Metals and neuroscience

Data are now rapidly accumulating to show that metallochemical reactions mi ght be the common denominator underlying Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic l ateral sclerosis, prion diseases, cataracts, mitochondrial disorders and Pa rkinson's disease. In these disorders, an abnormal reaction between a prote in and a redox-active metal ion (copper or iron) promotes the formation of reactive oxygen species or radicalization. It is especially intriguing how the powerful catalytic redox activity of antioxidant Cu/Zn-superoxide dismu tase can convert into a pro-oxidant activity, a theme echoed in the recent proposal that A beta and PrP, the proteins respectively involved in Alzheim er's disease and prion diseases, possess similar redox activities.