Gold nanocrystals may have a potentially positive effect on Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, according to a new trial published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.
“We are still cautious, but we believe that this strategy may one day allow us to prevent or even reverse some neurological disabilities.” Dr. Peter O’Donnell Jr., professor of neurology at the Brain Institute and researcher. Peter Sgugna said.
To work, the brain called coenzymes “Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD)” which exists in two forms: an oxidized form (NAD+) and a reduced form (NADH). In a patient suffering from multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, the “fuel” The brain deteriorates faster over time than in healthy people. To prevent this phenomenon, scientists decided to test gold nanocrystals.
Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis: gold nanocrystals ingested for 3 months
Concretely, 24 patients were recruited for this purpose. 11 patients with multiple sclerosis were enrolled in a trial called REPAIR-MS, and 13 patients with Parkinson’s disease were enrolled in another trial called REPAIR-PD. After scans to assess their NAD+/NADH ratio and other indicators of brain energy metabolism, they all drank daily doses of gold nanocrystals for 12 weeks.
By the end of the trial, participants had an average 10.4% increase in the activity of both forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH) in their brains, providing evidence that the treatment’s effect had been reduced.
Parkinson’s patients also reported improvements in some motor symptoms, suggesting that gold nanocrystals may have a real impact on their quality of life. These data regarding multiple sclerosis are still being evaluated.
None of the participants reported serious side effects.
Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis: since when have gold nanoparticles been used?
Used in the medical world since the 1990s, gold nanoparticles contain several million gold atoms forming an assembly that varies in size from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm).
In France, 272,500 people suffer from Parkinson’s disease and 110,000 suffer from multiple sclerosis. These two diseases, as they progress, are extremely disabling.
