Science & Technology Singapore (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers across the world are recognizing the important role biomarkers can play as indicators of disease and predicting the possibilities of diseases occurring.
Predicting elderly persons who face the risk of forming cognitive impairment and dementia by monitoring the levels of ergothioneine in the blood, could become a possibility.
New research by a team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National University Health System (NUHS) demonstrated that low amounts of ergothioneine (ET) in blood plasma could forecast a higher risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, that could pave the way for therapeutic or early screening possibilities for cognitive impairment and dementia for the elderly.
The study teams were led by Professor Barry Halliwell from the Department of Biochemistry under the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine together with Associate Professor Christopher Chen and Dr Mitchell Lai that were with the Memory, Ageing and Cognition Centre under NUHS.
ET is a unique diet-derived compound found over 100 years ago by Charles Tanret. However, it was only in 2005 when researchers observed a transporter specific for ET permitting the uptake and accumulation of ET in the body.
Professor Halliwell and his researchers indicated that ET is fervently retained in the body after oral supplements, as well as preclinical models, ET is taken to just about every organ, although elevated levels are seen in specific cells and tissues like the blood cells, eyes, liver, lungs, and even the brain.
Earlier work by Prof Halliwell showed the potent antioxidant features of ET and later that it can protect cells from a range of various forms of stress and toxins. As its primary dietary source is mushrooms, it was noted that consuming more mushrooms like golden, oyster, shiitake and white button mushrooms was linked to a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment among elderly Singaporeans. Kidney beans and black beans are also a good source of ET.
A 2016 study by Prof Halliwell’s researchers demonstrated reduced ET levels in blood plasma among participants with mild cognitive impairment, which was confirmed in a much bigger group of cognitively impaired participants with and without dementia, in partnership with Dr Lai and Assoc Professor Chen. The findings of the study appeared in Free Radical Biology and Medicine back in 2021.
But, evidence to if a reduced level of ET in blood plasma can predict the advance of cognitive impairment and dementia was not known.
The most recent research by the NUS-NUHS study team bridged these gaps in ET research by revealing the possibility of ET as a predictive biomarker for cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly Singaporeans.
The most recent study published in August 2022, had the researchers recruit 470 elderly patients and monitored them up to 5 years at the Memory, Aging and Cognition Centre. The researchers took measurements of the ET amount in the blood plasma of the participants and monitored their cognitive and functional abilities at various time points. They then evaluated the connection between reduced ET levels and the risk of cognitive and functional loss over time.
“Before this study, there was little evidence that ET levels in the blood can predict the risk of developing cognitive issues. The current study is significant because it measured the ET levels of elderly participants before developing dementia. Our findings demonstrate that if your ET levels are low, your risk of developing cognitive problems increases,” explained Professor Halliwell.
Researchers demonstrated that participants with reduced levels of ET had poorer cognitive performance at the beginning of the study and an increased rate of reduction in cognitive and functional abilities over the monitoring period.
“If the deficiency in ET is leading to an increased risk of cognitive decline, then we would have the potential to intervene, and that is what we are trying to find out by undertaking this clinical trial,” added Dr Irwin Cheah, Senior Research Fellow from the NUS Department of Biochemistry.
