Good news! Carbon monoxide itself is a toxic gas! What a paradox!
Health benefits of smoking? What is the journalist or are these scientists smoking? 😊
Can second hand smokers like me benefit too? 😊
"Paradoxically, previous research has shown that despite its inherent health risks, cigarette smoking is linked with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease. Until now, however, it was not clear how.
New research in lab models indicates that low doses of carbon monoxide — comparable to that experienced by smokers — protected against neurodegeneration and prevented the accumulation of a key Parkinson’s-associated protein in the brain. ..."
From the abstract:
"Paradoxically, cigarette smoking is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). This led us to hypothesize that carbon monoxide (CO) levels, which are constitutively but modestly elevated in smokers, might contribute to neuroprotection. Using rodent models of PD based on α-synuclein (αSyn) accumulation and oxidative stress, we show that low-dose CO mitigates neurodegeneration and reduces αSyn pathology. Oral CO administration activated signaling cascades mediated by heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which have been implicated in limiting oxidative stress, and in promoting αSyn degradation, thereby conferring neuroprotection. Consistent with the neuroprotective effect of smoking, HO-1 levels in cerebrospinal fluid were higher in human smokers compared to nonsmokers. Moreover, in PD brain samples, HO-1 levels were higher in neurons without αSyn pathology. Thus, CO in rodent PD models reduces pathology and increases oxidative stress responses, phenocopying possible protective effects of smoking evident in PD patients. These data highlight the potential for low-dose CO-modulated pathways to slow symptom onset and limit pathology in PD patients."
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