Another reason to watch your carb intake

clipped from www.physorg.com The accumulation of sugar in neurons may explain the origin of several neurodegenerative diseases phenomenon considered healthy for cells, such as the accumulation of long chains of glucose (glycogen), which tissues store for energy purposes, is harmful for neurons. The researchers made the discovery while studying Lafora disease, a rare pathology that causes irreversible neurodegeneration in adolescents and for which no treatment is available The study describes the function of laforin and malin, explains the origin of Lafora bodies and identifies how the neurodegenerative process of this disease arises. “We have observed that laforin and malin act jointly as “guardians” of glycogen levels in neurons and are stimulated by the degradation of the proteins responsible for glucose accumulation. In a situation in which either of the two genes loses its function, these proteins are not degraded, glycogen accumulates and thus neurons deteriorate and cell suicide (apoptosis) ensues.

Unfortunately, besides hypoglycemia and diabetes, sugar seems to be a culprit in several neurological disorders.