Investigating the Antioxidant and Therapeutic Potential of Ergothioneine to prevent Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Subjects

Oxidative stress and inflammation can cause neuron degeneration and lead to mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Dementia is debilitating and poses economic burden to the patients, families, and society. Currently, no curative drugs have been developed to treat dementia. This study will be elucidating the mechanism of action and examining the anti-oxidative and therapeutic effects of ergothioneine (EGT) in cognitive impaired aged persons. EGT is proposed to decrease oxidative stress and inflammation. These will be characterized by special biomarker from body fluid such as 8-oxo-G (oxidized DNA nucleotide by oxidation) and IL6 (pro-inflammatory molecule). Within the three-month period at National University of Singapore, I will examine the level of oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers from blood and urine collected from elderly cognition impaired patients. The MRI scanning of the brain and cognitive assessments will also be analyzed to determine the therapeutic potential of EGT on these patients. Our hypothesis is that there will be a decrease in biomarkers, and the MRI scanning and cognitive assessment will reveal that patients taking EGT will have an enhancement in cognition.

Faculty Supervisor:

Yuliya Lytvyn

Student:

Partner:

National University of Singapore

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: