Disease relevance of aspartame

• We performed a double-blind crossover trial of challenges with 30 mg of aspartame per kilogram of body weight or placebo in 40 subjects who reported having headaches repeatedly after consuming products containing aspartame [1].
• Migraine provoked by aspartame [2].
• Aspartame consumption in relation to childhood brain tumor risk: results from a case-control study [3].
• Aspartame may imperil dietary control of phenylketonuria [4].
• Aspartame-induced urticaria [5].

Psychiatry related information on aspartame

• Aspartame and memory loss [6].
• Panic attacks and excessive aspartame ingestion [7].
• The subjects underwent lumbar punctures and oral glucose and aspartame challenges, and their diurnal activity rhythm was measured with physical activity monitors [8].
• This study was designed to ascertain whether individuals with mood disorders are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of aspartame [9].
• Aspartame, behavior, and cognitive function in children with attention deficit disorder [10].

High impact information on aspartame

• High doses of aspartame reduce blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats [11].
• Intestinal hydrolysis of aspartylphenylalanine--the metabolic product of aspartame [12].
• Aspartame-induced granulomatous panniculitis [13].
• Aspartame as a cause of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis [14].
• Aspartame effect in sickle cell anemia [15].

Chemical compound and disease context of aspartame

• Metabolic effects of adding sucrose and aspartame to the diet of subjects with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [16].
• Twelve normal subjects and 10 subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were given, in random order at intervals of greater than or equal to 1 wk, three drinks of the same beverage: one unsweetened, one sweetened with 400 mg aspartame, and one sweetened with 135 mg saccharin [17].
• As glucose ingestion increases calciuria and oxaluria, the two main determinants of urinary calcium-oxalate saturation, we considered it worthwhile to determine whether aspartame ingestion also affects calcium-oxalate metabolism [18].
• Mean (+/- SD) peak plasma phenylalanine concentrations in infants were 9.37 +/- 1.44, 11.6 +/- 4.44 and 22.3 +/- 11.5 mumol/100 ml at aspartame doses of 34, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight, respectively [19].
• The lack of clinical derangements in encephalopathic indices, methanol accumulation, or biochemical changes in liver status suggests that a single large dose of aspartame (representing 5 times the average daily intake of adults) may be used safely by patients with chronic, stable liver disease [20].

Biological context of aspartame

• Effect of drinking soda sweetened with aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup on food intake and body weight [21].
• Aspartame metabolism in normal adults, phenylketonuric heterozygotes, and diabetic subjects [22].
• Effects of aspartame (aspartyl-phenylalanine-methylester) on increases in brain-tryptophan level and hydroxylation rate following a high-carbohydrate, protein-free meal were tested [23].
• Unexpected pain relief noted by A.B.E., a crystallographer with diagnosed osteoarthritis, suggested that the accommodation of aspartame in the active site of the dimer may represent surrogate binding by other proteins, with analgesia as the outcome [24].
• Using this method, we found no clear symptom complex that suggests a widespread public health hazard associated with aspartame use; however, we identified some case reports in which the symptoms may be attributable to aspartame in commonly-consumed amounts [25].

Anatomical context of aspartame

• Erythrocyte L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine hydrolase activity and plasma phenylalanine and aspartate concentrations in children consuming diets high in aspartame [26].
• It is concluded that perinatal exposure to high doses of aspartame does not alter glutamatergic neurotransmission in cerebral cortex or hippocampus from weanling rats [27].
• The effect of aspartame administered by gavage to rats on amygdala and hippocampal kindled seizures was assessed [28].
• Thus, GEPRs appear ideally suited for testing the hypothesis that aspartame facilitates seizures by interfering with central nervous system monoamines [29].
• Effects of aspartame on 45Ca influx and LDH leakage from nerve cells in culture [30].

Associations of aspartame with other chemical compounds

• Twenty-five normal preschool children and 23 school-age children described by their parents as sensitive to sugar were fed diets high in sucrose, aspartame, or saccharin for three successive 3-wk periods [26].
• Sixty-two subjects having either insulin-dependent or non-insulin-dependent diabetes completed a randomized, double-blind study comparing effects of aspartame or a placebo on blood glucose control [31].
• Effects of aspartame ingestion on the carbohydrate-induced rise in tryptophan hydroxylation rate in rat brain [23].
• We conclude that these doses of aspartame do not alter secretion of prolactin, cortisol, growth hormone, or insulin in normal individuals [32].
• Male Sprague-Dawley rats (325-350 g) were anesthetized with urethane (1.5 g/kg i.p.) and treated with physiological saline, Aspartame (APM; 552 mumols/kg), or tyrosine (Tyr; 552 mumols/kg) [33].

Gene context of aspartame

• RBP, purified from hen egg white, suppressed the sweetness of protein sweeteners such as thaumatin, monellin, and lysozyme, whereas it did not suppress the sweetness of low molecular weight sweeteners such as sucrose, glycine, D-phenylalanine, saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, and stevioside [34].
• The aim of this study was to determine the effects of the chronic ingestion of aspartame (ASP) on brain neuropeptide Y (NPY) concentrations, plasma hormones, food intake and body fat [35].
• Plasma GLP-1 concentrations decreased following the liquid meal (60-120 min) after both the aspartame and amino acids preloads (control, 2096.9 pmol/l min; aspartame, 536.6 pmol/l min; amino acids, 861.8 pmol/l min; incremental area under the curve [AUC] 60-120 min, P<.05) [36].
• Effects of long-term ingestion of aspartame on hypothalamic neuropeptide Y, plasma leptin and body weight gain and composition [35].
• Aspartame exacerbates EEG spike-wave discharge in children with generalized absence epilepsy: a double-blind controlled study [37].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of aspartame

• If double-blind studies confirm that some people have symptoms caused by aspartame ingestion, it would be appropriate to test such individuals for deficiency of cytosolic Asp-Phe hydrolase activity [12].
• The effects of aspartame (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester; APM) on the neurological status of children with well-documented seizures were examined in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study [38].
• However, the total duration of spike-wave discharge per hour was significantly increased after aspartame (p = 0.028), with a 40% +/- 17% (SEM) increase in the number of seconds per hour of EEG recording that the children spent in spike-wave discharge [37].
• A single-blind (n = 1) study to confirm analgesia was completed by administration of aspartame to A.B.E. A controlled double-blind trial was performed in patients with x-ray-documented osteoarthritis [24].
• For the in vivo studies, a decreased number of sickled cells in homozygous blood (HbSS) were observed after oral administration of aspartame [15].

References