The appeal of taking serine supplements as brain boosters is obvious as they support cognitive function that gives people sharper and improved memory. These benefits usually encourage people to take nootropics with serine, which increases their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Companies have marketed serine supplements as brain boosters, backed by a 2020 study showing positive results in mice given the medication. However, a new study from the University of California, San Diego debunks the previous claim and warns people to be careful when using the supplement.
What are Serine Supplements?
According to WebMD, serine is an amino acid or building block for protein. It comes in two forms: L-serine and De-serine. The former can be consumed in the diet and naturally made in the body. Meanwhile, D-serine is produced by the body from L-serine.
D-serine is commonly used for Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, cognitive function, and other medical conditions. On the other hand, L-serine is found to improve sleep, Lou Gehrig's disease or also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other conditions. However, there is not enough evidence to support most of the mentioned uses.
The body uses serine to make proteins transported to the brain, which might improve the conditions of people with schizophrenia and other brain disorders. They are generally safe when taken orally, but large doses of this supplement could cause harm.
The Link Between Serine and Alzheimer's Biomarker
The study, titled "PHGDH expression increases with progression of Alzheimer's disease pathology and symptoms," published in the journal Cell Metabolism, casts doubt on the results of the 2020 study that claims serine is beneficial for the brain.
An article on the website Being Patient reported that researchers of the new study looked across multiple samples of post-mortem brains of people who suffered Alzheimer's disease and compared it to the brains without Alzheimer's, in early Alzheimer's stage, and late-stage Alzheimer's.
They noted that the protein PHGDH in astrocyte cells is linked to the progression of the disease brought about by aging, especially during the late stage.
They also looked for the protein in the brains with no Alzheimer's disease or who had symptoms of amyloid plaques without symptoms before death. Here, they found that the biomarker for Alzheimer's disease has increased across different stages of the disease in individual neurons taken from the hippocampus. It is the part of the brain responsible for memory and is affected over the course of the disorder.
Co-lead author Dr. Sheng Zhong, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego, noted that the study confirms their previous work, which found that this biomarker is elevated in the blood of people with Alzheimer's. It now presents strong evidence that changes in human blood are directly correlated to changes in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
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