“We recently synthesized a pyrazole derivative of curcumin called CNB-001 that enhances the activity of Ca2+/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Since CaMKII plays a central role in long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory, it was asked if CNB-001 can facilitate the induction of LTP in rat hippocampal slices and enhance memory in a rat object recognition test. It is shown that CNB-001 enhances both LTP and memory”
“Hericium erinaceus was used in traditional Chinese medicine for physiologically beneficial medicines. Recently, it has become a candidate in causing positive brain health-related activities. We previously reported that Hericium erinaceus mycelium ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related pathologies.”
“These results showed that, even at the lowest dose of hydromethylthionine previously tested in two Phase 3 global clinical trials (8 mg/day), the drug produced concentration-dependent effects on cognitive decline and brain atrophy.”
Three new natural products, corallocins A–C (1–3), along with two known compounds were isolated from the mushroom Hericium coralloides. Their benzofuranone and isoindolinone structures were elucidated by spectral methods. All corallocins induced nerve growth factor and/or brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in human 1321N1 astrocytes. Furthermore, corallocin B showed antiproliferative activity against HUVEC and human cancer cell lines MCF-7 and KB-3-1.”
“The culinary and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus is widely consumed in Asian countries, but apparently not in the United States, for its nutritional and health benefits. To stimulate broader interest in the reported beneficial properties, this overview surveys and consolidates the widely scattered literature on the chemistry (isolation and structural characterization) of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites such as erinacines, hericerins, hericenones, resorcinols, steroids, mono- and diterpenes, and volatile aroma compounds, nutritional composition, food and industrial uses, and exceptional nutritional and health-promoting aspects of H. erinaceus. The reported health-promoting properties of the mushroom fruit bodies, mycelia, and bioactive pure compounds include antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antifatigue, antihypertensive, antihyperlipodemic, antisenescence, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective properties and improvement of anxiety, cognitive function, and depression. The described anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunostimulating properties in cells, animals, and humans seem to be responsible for the multiple health-promoting properties. A wide range of research advances and techniques are described and evaluated. The collated information and suggestion for further research might facilitate and guide further studies to optimize the use of the whole mushrooms and about 70 characterized actual and potential bioactive secondary metabolites to help prevent or treat human chronic, cognitive, and neurological diseases.”
Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (PMT, Polygonaceae family, Figure 1)), well known as He shou wu in China and Fo-ti in North America,[5] is one of the most popular perennial Chinese traditional medicinal vine-like herbs, officially listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.[6] Various parts of the plants were utilized for different medicinal purposes. The leaves [Figure 2a], root tuber [Figure 2b] and rhizomes [Figure 2c] of this plant have been used as tonic and anti-aging agents[7,8,9,10,11,12] whereas the stem [Figure 2d] is used to alleviate insomnia and even to have an antidiabetic therapeutic activity as well.[13,14,15]
Figure 1
Polygonum multiflorum Thunb
Figure 2
Photos of (a) leaves, (b) tuber roots, (c) underground rhizomes and (d) stem from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb
Laboratory studies and clinical practice have demonstrated that PMT possesses various biological and therapeutic actions, including anti-tumor,[16,17] antibacterial,[18] anti-inflammatory,[13] anti-oxidant,[19,20,21] anti-HIV,[22] liver protection,[23,24] nephroprotection,[25] antidiabetic,[15,26] anti-alopecia,[27,28] and anti-atherosclerotic activities.[29,30] It has been also reported to exert preventive activity against neurodegenerative diseases,[31,32,33,34,35] cardiovascular diseases and to reduce hyperlipidemia as well.[36,37]
University of California, Irvine biologists blazing new approaches to studying Alzheimer’s have made a major finding on combating inflammation linked to the disease. The School of Biological Sciences researchers’ discovery about the role of a protein called TOM-1 heralds a shift toward examining the molecular underpinnings of Alzheimer’s processes. Their paper has just been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Allen Institute today released its first—and the world’s largest—dataset of electrical brain activity gathered using Neuropixels, a new high-resolution silicon probe that can read out activity from hundreds of neurons simultaneously. These data capture billions of lightning-fast spikes of electrical communication sparked from nearly 100,000 neurons as laboratory mice see and respond to images and short movies.
In a new study, UC San Francisco scientists used maps of brain connections to predict how brain atrophy would spread in individual patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), adding to growing evidence that the loss of brain cells associated with dementia spreads via the synaptic connections between established brain networks. The results advance scientists’ knowledge of how neurodegeneration spreads and could lead to new clinical tools to evaluate how well novel treatments slow or block the predicted trajectory of these diseases.
Today is national R U OK day. One of the big objectives of sharing this information on this blog is to help people be healthier and live longer, happier lives.
Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family if they are OK and don’t be afraid to listen.
You don’t have to know the answers or even what to say back, just listen. Be there for your loved ones to vent and vocalise internal thoughts.
What are some things that can help with depression and anxiety?
Bananas are high in tryptophan, this is a seratonin support amino-acid as well as for melatonin.
Vitamin B3 or nicotonimide has also been shown to help with depression and anxiety.
On top of that, a healthy diet and keeping active are also helpful.
“A “double-blind randomized interventional studyprovide[d] first-time evidence that [extra long-chain omega-3s] exert positive effects on brain functions in healthy older adults,†a significant improvement in executive function after six and a half months of supplementation, and significantly less brain shrinkage compared to placebo.”
I’ve personally had this theory on my spiritual self for a while now. I’ve always thought that all this energy that we generate cannot just stop, it has to change form and continue. That’s physics.
Now we have this theory presented for your consideration.
Consumption of coffee is associated with reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD), an effect that has largely been attributed to caffeine. However, coffee contains numerous components that may also be neuroprotective. One of these compounds is eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide (EHT), which ameliorates the phenotype of α-synuclein transgenic mice associated with decreased protein aggregation and phosphorylation, improved neuronal integrity and reduced neuroinflammation. Here, we sought to investigate if EHT has an effect in the MPTP model of PD. Mice fed a diet containing EHT for four weeks exhibited dose-dependent preservation of nigral dopaminergic neurons following MPTP challenge compared to animals given control feed. Reductions in striatal dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase content were also less pronounced with EHT treatment. The neuroinflammatory response to MPTP was markedly attenuated, and indices of oxidative stress and JNK activation were significantly prevented with EHT. In cultured primary microglia and astrocytes, EHT had a direct anti-inflammatory effect demonstrated by repression of lipopolysaccharide-induced NFκB activation, iNOS induction, and nitric oxide production. EHT also exhibited a robust anti-oxidant activity in vitro. Additionally, in SH-SY5Y cells, MPP(+)-induced demethylation of phosphoprotein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), the master regulator of the cellular phosphoregulatory network, and cytotoxicity were ameliorated by EHT. These findings indicate that the neuroprotective effect of EHT against MPTP is through several mechanisms including its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities as well as its ability to modulate the methylation and hence activity of PP2A. Our data, therefore, reveal a strong beneficial effect of a novel component of coffee in multiple endpoints relevant to PD.
In tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the molecular mechanisms of tau protein aggregation into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and their contribution to neurodegeneration remain not understood. It was recently demonstrated that tau, regardless of its aggregation, might represent a key mediator of neurodegeneration. Therefore, reduction of tau levels might represent a mechanism of neuroprotection. Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) and protein phosphatase-2A (PP2A) are key enzymes involved in the regulation of tau phosphorylation, and have been suggested to be involved in the abnormal tau phosphorylation and aggregation in AD. Connections between PP2A and GSK3beta signaling have been reported. We have previously demonstrated that exposure of cultured cortical neurons to lithium decreased tau protein expression and provided neuroprotection against Abeta. Since lithium is not a specific inhibitor of GSK3beta (ID50=2.0 mM), whether or not the lithium-induced tau decrease involves GSK3beta remained to be determined. For that purpose, cultured cortical neurons were exposed to 6-bromo-indirubin-3′-oxime (6-BIO), a more selective and potent GSK3beta inhibitor (ID50=1.5 microM) or to lithium. Analysis of tau levels and phosphorylation by western-blot assays showed that lithium and 6-BIO dose-dependently decreased both tau protein levels and tau phosphorylation. Conversely, inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK5) by roscovitine decreased phosphorylated tau but failed to alter tau protein levels. These data indicate that GSK3beta might be selectively involved in the regulation of tau protein levels. Moreover, inhibition of PP2A by okadaic acid, but not that of PP2B (protein phosphatase-2B)/calcineurin by FK506, dose-dependently reversed lithium-induced tau decrease. These data indicate that GSK3beta regulates both tau phosphorylation and total tau levels through PP2A.
A minor component of coffee unrelated to caffeine, eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide (EHT), provides protection in a rat model for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this model, viral expression of the phosphoprotein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) endogenous inhibitor, the I2(PP2A), or SET protein in the brains of rats leads to several characteristic features of AD including cognitive impairment, tau hyperphosphorylation, and elevated levels of cytoplasmic amyloid-β protein. Dietary supplementation with EHT for 6-12 months resulted in substantial amelioration of all these defects. The beneficial effects of EHT could be associated with its ability to increase PP2A activity by inhibiting the demethylation of its catalytic subunit PP2Ac. These findings raise the possibility that EHT may make a substantial contribution to the apparent neuroprotective benefits associated with coffee consumption as evidenced by numerous epidemiologic studies indicating that coffee drinkers have substantially lowered risk of developing AD.
In today podcast Jeff, Matt and Steve delve straight back into gut health and its relationship to the brain, your immune systems and hormone production specifically Serotonin. Steve breaks out some new research showing the impact of serotonin in the gut and its affects on ADHD and Parkinson’s. While Matt shares some information on polyphenols and the results of his new gut product prototype. The boys answer some FAQ’s on Hirsutism, and PCOS, Banana rolls which are the rolls under the bum of a bikini competitor and her battle with cellulite, Glucose disposal agents and a sufferer from a chronic allergic reaction As always this information is not designed to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any condition and is for information purposes only – please discuss any information in this podcast with you health care professional before making any changes to your current lifestyle
