Iron and dopamine: a toxic couple

[Kia17]

Iron accumulation is a cardinal feature of degenerating regions in the Parkinson’s disease brain. As a potent pro-oxidant, redox-active iron may be a key player in upstream mechanisms that precipitate cell death in this disorder. Although an elevation in brain iron levels is a normal feature of ageing, the increase is greater in Parkinson’s disease; on the other hand, the effects of the disease are most marked in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system.

academic.oup.com/brain/arti...

[Jumex2017]

Is there any way of lessening the iron accumulation?

[CaseyInsights in reply to Jumex2017]

You may find some info here in relation your query

hemochromatosishelp.com/hem...

[pvw2]

Chelatiing an essential element such as iron seems like a dangerous process.

[Kia17]

Although iron accumulates in a number of brain nuclei affected by the Parkinson’s disease process, as evidenced by the accumulation of characteristic α-synuclein pathology, not all of these regions suffer neuronal loss ( McCann et al. , 2015 ). This suggests that additional factors are involved in iron being pathological. The end-stage product of dopamine metabolism in the SNc is neuromelanin, produced by a process that involves the conversion of dopamine to o -quinones ( Zucca et al. , 2015 ). These quinones also have the capacity to form neurotoxic intermediates in iron-facilitated reactions. We propose that a key distinguishing factor in the progressive degeneration of the SNc in Parkinson’s disease is the interaction between iron and dopamine, producing neurotoxic intermediate or end-products that are specific to this vulnerable brain region.

[Kia17]

Dopamine (DA) and its metabolites containing two hydroxyl residues exert cytotoxicity in dopaminergic neuronal cells, primarily due to the generation of highly reactive DA and DOPA quinones. Quinone formation is closely linked to other representative hypotheses such as mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. Therefore, pathogenic effects of the DA quinone have focused on dopaminergic neuron-specific oxidative stress. Recently, various studies have demonstrated that some intrinsic molecules and several drugs exert protective effects against DA quinone-induced damage of dopaminergic neurons.

[Kia17]

Dopamine Oxidation and Autophagy

hindawi.com/journals/pd/201...

[ddmagee1]

I have PD, and have to take iron supplements because of Anemia. So, it doesn’t sound like the iron helps my PD stay more mild, rather than progressing! I’ll discuss this with my Dr. next time I see him!

[MarionP in reply to ddmagee1]

So is there a connection between ingested iron and neural quinones? You're always going to have iron in your blood or you can't survive.

[Kia17 in reply to MarionP]

I don’t really know but learned that Iron can contribute to creation of Quinones.

[Healthynotwealthy]

Have a look into The Root Cause Protocol by Morley. The protocol is based on iron reduction.

[S70AWD]

I was told that donating blood regularly would help.

[fondrees in reply to S70AWD]

Donating blood definately reduces iron load.it also reduces your risk of heart attack or stroke. Even after just one donation, but two donations is better, after that???