Choline + Uridine: Builds New Neurons and Repairs Damaged Ones for Total Brain Health

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Choline + Uridine: Builds New Neurons and Repairs Damaged Ones for

Total Brain HealthIt’s a fact of life, age-related

memory loss affects millions of Americans. And we’re not just talking

about Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementias (though we will later).

We’re talking about simple forgetfulness that seems to increase as we

age.

However, this inevitable decline in brainpower is not inevitable

thanks to two naturally occurring compounds in your body­choline (one of

the B vitamins) and uridine (a building block of RNA)­and a fascinating,

naturally occurring self-maintenance system going on in your brain

right now.

The trick is to support this natural self-maintenance system by “feeding”

it properly. Do that, and it will support your brain function … now and

as you get older.

Here’s how this system can support your brainpower … right now.

Controlled studies have shown that daily administration of choline to

support this self-maintenance system improved the immediate recall and

attention in a group of healthy young adult men ages 19 -

38.

1

Some of the most recent­and most exciting­ research is being conducted at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Researchers at MIT have been studying brain chemistry for over 30 years.

Their recent efforts have shown that uridine has significant impact on

repairing the neurons in gerbils, whose brain chemistry is

remarkably like

ours.

2

These and numerous other clinical studies demonstrate that when you

provide essential nutrients to this natural repair system, you halt its

tendency to slow down with age.

Take good care of it, and you can expect to remain sharp well into your

70s, 80s, and beyond.

A simple picture of a complex system …

and how to keep it firing at top efficiencyIt’s

easy to bolster your brain’s self-maintenance system in a few minutes.

But first, let’s take a quick tour of your brain’s “wiring.” This way you

can see how effectively your brain is able to keep functioning at top

performance when taken care of properly.

All your physical actions, all your thoughts and ideas, all your memories

result from nerve impulses traveling along and between neurons. When you

think, move, or remember, these long, thin cells conduct electrical

impulses down them and then send the impulse along to another

neuron.

 

 

 

 

The electrical impulses are sent to the next neuron one of two ways. If

the neurons are physically connected, the nerve impulse is carried on

directly.

If there is a gap between the neurons­called a synapse­one or more of

several chemicals called neurotransmitters carry it across the tiny gap.

The most common neurotransmitter is acetylcholine ­or ACh for

short. Notice the word “choline” imbedded here. This is

important.

All brain functions use neurons and neurotransmitters. Without them, you

have nothing.

For lasting brain health and brainpower: Repair … Rebuild …

and Re-supply So how important are choline and

uridine to your brain’s self-maintenance system?

They are the self-maintenance system!

Choline is a simple B vitamin that occurs naturally in many foods. One of

its most crucial functions is as a precursor to the neurotransmitter

ACh.

 

 

 

 

 

If you did not have choline in your system, you wouldn’t have any ACh. No

ACh … no brain activity. Quite literally, without choline, we couldn’t

move, think, sleep, or remember anything. We would not be

alive!

 

 

 

“… without choline, we couldn’t move, think, sleep, or remember

anything. We would not be alive! ”

 

 

 

 

Without going into detail, ACh is broken down by enzymes once it carries

nerve impulses across synapses. It’s then reassembled later for reuse.

 

But this breakdown/reassembly system isn’t perfect. ACh gets lost in the

process. More ACh needs to be made … from choline. When there’s adequate

choline in the blood and brain tissues, ACh gets made.

If there isn’t enough choline, then your brain doesn’t replace the lost

ACh. Your brain starts to malfunction. You forget things. It’s harder to

make complex decisions. Clear thought becomes more difficult.

But your brain’s self-maintenance system has a trick up its

sleeve to help prevent choline shortagesThe outside

of neurons­the neuron’s cell membrane­is made of a phospholipid called

phosphatidylcholine (PC for short). Again, notice the “choline” in the

name. That’s because choline is part of the PC molecule making up the

outer part of neuron membranes.

What happens when there’s a shortage of choline in the blood and brain

tissue? The PC in the neuron membrane starts releasing its choline. You

are protected (temporarily at least) from having your brain starved of

choline.

If this goes on too long, you’re back to the bleak picture of not having

enough choline to synthesize ACh. In addition, your neurons’ membranes

are compromised.

When the PC in the membranes loses too much choline, neurons lose

integrity. Nerve impulses aren’t transmitted properly. And you lose

mental

abilities.

3

What we’ve just discussed, really, is what happens when your brain ages …

or in dementias and even Alzheimer’s. (Although other complex mechanisms

are at work in Alzheimer’s as well.)

The hard fact is that­without intervention ­choline will decrease in your

brain as you get older.

 

4

Uridine … the missing bridge in boosting

brainpowerWhere does uridine fit into this tightly

balanced scheme of maintenance and repair?

Until recently, researchers focused on choline in trying to understand

the biochemistry of memory and cognition. It was felt, with good reason,

that administering choline was sufficient to assist the brain’s natural

self-maintenance system.

