Instead of stopping to smell the flowers, stop and smell your farts, scientists suggest.
While the thought might be enough to make you queasy, scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say the gas behind that foul, rotten egg smell, hydrogen sulfide, could help protect aging brain cells from Alzheimer’s disease.
Johns Hopkins University researchers report in a study published in the journal Science that while large amounts of the stink are highly toxic, smaller doses may offer some serious health benefits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Our new data closely links aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and cell signaling within cells using hydrogen sulfide and other gas molecules,” said Bindu Paul, Ph.D., lead scientist on the study.
The human body naturally produces small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, which helps regulate the functions of the entire body. These gases facilitate the transfer of messages between cells and the brain.
Scientists suggest that smelling the rotten egg smell that often accompanies bloating may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Co-author Solomon Snyder, Ph.D., said hydrogen sulfide modifies target proteins through a process called chemical sulfuration.
Scientists say sulfation levels in the brain decrease with age, noting that this trend is more common in Alzheimer’s patients.
“Here, using the same approach, we now confirm that hydrosulfide is reduced in the AD brain,” said co-author Dr. Milos Filipovic.
As part of the study, scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine looked at mice that had been genetically modified to mimic Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
The mice were injected with a hydrogen sulfide-carrying compound called NaGYY, which slowly releases hydrogen sulfide molecules throughout the body. The researchers tested changes in the mice’s memory and motor function over 12 weeks.
Behavioral tests on mice showed that hydrogen sulfide improved cognitive and motor function by 50% compared with mice that did not receive the injection.
The treated mice were better able to remember the location of the platform edits and showed more physical activity than untreated mice that mimicked Alzheimer’s disease.
“The results suggest that the behavioral consequences of Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed by introducing hydrogen sulfide, but the researchers wanted to study how the brain reacts chemically with the gas molecules,” Johns Hopkins Medicine wrote in a press release about the study.
Scientists say sulfation levels in the brain decrease with age, noting that this trend is more common in people with Alzheimer’s disease (Getty/iStock)
A series of experiments revealed changes in a common enzyme called glycogen synthase beta (GSK3β). When hydrogen sulfide is at healthy levels, GSK3β acts as a signaling molecule.
The researchers found that in the absence of hydrogen sulfide, GSK3β was overly attracted to another protein in the brain called Tau.
When GSK3β and Tau interact, Tau forms clumps within nerve cells. As these clumps grow, the tangled proteins block communication between nerves, eventually leading to nerve death, the researchers said.
“This can lead to the deterioration and eventual loss of cognitive, memory and motor functions that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease,” the release said.
“Understanding the cascade of events is important for designing therapies that can block this interaction like hydrogen sulfide does,” said PhD student Daniel Giovinazzo, first author of the study.
Until a few years ago, researchers lacked the tools to model how the human body produces small amounts of hydrogen sulfide within cells.
“The compounds used in this study do exactly that and show that by correcting hydrogen sulfide levels in the brain, we can successfully reverse some aspects of Alzheimer’s disease,” said co-author Matt Whiteman, Ph.D.
