PLT Test Blog

Today’s post is about further refining antioxidant therapy. As we saw in a recent post, oxidative and nitrosative stress is a very common feature of autism and is treatable with OTC products. The cheapest antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), looks to be the best one, but there are numerous others with exotic names and equally   exotic prices. Today we just look at selenium and molybdenum.   Selenium was on my to-do list for a long time because it affects some key enzymes call GP X (glutathione peroxodases). Molybdenum was enthusiastically recommended in a recent comment and this blog has previously touched on Molybdenum Cofactor Sulfurase (MOCOS). Rather surprisingly, there is a commercial product that contains NAC, Selenium and Molybdenum.   Selenium and GP X (glutathione peroxodases) There are eight different glutathione peroxodases , but GPx1 , GPx2 , GPx3, and GPx4 are all made from selenium. GP X speeds up the antioxidant reactions that involve glutathione (...

In this example of Brain Injury, developing oligodendrocytes are injured and killed by substances released from activated microglia , including nitric oxide and superoxide, which form peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite has been found to kill these cells through the activation of the 12-lipoxygenase pathway for metabolizing arachidonic acid. Mitochondria may be involved in this pathway as a source of reactive oxygen species. Much has been written in this blog about oxidative stress, which has now been extremely well researched in autism and more generally. Let’s recap oxidative stress. The most knowledgeable researcher in this area is Abha Chauhan.   Based on her research and that of others we now know a great deal.   Recall that the body’s key antioxidant is called glutathione (GSH) and when it neutralizes a free radical GSH is converted to its oxidized form, glutathione disulfide (GSSG).   A good measure of oxidative stress is the ratio of  GSH/GSSG. ·    ...