X-Message-Number: 20855
From: Rafal Smigrodzki <>
Subject: RE: CryoNet #20832 - #20846
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 15:56:34 -0500

> From: James Swayze <>

> ---------------------
> On another note I found the following after my brother insisted my
> occasional diet mountain dew was destroying my brain.
>
> [begin quote]
> Russell L. Blaylock, M.D., a board certified neurosurgeon, says in
> his book The Taste That Kills that exposure to excitoxins such as
> aspartame, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and MSG will damage nerve
> cells in the brain.
>
> Here are a few excerpts from his book:
>
> So what are "excitotoxins"? Basically, they are a group of compounds
> that can cause special neurons within the nervous system to become
> overexcited to the point that these cells will die. That's right,
> they are excited to death. Excitotoxins include such things as
> monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartate (a main ingredient in
> NutraSweet), L-cysteine (found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein) and
> related compounds.

### The substances mentioned here are not excitotoxins, if given orally.
Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter involved in excitotoxicity, but
has not AFAIK been proven to cross the blood-brain barrier enough to produce
central effects after an oral load. Same with aspartate - it's a normal
constituent of the serum and CSF, I do not know about any serious research
linking its increased intake in Nutrasweet to excitotoxicity.

---------

>
> What makes this all the more intriguing is that "excitotoxins" appear
> to play a key role in degenerative nervous system diseases such as
> Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's, ALS (Lou
> Gehrig's disease) and many others.

### Total baloney. I happen to be a movement disorders fellow at the UVa in
Charlottesville, and in all my studies have never heard about any serious
research to this effect, although before the genes for HD and others were
found, all kinds of hypotheses were thrown around.

------------

>
> But the story doesn't stop there. It appears that an imbalance of
> these excitotoxins during critical periods of brain development can
> result in an abnormal formation of brain pathways; that is, a
> "miswiring of the brain." This may lead to serious disorders such as
> behavioral problems (hyperactivity, aggression, attention deficit
> disorders, learning disorders, poor learning ability, and ADD)-and a
> lifetime of endocrine problems such as menstrual difficulties,
> infertility, and premature puberty.[end quote]

### Again, studying for the Psychiatry Boards, I never found any serious
claims about the above.

All in all, looks like a bunch of hysterical hyped-up non-science.

Rafal

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