EditorialOxidative Stress in Aging Brain: Nutritional and PharmacologicalInterventions for Neurodegenerative Disorders

Anna Maria Giudetti ,1 Michel Salzet,2 and Tommaso Cassano 3

1Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy2Inserm, U-1192 - Laboratoire Protéomique, Réponse Inflammatoire et Spectrométrie de Masse (PRISM), University of Lille,59000 Lille, France3Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71100 Foggia, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Anna Maria Giudetti; anna.giudetti@unisalento.it

Received 17 January 2018; Accepted 17 January 2018; Published 11 February 2018

Copyright © 2018 Anna Maria Giudetti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited.

A large and convincing body of evidence demonstrated thataging is characterized by a progressive decline in theefficiency of physiological functions due to the consequenceof free radical-induced damage to cellular macromolecules.Moreover, the age-dependent inability to counterbalancethese changes by endogenous antioxidant defenses canfurther contribute to the oxidative damages.

Many recent concepts of biology or medicine have under-lined the importance of nutrition for the maintenance of“physiological” changes during aging or insults stemmingfrom various degenerative diseases. The role of a balancednutrition to human health is now well documented in differ-ent fields such as neuroscience.

Epidemiological analysis of the relations between nutri-ent consumption and neurodegeneration is complex and itis highly unlikely that a single component might play a majorrole. In addition, since multiple factors across the humanlifespan might influence the brain function in adulthoodand in the elderly, multidomain interventions might be morepromising in the prevention of the neurodegeneration.

The interactions between lifestyle and brain health havebeen widely demonstrated, and recent studies have demon-strated the important role of antioxidants and vitamins inthe antiaging process and in neurodegenerative disorders,such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease(PD). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that caloricrestriction could increase the functional and maximallifespan, and accumulating evidence demonstrated that the

selection of appropriate whole foods or the addition ofantioxidants into the diet might be beneficial to increase thefunctional lifespan, if not the maximal lifespan. One couldthen argue that caloric selection may be as important ascaloric restriction.

Along this line, the current special issue provides appre-ciable evidence showing that nutritional and pharmacologi-cal interventions based on their antioxidant propertiesmight be particularly relevant for the onset and progressionof neurodegenerative disorders.

The present volume, at which contributed eminentscholars, includes 10 original research articles and wasorganized in the attempt to cover the whole field of the inter-relationship between oxidative stress, nutritional/pharmaco-logical interventions, and neurodegenerative disorders.

To this regard, an interestingly cross-sectional analysisconducted by L. K. Mischley and colleagues on 1053 individ-uals affected by idiopathic PD demonstrated that a reducedrate of PD progression is associated to the consumption ofdifferent foods, including fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, nutsand seeds, nonfried fish, olive oil, wine, coconut oil, freshherbs, and spices.

Studies have demonstrated that an altered argininemetabolism is involved in aging and neurodegenerativeprocesses. M. Mazlan and colleagues found a chemical- andregion-specific age-related alteration of L-arginine metabo-lism in the brain of old rats. Moreover, the authors reportedthat a three-month oral supplementation with vitamin E, in

HindawiOxidative Medicine and Cellular LongevityVolume 2018, Article ID 3416028, 2 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3416028

the form of a tocotrienol-rich fraction, had beneficial effectson memory and motor function in old rats. The authorssuggested that such effect was related to a reversion of age-associated changes in arginine metabolites in the entorhinalcortex and cerebellum.

Many efforts and resources have been spent in the lastyears to find new therapeutic strategies for the treatment ofneurodegenerative disorders. Since most of these disordershave oxidative and inflammatory components, studies aregeared in the finding of strategies to dampen these processes.

It is widely accepted that the main hallmarks of AD arenot only senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, but alsoreactive astrogliosis, which contributes to neuronal lossdepriving neurons of the homeostatic support. Palmitoy-lethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous fatty acid amide,belonging to the class of nuclear factor agonists. PEA hasbeen demonstrated to bind a nuclear receptor and to exerta great variety of biological functions. PEA has been shownto have anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, neuroprotective,and anticonvulsant properties. M. R. Bronzuoli and col-leagues found that PEA is able to dampen reactive astroglio-sis and to promote the glial neuro supportive function, thusfurnishing an alternative treatment approach for innovativetherapeutic strategy against AD.

The study by S. An and colleagues described in a mousemodel of AD the neuroprotective effects of myceliumpolysaccharides (AMPS) obtained from Armillaria mellea,an edible fungus. In particular, AMPS reduced the apoptosisrate, amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition, oxidative damage, andphospho-Tau aggregations in the hippocampus of a murinemodel of AD. Moreover, AMPS enhanced horizontal move-ments in an autonomic activity test, improved endurancetimes in a rotarod test, and decreased escape latency time ina water maze test.

In the study by A. N. Winter and colleagues, the authorsdemonstrated that a whey protein supplement significantlyprotects neurons against diverse inducers of oxidative stress,providing the cystine for the synthesis of the endogenousantioxidant glutathione (GSH). The effect of the supplementwas dependent on de novo GSH synthesis since the neuro-protection was blocked by the inhibition of γ-glutamyl-cyste-ine ligase, the first enzyme of the cellular eliminate GSHbiosynthetic pathway.

Furthermore, D. Vergara and colleagues reported thatresveratrol treatment led to a significant increase of GSHlevel and a reduction of GSSG/GSH ratio, as well as ofreduced free thiol content in fibroblasts from parkin-mutant early-onset PD patients.

P. Priore and colleagues reported that oleic acid (OA) andhydroxytyrosol (HTyr), two different components of extravirgin olive oil, could affect lipid synthesis in C6 glioma cells.In particular, OA and HTyr inhibited both de novo fatty acidand cholesterol synthesis without affecting cell viability.Interestingly, the effect on lipid synthesis was more pro-nounced when OA and HTyr were coadministered to cells,suggesting a synergistic effect.

In the study by Z. Hou and colleagues, an edible bird’snest (EBN), traditionally used for general well-being, wasused to improve the cognitive decline in ovariectomized rats

compared to estrogen-treated rats. The results indicated that12-week treatment with EBN was able to improve learningand memory in ovariectomized female rats without inducingliver toxicity, a side effect observed in the estrogen-treatedgroup. The latter results suggest that EBN might be an effec-tive alternative to estrogen therapy for menopause-inducedaging-related memory loss.

It should be considered that the chronic use of drugs,approved to alleviate the symptoms of several neurodegener-ative diseases, is often associated with debilitating side effects.Moreover, none of these drugs seems to stop the progressionof the degenerative process. In keeping with this, the findingof new natural molecules useful for the treatment/preven-tions of neurodegenerative disorders acquires considerablesignificance. From this special issue, it appears evident thatmany studies are devoted to the finding of natural moleculesdirected at improving the symptoms of neurodegenerativediseases. In conclusion, the articles in this special issue offertantalizing hints at the potential for new prevention strategiesand treatments for people with neurodegenerative diseases,encompassing a wide variety of techniques and methods.We hope that these studies will inspire new and useful ideasto fill the gaps that remain in this critical area.

Anna Maria GiudettiMichel Salzet

Tommaso Cassano

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