High Antioxidant Level May Slow Parkinson’s
After looking at some old data, researchers recently found evidence that high body fluid levels of the antioxidant urate may slow the progresive damage caused by Parkinson’s disease.
In a clinical trial to assess the impact of urate on Parkinson’s, funded by the Michale J. Fox Foundation, 90 people with Parkinons’s disease are being recruited to study whether or not regular intake of inosine, a dietary supplement that is a precursor of urate, slows the deterioration of nerves caused by Parkinson’s.
Initial results of the study are expected to be available in about two years while more definitive studies will take five years or longer to complete. Until then, the researchers suggest those with Parkinson’s disease should be very cautious because there are some safety concerns to be considered.
Some dangers associated with overdosing on a urate supplement include kidney stones and gout as well as an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Natural sources of urate are ones that people are often told to avoid and include fructose (a sugar that is blamed for an epidemic of obesity), alcohol and even smoking.
