I'm a big fan of creatine as a supplement that appears highly neuro protective to a wide range of insults to the brain, but this study suggests beta-alanine (BA) may be of value also. Good news is, it used a model specific to the mechanism of injury soldiers experience. Bad news, it's an animal model. Obviously, can't intentional rattle human brains and feed them BA, so animal model is the usual place to start. BA has lots of data on potential performance benefits, some done with mil populations, and a solid safety recordL
Behavioral and inflammatory response in animals exposed to a low-pressure blast wave and supplemented with β-alanine
This study investigated the benefit of β-alanine (BA) supplementation on behavioral and cognitive responses relating to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in rats exposed to a low-pressure blast wave. Animals were fed a normal diet with or without (PL) BA supplementation (100 mg kg−1) for 30-day, prior to being exposed to a low-pressure blast wave.
A third group of animals served as a control (CTL). These animals were fed a normal diet, but were not exposed to the blast. Validated cognitive-behavioral paradigms were used to assess both mTBI and PTSD-like behavior on days 7–14 following the blast. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neuropeptide Y, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and tau protein expressions were analyzed a day later.
In addition, brain carnosine and histidine content was assessed as well. The prevalence of animals exhibiting mTBI-like behavior was significantly lower (p = 0.044) in BA than PL (26.5 and 46%, respectively), but no difference (p = 0.930) was noted in PTSD-like behavior between the groups (10.2 and 12.0%, respectively). Carnosine content in the cerebral cortex was higher (p = 0.048) for BA compared to PL, while a trend towards a difference was seen in the hippocampus (p = 0.058) and amygdala (p = 0.061). BDNF expression in the CA1 subregion of PL was lower than BA (p = 0.009) and CTL (p < 0.001), while GFAP expression in CA1 (p = 0.003) and CA3 (p = 0.040) subregions were higher in PL than other groups.
Results indicated that BA supplementation for 30-day increased resiliency to mTBI in animals exposed to a low-pressure blast wave.
Lots of interesting intel in the full paper found:
Hoffman, J.R., Zuckerman, A., Ram, O. et al. Amino Acids (2017). doi:10.1007/s00726-017-2383-8
http://link.springer.com/article/10....726-017-2383-8
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks