Study Finds That Glycine And N-Acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) Supplementation Can Treat Cognitive Decline And Improve Brain Health In The Aged.
Anti-Aging News - Glycine And N-Acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) Supplementation - Cognitive Decline May 05, 2023 11 months, 3 weeks, 15 hours, 34 minutes ago
Anti-Aging News: A new study by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine-Texas-USA has found that Glycine And N-Acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation can treat cognitive decline and improve brain health in the aged.
The study team devoted their efforts to understanding the biological deterioration that causes cognitive decline and developing nutritional strategies that promote healthy brain aging.
Their study findings provide promising evidence that GlyNAC- a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine, precursors of the natural antioxidant glutathione can improve or reverse age-associated cognitive decline in older mice while repairing various defects in the aging brain.
The implications of these study findings, consistent with the improvements observed in older adults supplemented with GlyNAC in a 2021 pilot human trial, are potentially transformative.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ctm2.372
Dr Rajagopal Sekhar, a professor of medicine specializing in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at Baylor, has been leading research into the link between natural aging and cognitive decline for over two decades. His work has established that age-related cognitive deterioration is associated with glutathione deficiency, increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, abnormal glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, and low levels of neurotrophic or neuron-supporting factors.
The supplementation of GlyNAC, according to his research, reverses these defects and improves cognition.
While human studies allow for measurements at the whole-body level, the exploration of defects directly in the aging brain requires animal models. This is where the recent study involving mice becomes crucial. The research focused on the reversibility of naturally occurring cognitive decline in aging, as opposed to cognitive decline resulting from introduced gene defects. This is particularly significant given that increased age is the most prevalent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Sekhar and his team compared two groups of naturally aged mice to a third group of young mice. After initial assessments of cognitive abilities, one group of old mice was placed on a GlyNAC-supplemented diet while the other continued their regular diet. After eight weeks, the mice were reevaluated, and their brains were analyzed for specific defects previously associated with cognitive impairment.
The study findings were striking: compared to young mice, old mice exhibited cognitive impairment and various brain abnormalities, including glutathione deficiency, increased oxidative stress, impaired mitochondrial function, elevated inflammation, genomic damage, and lower levels of brain-supporting factors.
Additionally, the team found that there was a deficit of transporters responsible for moving glucose, the brain's primary fuel source, into the organ. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that the mitochondria, the cellular engines that burn glucose to provide energy, were also not functioning well in the brain. These defects indicated that the aging brain was being starved of energy, potentially leading to cognitive decline.
gt;However, the introduction of GlyNAC supplementation in old mice reversed these conditions. It corrected brain glutathione deficiency, improved brain glucose transporters, reversed mitochondrial dysfunction, and enhanced cognition.
Furthermore, GlyNAC supplementation reduced oxidative stress, inflammation, and genomic damage while improving neurotrophic factors.
These study findings are not only consistent with previous research but also represent a significant advancement in understanding the beneficial role of GlyNAC supplementation in promoting brain health and supporting cognitive function in aging. It raises exciting possibilities for improving brain health in aging and inspires further investigation into the potential of GlyNAC supplementation in larger, randomized clinical trials in older people.
The implications of these study findings extend beyond natural aging. They could have significance for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment, which share similar defects. Current evaluations are underway to determine whether older people with mild cognitive impairment have a glutathione deficiency compared to older people without a diagnosis of cognitive impairment.
GlyNAC supplementation has already shown beneficial effects in the heart, liver, and kidneys of rodents, increasing lifespan and reversing aging hallmarks in these organs. These findings suggest that GlyNAC could potentially be a vital player in the realm of geriatric medicine and cognitive health. The fact that GlyNAC supplementation may correct glutathione deficiency and other age-related biochemical abnormalities is an exciting discovery.
GlyNAC's potential significance extends beyond just aging. Dr Sekhar told Aging-Aging News reporters from TMN, "Our findings may also have implications for Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment, because similar defects are also reported in these conditions."
The study team is presently evaluating whether older people with mild cognitive impairment exhibit glutathione deficiency, relative to their peers without a diagnosis of cognitive impairment.
It's essential to understand GlyNAC's components and how they contribute to its effectiveness. GlyNAC is a blend of glycine and cysteine, supplied as N-acetylcysteine or NAC, both of which are precursors necessary for glutathione synthesis.
Glutathione deficiency cannot be corrected by oral ingestion because it is digested in the gut. Therefore, each cell in every organ makes its own glutathione and does not rely on delivery via blood or exogenous administration of glutathione. This is why GlyNAC supplementation can be so effective; it supports the natural production of glutathione within the cells themselves.
Glycine is a critical amino acid, serving as a neurotransmitter in the brain and supporting synaptic function, while cysteine donates the sulfhydryl group, playing a key role in many thiol reactions, particularly in the mitochondria. Glutathione, the most abundant endogenous intracellular antioxidant, protects cells and confers other health benefits. The combination of glycine, cysteine, and glutathione provided by GlyNAC supplementation is referred to as the 'Power of 3.'
The age-related decline in cognitive function is a significant concern in our aging society. As the population of older adults is projected to exceed 2.1 billion by 2050, there will inevitably be a parallel increase in the incidence of cognitive decline and diseases like Alzheimer's. Identifying ways to improve or reverse cognitive decline will not only benefit older adults' cognitive health but also provide valuable insights into understanding and combating more severe conditions like Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
This is the space where GlyNAC shows tremendous promise. By supplementing the body with these essential precursors, GlyNAC appears to enhance the brain's natural defenses, correcting glutathione deficiency, reducing oxidative stress, improving mitochondrial function, and supporting overall brain health.
These study findings may just be the tip of the iceberg. The Baylor College of Medicine study team intends to move forward with a larger randomized clinical trial in older people to further explore GlyNAC supplementation's effect on improving cognitive and brain health in aging. If the results continue to be as promising, GlyNAC supplementation could become a game-changer in the approach to cognitive decline in aging and the fight against conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
Furthermore, GlyNAC could potentially have a profound impact on the future management of other age-related diseases. Many chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers, have been linked to oxidative stress and inflammation. By bolstering the body's natural defenses, GlyNAC could help mitigate these risks, potentially improving overall health and longevity in the aging population.
In summary, these findings suggest that GlyNAC supplementation could be a straightforward and effective nutritional supplement to support brain health and GlyNAC supplementation could improve GSH deficiency, OxS, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and brain glucose uptake as mechanistic defects associated with and contributing to impaired cognition. The findings of this study lend credence to the belief that it's possible to improve and even reverse some aspects of cognitive decline in aging. As a result, GlyNAC supplementation warrants further investigation as a potent tool for promoting brain health and cognitive function in older adults. After all, understanding and potentially reversing mechanisms contributing to cognitive decline in aging are paramount, as the number of older adults worldwide continues to rise rapidly.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Antioxidants.
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