Brain Multiphysics (Jan 2023)
Iron level changes in the brain with neurodegenerative disease
Abstract
Nanosized magnetite inside ferritin may control the progression of neurodegenerative disease (ND) by creating an electronic noise in the neural cells. We discovered that brains with ND have a unique electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum. Our measurements showed that the collapse of the broad ferritin maximum contained in the EPR spectra possibly relates to the onset and progression of the ND. Ferritin malfunction triggers the perturbation of iron concentration that either increases or decreases over the normal levels in brain without ND. This supports a conjecture that accumulated iron results in an increased volume of magnetite crystals, whose fluctuated magnetic moments may interfere with the normal function of neural synapses and contribute to the neurodegenerative disease. The mechanism of the iron mobility relates to iron canals in the neural cell's membrane by which the iron enters and leaves the neural cells. This gate keeper malfunction may relate to a speculation that this is due to the appearance of 2Fe-2S in EPR spectra of brains with ND. Statement of significance: In this manuscript we describe feedback between electronic structure of atoms in the brain, easiness of becoming magnetized in a magnetic field and the ability of the brain to hold the magnetic field on its own in cases of neurodegenerative-diseased and healthy brain. This contribution is novel and significant for a number of reasons, as follows: We revealed that diseased brains have a distinct electronic structure from healthy brains. We identified the easiness of brain samples to become magnetized in a magnetic field and the brains’ ability to hold the magnetic field on its own in cases of neurodegenerative-diseased and healthy brains. This paper addresses a new hypothesis, and we consider that it will generate broad that may be of broad interdisciplinary interest and generate further debate.
