In article <pproctor.2169.083E74D7 at neosoft.com>,
Peter H. Proctor <pproctor at neosoft.com> wrote:
>In article <4upskb$p29 at news2.h1.usa.pipeline.com> jmsdean at pipeline.com writes:
>>From: jmsdean at pipeline.com>>Subject: why not just stop free radicals?
>>Date: 13 Aug 1996 12:32:11 GMT
>>>can someone please explain how free radicals are formed. there's lots of
>>talk about the body forming free radicals when the cells use oxygen but i'm
>>not sure how this is done.
>>>>secondly, what is the chemical structure of a free radical.
>>>>lastly, why is stopping free radical production, as opposed to using
>>scaverngers like anti-oxidants, not a current possibility.
>>See ( he says modestly ), P Proctor, Free Radicals and Human Disease, in CRC
>handbood of Free Radicals and Antioxidants, Vol 1 (1989) p 209. For a review.
>This is a pretty complicated subject.
>>Dr. P
Never-the-less, I'll give it a shot in as few words as possible...
'Tis the nature of electrons in chemical systems -- read 'atoms and
molecules', to travel in pairs. If, for some reason, an electron frees
itself of it's paired existance, it snatches up an electron from a nearby
molecule. Then, that molecule snatches up an electron, and the process
continues until two unshared electrons meet (an unlikely event) or until
an electron is donated from a special species of molecule which forms
'stable free radicals'... this species of molecule is known as an
antioxidant. The problem with this random swapping of electrons is that
a whole host of chemical bonds are formed and broken in the process.
Where the molecules involved are DNA, you have mutation and often cancer.
Where the molecules involved are cellular constituants, you often have
mechanical failure of the cell or cells.
This is a _very_ simplistic explanation and I'd encourage you to look up
the above-mentioned literature. Good Luck. R.
