Chapter 6

The Structure-Activity Relationship of Melanin as a Source of Energy Defines the Role of Glucose to Biomass Supply Only, Implications in the Context of the Failing Brain

Arturo Solís Herrera

Abstract

Decreasing brain metabolism is a substantive cause of cognitive abnormalities in Alzheimer´s Disease (AD), although this hypo-metabolism is poorly understood, i.e. is not known if it is primary or secondary. Neuron ion homeostasis and thereby synapsis are a crucial and highly energy demanding processes, and one of the hallmarks of AD is the loss of synapsis in defined regions of the brain. Until today, alterations in mitochondrial energy supply have been considered the main concern due to in aging rat neuron model, mitochondria are both chronically depolarized and produce more reactive oxygen species with age. Thereby, impoverished mitochondrial function has been actively studied trying to reverse and recover ATP generation. Today, after more than 100 years that Alois Alzheimer described Augusta D., patients still die in the same way, in spite multiple treatments, multiple theories, multiple studies and unfruitful clinical trials. We believe that the unraveling of the unsuspected intrinsic property of melanin to transform visible and invisible light into chemical energy through the dissociation of the water molecule, as chlorophyll in plants, will mark a before and after, this is: a new frontier, in the understanding and treatment of the nightmare of the XXI century: Alzheimer´s Disease.

Total Pages: 127-153 (27)

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