Researchers got excellent results reversing declining cognitive

function

5 as well as boosting normal

function

6 with choline. Having found good results, researchers dug

deeper.

One of the ways science is advanced is by trial and error. The scientific

method dictates that researchers form a hypothesis and test it,

discarding negative results and moving forward on positive results.

 

If you find one compound that helps improve condition X, you might try

similar compounds to see how they work. Or if 18 different compounds were

found in an assay of brain tissue, you might want to try each of these 18

compounds separately and in combination.

 

 

 

 

Taking this approach, the top researchers at MIT examined other likely

candidates for supporting the brain’s self-maintenance system. Uridine­a

compound of the same class as the building blocks of RNA­showed great

promise. For example, in one study when uridine was combined with choline

and omega-3 DHA (all components of cell membranes), brain levels of PC

rose by

45%.

7

 

 

 

“… when uridine was combined with choline and

omega-3 DHA, brain levels of PC rose by 45%.”

 

 

 

 

Other research has pointed to the bottom line importance of uridine as

well. Studies reported in 2006 and 2007 indicate that uridine works as a

kind of bridge between choline and neuron membrane synthesis.

Uridine is a critically necessary component in synthesizing the membrane

phospholipid PC. In this process, uridine is first converted to a

bioactive form of choline called CDP-choline. CDP-Choline is then

synthesized into new

PC.

8 This new PC is used to repair damaged neuronal membranes and to

build new membranes.

Uridine also has been shown to enhance protein synthesis of brain

proteins known to exist within the

synapse.

9 MIT suggests that these findings could indicate that uridine (when

administered with the fatty acid DHA) increases the quantity of neuron

membrane.

These findings are exciting. MIT’s research has shown that administration

of uridine increases the production of neurites and dendrites. These

outgrowths from the nerve cell body are a natural part of neuron

development.

When a neuron has these outgrowths, it is more likely to make connections

with other neurons­not only more connections but more complex

connections. Simply stated, the higher number of dendrites, the better

cognitive function.

Beyond membrane repairUridine’s

conversion to CDP-choline in the brain makes additional choline available

throughout the brain. So uridine doesn’t just build new neurons and

repair damaged ones. It also acts as an additional source of choline

throughout the brain.

This additional choline increases production of

ACh.

10 Lower ACh production is not just a symptom of age-related mental

decline. It is also an important marker for Alzheimer’s disease. (More

about this dreadful scourge shortly.)

In addition to increasing ACh synthesis directly by providing additional

choline, uridine administration also increases the production of another

neurotransmitter, dopamine.

 

11 Wurtman and his colleagues propose that this dopamine increase

could be due the uridine-promoted increase in neuronal membrane

synthesis.

This is a lot to absorb … Let’s make it a little easier. Here’s a quick

look at how uridine works in your brain’s self-maintenance program.

Table 1: Uridine's Effects in the Brain

 

Gets synthesized into PC via CDP-choline intermediary Repairs and rebuilds neuronal membrane Enhances synthesis of synaptic brain proteins Increases production of neurites and dendrites Makes additional choline available through synthesis of CDP-choline Increases synthesis of ACh Increases levels of dopamine (neurotransmitter)

Your brain’s self-maintenance system is constantly under

attack … but you can win the fight!A fitting

question right now might be which is more important: choline or uridine?

The simple answer is both!

These two compounds work together synergistically to keep your

brain functioning at top pitch. The effect of both of them working

together is greater­far greater at times­than each working separately.

 

The take away is this:

Your brain’s remarkable ability to repair, maintain, and build membranes

and to synthesize neurotransmitters is dependent on having adequate

levels of both choline and uridine in your body.

But natural levels of choline and uridine in your body decrease with age,

environmental assault, and disease. When this happens, your

self-maintenance system slows or breaks down.

 

 

 

“Your brain’s remarkable ability to repair, maintain, and build

membranes and to synthesize neurotransmitters is dependent on having

adequate levels of both choline and uridine in your body.”

 

 

 

 

However, this steady, age-related decline is reversible. Most of the

experiments proving this have been performed on animals.

Impoverished … sick … old all improved with

supplementationBut the conclusions from these

experiments are clear. In one experiment, animals were raised in what

were termed “impoverished conditions.” Exposure to the impoverished

environment impaired certain types of learning and memory.

Supplementation with uridine prevented these cognitive problems. These

same researchers observed similar results when impoverished animals were

treated with

choline.

12

Similar improvement in behavior was found in aged

animals

13 and in animals that had developed cognitive problems due to

spontaneous hypertension when treated with combined choline and

uridine.

14

In reporting their findings on aged animals, the researchers stated:

“In conclusion, the present data suggest that chronic dietary

supplementation with UMP [uridine] might prove a useful

therapeutic strategy to delay or diminish the cognitive deficits

associated with poor environmental conditions or aging, as well as the

changes in membrane lipid composition associated with the aging process.

