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Supplements That Help Motor Neuron Brain Cells

Motor neurons are nerve cells located in the central nervous system, which send impulses from the brain to muscles for either voluntary or involuntary actions. Damage to motor neurons results in possible muscle degeneration diseases, such as progressive bulbar palsy, which affects mainly muscles of the face; progressive muscular atrophy, which affects muscles of the arms and legs; or Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as motor neuron disease, which affects all muscles.

  1. Vitamin E

    • Vitamin E mops up free radicals

      Motor neurons are metabolically active cells, which produce waste products known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS include hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl free radicals and nitric oxide. If ROS are not quickly removed from the cells by specific enzymes designed for that job, cellular injury occurs, which is thought to be one of the causes behind muscle degeneration diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease, according to "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America."

      Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) can directly neutralize hydroxyl free radicals, and it has been implicated as an ideal candidate for neuroprotection. In horses and dogs, a deficiency of vitamin E has been linked to Lou Gehrig's disease. Furthermore, according to the journal "Nutrition," rats fed a vitamin E-deficient diet had irregularly shaped motor neurons and less type II muscle fibers. According to "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America," human studies have been less convincing in favor of vitamin E, with motor neuron-diseased patients showing no vitamin E deficiency.

    Vitamins

    • B vitamins reduce homocysteine levels.

      Vitamin B12 and folic acid have been shown to inhibit the expression of nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme that catalyses the production of the ROS nitric oxide. In a study on mice with Lou Gehrig's disease, this increased life span and reduced motor neuron loss, according to "Neuropharmacology."

    Zinc

    • Zinc is important for the functioning of the enzyme copper-zinc superoxide dismutase 1, which is responsible for mopping up those dangerous ROS that are the metabolic waste products of motor neurons. In Lou Gehrig's disease, this enzyme has an impaired ability to bind zinc, and this is thought to be one of the reasons for the enzyme's failure to function, according to "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America." According to one study published in "Neuroscience Letters," oral intake of zinc sulphate induces the expression of the enzyme (called metallothionein) that mops up free ROS, thereby facilitating antioxidant function.

    Melatonin

    • Melatonin displays many antioxidant activities, including activating glutathione peroxidise, an enzyme that protects cells from ROS damage by converting hydrogen peroxide to water. Melatonin also inhibits nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme that produces the ROS nitric oxide, reports the "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America."

    Coenzyme Q10

    • Coenzyme Q10 is a potent free-radical scavenger.

      Coenzyme Q10 has been shown to be a potent free-radical scavenger in mitochondrion, thereby exerting neuroprotective effects. The "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America" reports that mitochondrion exist in all cells and generate most of the cell's supply of energy, and are thus responsible for producing most of the cells ROS.

    L-Carnitine

    • L-carnitine has been shown to inhibit mitochondrial damage and nerve cell death. In mice with Lou Gehrig's disease, early oral administration of L-carnitine significantly delayed the onset of neuromuscular degeneration and increased the life span of the mice, as reported in "Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America."

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