Brain Degeneration Ain’t All That It’s Cracked Up To Be
How does the human brain even get inflamed in the first place?
Our brains contain approximately 86 billion neuron cells that are used in storing and processing information.
As cells are living organisms, they have a finite lifespan for functioning and reproducing, and then they are condemned to the scrap heap for elimination and recycling via autophagy. This is part of the normal cell life cycle.
If every human cell were to behave as they were programmed to behave, there would be no issues with degeneration diseases. However, in neurodegenerative issues such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, which are common among the elderly, we do notice that the brain loses its capability to function at the same capacity as they age.
One of the central tenets of brain cell survivability is the concept of inflammation. When the brain gets inflamed, brain cells are programmed to commit apoptosis (suicide) prematurely, resulting in a loss of brain capacity and activity.
But what is going on in the brain at that time?
Before we go into what goes on, we first have to understand the concept of inflammation.
Inflammation is the immune system’s signalling response to any threat or damage to the body. The immune cells in the body release a host of biochemical molecules (known as cytokines), which act as stimulators and signallers.
Imagine you fell down and sprained your ankle one day. The injured ankle would feel:
- Uncomfortable.
- Warm.
- Swelling.
- A loss of functional capability (the ankle cannot move as well as it ought to).
All these are classic symptoms of acute inflammation. The cytokine concentrations in your blood at that localised region of injury skyrockets to signal the immune cells to rush there and commence repairs.
The discomfort, warmth and swelling remains at the injury site until the repairs have been completed. The immune system then switches off cytokine production for the intensity of the cytokine signal to subside.
In a viral infection such as the flu, an acute inflammation signal is also triggered. As the virus tends to enter the human body via mucous membranes located in the nose and mouth areas, the acute inflammation signal will be the strongest in the head region.
The symptoms that are derived from this inflammatory signal include a heavy head (dizziness), a runny nose and a fever.
In other words, the inflammation signalling process is like a water hose. The tap is turned on full blast during an acute inflammation situation such as a sprained ankle, and it is shut off when the injury has been properly dealt with.
But what if the tap were leaky and could not be shut off completely?
That can happen when there are small pockets of damage to the body all around happening in a consistent manner. For example, in the case of oxidative stress, as I mentioned in The Biochemistry Behind Oxidation And Reduction As It Pertains To Our Health, where cells get damaged by reactive oxygen species (ROS)? As another example, when joints are subjected to continuous wear and tear without allowing them any time to repair, such as in the case of people who have to lift heavy weights as part of their jobs on a consistent basis?
The immune system would constantly be on a mild alert, and it would keep sending out inflammatory cytokine signals. The inflammation in our body would become chronic and systemic (consistent levels throughout the body’s systems), in comparison to the acute but localised inflammation that is experienced during times of injury or infection.
Over time, this cytokine concentration becomes the new consistent cytokine concentration in the blood. It doesn’t bode well for us, because this higher level of cytokine signalling can conduct a few nefarious operations, such as:
- Signalling our cells to resist the insulin signal, resulting in insulin resistance, where the cell does not take in as much glucose from the blood as it ought to be doing normally. Too much insulin resistance will lead to an accumulation of glucose in the blood and contribute to the development of Type 2 diabetes.
- Signalling our macrophages (a type of immune cell) to produce more matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes. These MMPs are responsible for the digestion of joint cartilage (leading to osteoarthritis) and the rupture of atherosclerotic plaques (leading to heart attacks). A more in-depth analysis can be found here (warning: highly technical, not for the faint of heart). If you are experiencing chronic heart disease… how bad is your joint pain? It’s all linked!
Since the blood concentration of these inflammatory cytokines are elevated chronically, and the blood in our body is circulated throughout all regions of the body, including our blood-brain barrier (BBB), which is a highly protective barrier that protects the brain from most of the things in our blood that could be toxic to the brain cells, there will be a point in time when all these cytokines will start to weaken the BBB.
As such, things that could not pass through the BBB filter are now able to sneak their way through the filter. The immune cells in our brain (which are separate from the rest of the body) then start to produce inflammatory cytokines to signal other immune cells in the brain that there is a problem with these toxic invaders (in fact, excessive unmitigated stress can trigger the same inflammatory signalling too).
What does this brain inflammation do when it becomes chronic?
It programmes the neurons to commit suicide prematurely, before the end of their lifespans. This premature neuronal death results in a reduced brain capacity, and one would then be on their way towards the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
As I did mention in the other article, Alzheimer’s is not a standalone problem. It is a symptom that comes together with other symptoms that are related to chronic inflammation, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
So of course, the million dollar question is, how do we prevent ourselves from developing Alzheimer’s?
Our diet can play an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s. Research out there calls Alzheimer’s an extension of Type 3 diabetes. The development of this problem can be slowed down or probably even avoided with a good balanced diet. However, there are 3 other tenets beyond our diet to maintaining our health. These include our stress management, exercise intensity and sleep quality, which I discuss in Four Ways That Our Lifestyle Affects Our Immune System. Supporting our immune system function is absolutely crucial at all times.
If you enjoyed reading this article… Do feel free to check out my other Medium content. An analysis of what cholesterol does in the body can be found at:
In it, I deconstruct some of the medical myths that we have been subscribing to about cholesterol and heart health for ages.
How well are you living your life these days with regards to the four tenets of a healthy lifestyle?
Also, here are 12 different brain boosting nutrients that can support a healthy brain function.
Joel Yong, PhD, is a biochemical engineer/scientist, an educator and a writer. He has authored 4 ebooks (available on Amazon.com in Kindle format) and co-authored 6 journal articles in internationally peer-reviewed scientific journals. His main focus is on finding out the fundamentals of biochemical mechanisms in the body that the doctors don’t educate the lay people about, and will then proceed to deconstruct them for your understanding — as an educator should.
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You may also want to visit Digging Deeper Into Doctoral Diagnoses to check out relevant questions or answers to questions that have eluded you for quite a fair bit.