
Lipid metabolic pathways converge in motor neuron degenerative diseases - bookofjoe
https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awz382/5679762
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jgalvez
[http://raypeat.com/articles/nutrition/oils-in-
context.shtml](http://raypeat.com/articles/nutrition/oils-in-context.shtml)

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ssijak
Correct me if I am wrong but most of the references on that page are very old

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virtuallynathan
Is this problematic?

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nikolay
Obviously, for some people, science is a set of ever-charging truths...

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copperx
Only for some people?

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nikolay
1 + 1 = 2 is too boring and old, thus probably wrong.

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onebot
Can someone put this in layperson terms?

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bookofjoe
From
[https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50821327](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50821327):

Scientists say they have discovered a possible underlying cause of the
neurological disorder, motor neurone disease (MND).

The University of Exeter team says it has found evidence that MND is linked to
an imbalance of cholesterol and other fats in cells.

It says the research could lead to more accurate diagnosis and new treatments.

MND affects around 5,000 people in the UK and causes more than 2,000 deaths a
year.

Motor neurone disease is a group of diseases that affect the nerve cells in
the brain and spinal cord that tell your muscles what to do.

Also known as ALS, it causes muscle weakness and stiffness.

Eventually people with the disease are unable to move, talk, swallow and
finally, breathe.

There is no cure and the exact causes are unclear - it's been variously linked
to genes, exposure to heavy metals and agricultural pollution.

Scientists at the University of Exeter say they had a "eureka moment" when
they realised that 13 genes - which, if altered, can cause the condition -
were directly involved in processing cholesterol.

They say their theory could help predict the course and severity of the
disease in patients and monitor the effect of potential new drugs.

The theory is outlined in a paper, published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology.

Lead author Prof Andrew Crosby said: "For years, we have known that a large
number of genes are involved in motor neurone disease, but so far it hasn't
been clear if there's a common underlying pathway that connects them."

The finding particularly relates to what is known as the "spastic
paraplegias", where the malfunction is in the upper part of the spinal cord.

Dr Emma Baple, also from the University of Exeter Medical School, said:
"Currently, there are no treatments available that can reverse or prevent
progression of this group of disorders. Patients who are at high risk of motor
neurone disease really want to know how their disease may progress and the age
at which symptoms may develop, but that's very difficult to predict."

Dr Brian Dickie, director of research at the MND Association, said the work
raises some interesting ideas.

"At the moment, it is unclear whether the imbalance observed is a cause of MND
or a consequence of the disease. We look forward to seeing the outcome of
further research in this area."

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perl4ever
"an imbalance of cholesterol and other fats in cells."

I've been telling people that cholesterol is a kind of alcohol, because -ol.
Am I way off?

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vondur
It's a fat (lipid). It has an alcohol functional group on it, but it's not
technically an alcohol.

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perl4ever
Understand, I'm just copying and pasting from Wikipedia here, but:

"Although the term "lipid" is sometimes used as a synonym for fats, fats are a
subgroup of lipids called triglycerides"

It looks like sometimes people refer to triglycerides and cholesterol together
as "fat", and other times say triglycerides in particular are "fat".

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untilHellbanned
This is not very specific. Lipids like Oxysterols and phospholipids are
altered in many diseases. Need a little more information to understand the
specificity of the defect.

