- NAA in brain indicates brain cell death
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- Good Morning,
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- This materail refers AGAIN to aspartate, and usage in
testing brain cell death. This is PROOOF that aspartic acid IS damaging,
as Dr.Bruce Trapp's work confirmed in the New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) in 1998.
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- "The amount of NAA [N-acetyl aspartate] in the brain
can give a good indication of how many brain cells have been lost. That's
because as brain cells die, NAA levels decrease." Surely, PhD-qualifying
research!
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- WBNAA - A New Diagnostic Technique For MS
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- In yet another breakthrough in MS diagnosis-following
reports earlier this year of new blood tests that can detect MS and predict
its progression as well as new evidence that MRIs can reliably diagnose
the disease prior to a second relapse-researchers from New York University
recently unveiled another novel method of identifying and assessing MS.
By testing for a brain chemical called N-acetylaspartate (NAA), they found
that they could not only detect MS early, but they could also gauge the
severity of the disease. Dubbed whole brain N-acetylaspartate, or WBNAA,
the new technique is performed during a magnetic resonance spectroscopy
scan.
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- Although this study requires corroboration, and a revision
of diagnostic and therapeutic protocol based on this and other recent research
remains to be seen, the results provide even greater hope that earlier
diagnosis and prompt treatment of MS may soon be truly possible, even before
recurring symptoms are present. Should novel techniques such as blood tests
and WBNAA become commercially available, and MRI results be seen to hold
new predictive value, the days of requiring two distinct neurological episodes
before a definite diagnosis can be rendered may soon be a thing of the
past.
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- Principal investigator Dr. Oded Gonen and colleagues
studied 42 MS patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)
with an average patient age of 38 and median Expanded Disability Status
Score (EDSS) of 1.5. They found that declining levels of NAA correlated
with disease duration, and that the amount of NAA in the brain can give
a good indication of how many brain cells have been lost. That's because
as brain cells die, NAA levels decrease. Thus unlike other diagnostic methods
that can only confirm the presence of MS, this new technique can also evaluate
how far the disease has progressed and provide a measure of severity.
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- Dr. Gonen presented the results at the 89th Scientific
Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America
(RSNA) last week in Chicago. At a press conference, he told reporters,
"WBNAA measures the amount of a chemical that is exclusive to brain
cells. MS is a progressive brain disorder that leads to having less and
less of the chemical in the brain, and the deficit is proportional to the
severity of the disease, as is the rate of the loss of the chemical."
He also suggested that WBNAA results may help physicians determine what
type of treatment might be best for their patients. "We're trying
to customize the type of treatment and dose to the severity of disease."
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- Back to the Top
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- ...to your important questions.
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- Is Depression A Side Effect?
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- Depression is common in patients with MS, which prompts
the question: is it a symptom, or could it be a side effect of the ABCR
drugs? Thanks to a new study published in the December 1st issue of Multiple
Sclerosis, we may have finally cleared up the matter. (1)
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- Researchers from the University of Calgary evaluated
163 Canadian patients with MS who are currently taking one of the four
ABCR drugs (Avonex®, Betaseron®, Copaxone®, or Rebif®)
to combat the disease. To investigate any correlation between the type
of treatment and depression, they examined whether the patients' depression
scores (on a standardized depression rating scale) or the frequency of
depression varied depending on the particular drug prescribed. Upon analysis,
there was no difference between the various treatment groups.
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- The investigators concluded, "The failure to identify
higher rates of depression both in previous intervention studies and the
current observational study provides confirmation that these drugs are
not substantially associated with the occurrence of depression." So
while depression remains for many patients a troublesome component of MS,
patients and physicians need not hesitate to use ABCR drugs based on concerns
of causing or exacerbating depression.
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- 1. Patten SB et al. Depressive symptoms in a treated
multiple sclerosis cohort. Mult Scler 2003 Dec;9(6):616-20.
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