While iron is essential for normal cellular function, its excess catalyzes the Fenton reaction, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage lipids, proteins, and DNA
as a secondary injury after traumatic injury (Park et al., 2008), during various brain pathologies, such as Alzheimers (Tannenberg et al., 2004), Parkinsons (Verma et al., 2018), or Huntingtons disease (Warby et al., 2008
Chen stayed at Harvard to enter the MD-PhD program
Effective treatment schemes for neurological disorders using iron chelators are still lacking, primarily due to insufficient drug delivery across the BBB, which restricts most pharmaceutical agents from entering the CNS
The form of glutathione also matters, as more bioavailable options may be effective at lower doses