西兰花被发现可以帮助治疗老年痴呆症。科学家们认为蔬菜中的一种化学物质能帮助老年人保持头脑的清醒。他们希望通过萝卜硫素、球芽甘蓝以及卷心菜能够帮助人体建立自身的保护系统免受疾病，这样可以保护重要脑细胞免受自由基的攻击和破坏。传统意义上的抗氧化剂例如维他命C和E，可以帮助身体抵御自由基的侵害，但还无法进入脑细胞的进行防御。

据国外媒体报道，邓迪大学(Dundee University)的科学家们研究，只有把抗氧化剂以及蔬菜中的物质结合起来，才能帮助人们建立强大的身体机能，才能自我保护，这只有通过摄取绿色蔬菜中的物质才能成功。他们认为，相比饭后吃上一大碗西兰花，通过药片摄取的形式会更有用。因为并不是每个人吃同样的蔬菜就能获得同样的营养，可能一个人吃上10次得西兰花才能赶得上别人吃一次的效果。

夏基(Sharkey)博士说，“对一些人来说，吃大量的西兰花可能就能达到我们对健康的要求了，但同时这也对很多人起不到作用。”夏基博士已经花了2年得时间来研究脑部退化的原因，给一只患有老年痴呆的老鼠注射了这些化学物质来观察是否能缓解老年痴呆。“初步的研究表明如果试验成功的话，这种药物起码有10年以上的市场，并且类似的药物也可以帮助治疗帕金森氏症，中风，甚至癌症。研究并试验才是解决疾病的办法，我们希望我们能找到治疗老年痴呆的关键方法。”

已经有80万的英国人被老年痴呆症影响，而且这个数字随着人口老龄化，将会翻一番。现有的一些治疗药物例如爱忆欣可以延缓老年痴呆的发作，但无法根治。黛博拉·邦恩(Deborah Bunn)的母亲帕特丽夏(Patricia)，已经患老年痴呆症7年，她说，“虽然母亲一直在服用爱忆欣而且的确有一定的帮助，不过我还是希望能出现一种能根治老年痴呆的药。”（生物谷Bioon.com）

生物谷推荐原文出处：

Molecular Nutrition Food Research   DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.200900197

Sulforaphane protects cortical neurons against 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine-induced toxicity through the activation of ERK1/2, Nrf-2 and the upregulation of detoxification enzymes

David Vauzour, Maria Buonfiglio, Giulia Corona, Joselita Chirafisi, Katerina Vafeiadou, Cristina Angeloni, Silvana Hrelia, Patrizia Hrelia, Jeremy P. E. Spencer

Keywords:Antioxidant response element;Neurodegeneration;Parkinson's disease;Sulforaphane;5-S-Cysteinyl-dopamine

Abstract

The degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra has been linked to the formation of the endogenous neurotoxin 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine. Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from the corresponding precursor glucosinolate found in cruciferous vegetables has been observed to exert a range of biological activities in various cell populations. In this study, we show that SFN protects primary cortical neurons against 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine induced neuronal injury. Pre-treatment of cortical neurons with SFN (0.01–1?μM) resulted in protection against 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine-induced neurotoxicity, which peaked at 100?nM. This protection was observed to be mediated by the ability of SFN to modulate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 and the activation of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1/NF-E2-related factor-2 leading to the increased expression and activity of glutathione-S-transferase (M1, M3 and M5), glutathione reductase, thioredoxin reductase and NAD(P)H oxidoreductase 1. These data suggest that SFN stimulates the NF-E2-related factor-2 pathway of antioxidant gene expression in neurons and may protect against neuronal injury relevant to the aetiology of Parkinson's disease.