What is the connection between urinating and Alzheimer’s disease? According to a recent study, the same mechanism that makes us urinate may also be to responsible for dementia patients’ worsening memory loss.
Researchers find a connection between the urea cycle and AD.
Researchers in South Korea have found a connection between the body’s urea cycle and a collection of cells that remove toxic plaques from the brain. Up until now, experts thought that amyloid-beta protein misfolding caused blockages in the brain that eventually caused Alzheimer’s and the death of cells. The relationship between the development of dangerous plaques and Alzheimer’s signs, like memory loss, has never been fully understood.
Finally, a group from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered the solution. The current research expands on a study they conducted in 2020 that discovered astrocytes have a significant role in AD and its progression. These brain’s star-shaped cells control blood flow, deliver mitochondria to nerves, and provide the raw materials for neurotransmitters. They also remove debris, which ironically contributes to the issue.
Researchers find the origin of Alzheimer’s disease.
The IBS team discovered the crucial link they were searching for when they looked at alterations in the astrocytes’ biological pathways: the brain’s transformation of amyloid-beta protein to urea.
The urea cycle is a crucial physiological mechanism that transforms hazardous waste (such as ammonia) into benign waste across the body (urea). While hazardous chemicals like ammonia, the body cannot eliminate which are produced during protein digestion, they can be converted to urea and eliminated through the kidneys as urine.
Researchers have previously shown greater urea levels in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers. The South Korean researchers pondered whether the beginning of dementia was influenced by the urea cycle in light of this.
According to their research, the urea cycle is “turned on” in the astrocytes of Alzheimer’s afflicted brains. According to the authors of the study, the hazardous amyloid-beta clumps are being eliminated by the cells and converted into urea. Also, turning urea cycles in brain cells leads to ornithine production that requires to be cleaned.
