Miguel Pappolla MD
A new study from scientists in the United States and Germany has found that a naturally existing substance, IPAM (indolepropionamide)
Leading the study were Dr. Miguel Pappolla from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and Dr. Burkhard Poeggeler from the University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany. Their groups of scientists examined the life span of rotifers (an animal model of aging) and the survival of cells to injury. IPAM caused a dramatic extension of life span beyond any other thus far described substance. This property was accompanied by powerful protection against various forms of injury to cells and tissues.
These effects, says Pappolla, appear due to a powerful enhancement in the function of mitochondria, the cells’ energy factories, and by a concomitant reduction in the production of toxic free-radicals by cells (free-radicals are damaging substances believed to accelerate aging and increase cancer risk). The properties of this novel substance, which are far superior to other known anti-oxidants and tissue protective agents, resides its peculiar molecular structure and its ability to neutralize free radicals through a unique mechanism called electron donation. Dr. Poeggeler, from the University of Luebeck and a former scientist at the Max Planck Institutes in Germany indicated that mithocondria are the main sources of toxic free-radicals in cells and tissues and treatment with IPAM markedly reduces their production.
The importance of this discovery, reports Dr. George Perry, Dean and Professor at the University of Texas-San Antonio and a participant of this study, is that the use of free radical scavengers to delay aging and prevent disease has so far been dissapointing, in part due to the production of pro-oxidant metabolites by many antioxidants while neutralizing free-radicals, which counteract their potentially beneficial effects. In contrast, IPAM does not produce these metabolites and offers hope to achive improved therapeutic outcomes. In addition, IPAM readily penetrates tissues and biological barriers with ease, as opposed to many other known substances. This substance, Dr. Perry says, may find therapeutic applications in Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury and several other medical conditions.
The study has been funded by the Alzheimer’s Association (USA), the National Institutes of Health (USA) and the German Research Foundation. For more information about this study and its findings, contact Miguel Pappolla, MD, PhD.
Contact:
Miguel Pappolla, MD, PhD.
228-219-7246
DrP@stmichaelclinics.com
www.SMPSclinic.com
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