Because the membrane lipid composition can be significantly affected by

the aging process, it is feasible that the protective function may arise

from UMP’s ability to enhance the production of brain membrane

phosphatides.”

 

15

It’s easy to get lost in the scientific jargon. But what the scientists

at MIT are saying is that you have far less to worry about when it comes

to the “inevitable” age-related mental decline.

Feed your brain’s self-maintenance system with uridine and choline, and

it will take good care of your cognitive ability silently, behind the

scenes.

Get the most muscle out of choline’s

powerIf you’ve been using nutritional supplements

for long, you know that not all forms of a supplement are necessarily the

same. Some forms work better than others.

That’s true of choline. The most effective form for supplementation is

alpha-gycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC). GPC is not the ordinary form of

choline we’ve been hearing about (or even taking) for years. It is a

source of both phospholipids (the prime building blocks of life) and

choline.

GPC is water-soluble. After it’s ingested it quickly passes the

blood/brain barrier into the brain, where it protects neurons and

improves signal transmission.

It supports brain function and learning processes by directly increasing

the synthesis and secretion of acetylcholine, as your body needs it.

 

Here’s a brief glance at what GPC has been shown to accomplish:

 

Improve memory and learning ability in laboratory

animals

16 Counteract brain aging in animals by increasing cholinergic receptor

sites

17 Restore the bioavailability of

acetylcholine

18 Increase nerve growth factor receptors in the

brain

19 Slow down undesirable structural changes in the

brain

20 Counter the age-related loss of nerve cells and fibers in the brain Protect the brain and other organs against toxic waste buildup Increase growth hormone secretion in both the young and the

old

21 Increase the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine

 

22 Improve memory and cognitive performance in patients with Alzheimer's

dementia

23

 

Unlike choline, uridine works best in its native form … just plain

uridine. You’ve already seen uridine’s power in Table 1. But just for a

reminder, once uridine enters the brain, it’s converted to a form of

choline called GDP-choline. As such, it achieves all the accomplishments

of choline listed above, plus …

 

Enhances synthesis of synaptic brain proteins Increases production of neurites and dendrites Makes additional choline available through synthesis of CDP-choline Increases levels of dopamine (neurotransmitter)

What about the scourge of

Alzheimer’s?Uridine and choline are so effective as

part of your brain’s self-maintenance program, you can’t help wonder if

they could be effective against Alzheimer’s.

In fact, many of the signs of Alzheimer’s­such as damaged, shrunken

synapses­are similar to the damage seen in the laboratory studies at MIT.

 

The clinical studies that have been done­such as the one reported by

Parnetti and others in the journal Drugs and Aging­show good

promise.

24 But the problem is there haven’t been enough clinical studies

treating Alzheimer’s patients with choline or uridine to be able to make

a clear determination about their potential benefits.

However, uridine’s ability to enhance synaptic membrane levels­especially

when administered with omega-3 polyunsaturated fats­is exciting. The MIT

researchers have speculated that this combination may enhance synaptic

levels in “patients with neurodegenerative diseases

…”.

25

The final word on keeping your brain in peak condition

…Your body is a remarkable piece of work.

Considering how soft and vulnerable it should be, it has amazing powers

of self-healing, self-repair, and self-maintenance.

Nowhere is this ability to heal itself seen better than in your brain’s

self-maintenance program. Given the potential fragileness of your neural

structures, it is amazing that we are able to keep the high level of

brainpower for as long as we do.

And that’s thanks to the relatively simple self-maintenance system you’ve

seen at work today.

However, this self-maintenance system lies victim to the same assaults of

aging, environmental toxins, free radicals, and diseases that the rest of

your body does. But in this case, you have control over the fate of your

brain’s self-maintenance system. If you feed it properly with choline and

uridine, you are giving it the nutrients it needs to work at peak

efficiency.

And when your brain’s self-maintenance system works at peak efficiency …

so do you

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Abstract

Parnetti L, Abate G, Bartorelli L, Cucinotta D,

Cuzzupoli M, Maggioni, M, Villardita C, Senin U. Multicentre study of

l-alpha-glyceryl-phosphorylcholine vs ST200 among patients with probable

senile dementia of Alzheimer’s type. Drugs

Aging 1993 Mar-Apr;3(2):159-64.

 

 

Abstract

Parnetti L, Abate G, Bartorelli L, Cucinotta D,

Cuzzupoli M, Maggioni, M, Villardita C, Senin U. Multicentre study of

l-alpha-glyceryl-phosphorylcholine vs ST200 among patients with probable

senile dementia of Alzheimer’s type. Drugs

Aging 1993 Mar-Apr;3(2):159-64.

 

 

Abstract

M. Cansev and R. J. Wurtman. Chronic

administration of docosahexaenoic acid or eicosapentaenoic acid, but not

arachidonic acid, alone or in combination with uridine, increases brain

phosphatide and synaptic protein levels in gerbils. Neuroscience

148 (2007) 421–431.

 

Abstract

 

- Smart Publications