For years researchers have known that free radicals can cause cell degeneration, especially in the brain. Scientists have implicated the unstable molecules as a cause of neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Now researchers are unraveling the pathways of free radical destruction in order to create targeted therapies for these disorders.
Butter turns rancid.
All are everyday signs of oxidative stress, destruction caused by free radical molecules. But none of these nuisances compare to what these unstable molecules can do inside the body, especially to cells of the brain. Free radicals, which are products of normal cell processes, wreak havoc during their hunt for a mate. The source of their devastating actions is this oxygen molecule's unpaired electron which makes it unstable and electrically charged. It becomes stable by interacting with the nearest available molecule.