This examined two types of nutrients, R-α-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine and analyzed the effects that each of these antioxidants had on preventing Parkinson’s disease. Previous studies have shown that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage often lead to the outbreak of Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, if a person’s cells contain healthy and fully functioning mitochondria, there is a lesser chance that they will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The experiment was carried out over four weeks with 24 different samples of human neuroblastoma cell cultures set up. They were fed three times a week with different combinations of R-α-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine so that it could be determined which dose of nutrients optimizes the health of the mitochondria. When the concentrations of the antioxidants ranged between 0.1 and 1 µM, significant preventative effects against Parkinson’s disease were evident. However, when the concentrations were 100 µM negative effects were displayed indicating that it is very important for the concentrations to be exact.
This experiment was significant because although it did not find a cure for Parkinson’s disease, certain preventative measures can be adopted so that a cure is not necessary.
Source: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/120748191/PDFSTART
