406.543.2557

wve@womenandenvironment.org
http://www.womenandenvironment.org/