ON THE USE OF L-THREONINE IN THE TREATMENT OF SPASTICITY (BIOCHEMICAL ASPECT)

As is known, in rats the administration of L-threonine leads to the increase of glycine level in the brain and spinal cord. Therefore, in two world famous clinics they decided to use L-threonine in the treatment of patients with spasticity to see whether in the brain and spinal cord of man it also transforms to glycine. However, L-threonine at the taken doses gave no effect, neither was changed the level of glycine in the cerebrospinal fluid. In the present paper it is pointed out that in the process of evolution the man, on the genetic level, lost the ability to synthesize L- threonine 3-dehydrogenase, the enzyme, present in many animals, which might be involved in transformation of L-threonine to glycine.This makes possible to fight such parasites of man as trypanosomes,which cause sleeping sickness,using L-threonine 3-dehydrogenase from them as a target of therapeutic treatment.In other words,in trypanosomes L-threonine 3-dehydrogenase has an important role in enzyme metabolism,its inhibition by a wide range of sulphydryl reagents leads to a loss of the vitial capacity of trypanosomes cousing no damage to man. The conclusion is made that L-threonine is not to be used against spasticity.