A possible emerging role of phytochemicals in improving age-related neurological dysfunctions: A multiplicity of effects

It is rare to see a day pass in which we are not told through some popular medium that the population is becoming older. Along with this information c omes the "new" revelation that as we enter the next millennium there will b e increases in age-associated diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular diseas e) including the most devastating of these, which involve the nervous syste m (e.g., Alzheimer's disease [AD] and Parkinson's disease [PD]). It is esti mated that within the next 50 years approximately 30% of the population wil l be aged 65 years or older. Of those between 75 and 84 years of age, 6 mil lion will exhibit some form of AD symptoms, and of those older than 85 year s, over 12 million will have some form of dementia associated with AD. What appears more ominous is that many cognitive changes occur even in the abse nce of specific age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Common components t hought to contribute to the manifestation of these disorders and normal age -related declines in brain performance are increased susceptibility to long -term effects of oxidative stress (OS) and inflammatory insults. Unless som e means is found to reduce these age-related decrements in neuronal functio n, health care costs will continue to rise exponentially. Thus, it is extre mely important to explore methods to retard or reverse age-related neuronal deficits as well as their subsequent, behavioral manifestations. Fortunate ly, the growth of knowledge in the biochemistry of cell viability has opene d new avenues of research focused at identifying new therapeutic agents tha t could potentially disrupt the perpetual cycle of events involved in the d ecrements associated with these detrimental processes. In this regard, a ne w role in which certain dietary components may play important roles in alle viating certain disorders are beginning to receive increased attention, in particular those involving phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.