Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The understanding

mitochondrial abnormalities are associated with opiate addiction

Addiction is a disease in the body and the mind and successful therapy depends on treating both.  Mind Body medicine is based on the unity of mind and body and focuses on promoting health and balance in the mind body, thereby providing highly effective therapy for addiction.  If you detoxify, or withdraw, from alcohol or a drug, but do not address the conditions in the body that create fatigue, depression, and anxiety, then relapse is more likely and therapy has been incomplete. Similarly, if you withdraw from a substance and do not understand the psychological and spiritual issues that promoted the need for it, then relapse is likely and the “lessons of disease” have not been learned.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The body

Integrative, or, functional medicine provides the tools to assess and treat the conditions in the body that contribute to fatigue, depression, and anxiety, thereby increasing the likelihood of chemical dependency.  These include:

• Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) deficiency
• Metabolic cofactor deficiency
• Pyroluria
• Hypothyroidism
• Adrenal fatigue
• And more

These “terrain issues” in the body need to be properly treated in order to make detoxification easier and to prevent relapse.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) deficiency

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is the chemical term for a molecule that reacts with oxygen in the mitochondria in every cell of your body in order to create energy so you can move, breathe, pump blood, digest food, think, and generally, live your life.  Lack of this essential cellular fuel is now recognized as a key feature of chronic fatigue, apathy, depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug addiction, weak immune system (infections and cancer), muscle pain and weakness, headaches, memory disturbance, sleep problems, focus and concentration defects and other chronic diseases. NAD deficiency may be an unrecognized epidemic of cellular disease.

Since NAD is so fundamental to good health, how is it that we can become deficient in this powerful molecule? First of all, the vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats come from our diet and provide the building blocks to citric acid cycle energy production.  If any one of the nutritional factors is low, energy production is weakened.  Since oxygen is just as important as hydrogen in cellular energetics, lack of exercise and shallow breathing due to stress are common factors that can reduce the amount of oxygen at the cell level. And finally the enzymes that catalyze the citric acid cycle are often inhibited or destroyed by chemical or physical toxins that create oxidative, or free radical, damage.  Free radical damage comes from cigarette smoke, drugs, radio waves from cell phones and wi-fi, and the myriad chemicals found in all humans at this time on earth, including phalates, parabens, pesticides, styrene, benzene, toluene, and thousands more.  For example, medical scientists now widely believe that Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease share the common feature of nerve cell degeneration due to impairment of the ATP producing enzymes with the citric acid cycle and mitochondria.

Genetic NAD deficiency may be present at birth and appear in children as poor sleeping, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, impaired concentration, academic stress and underachievement. Some people have been tired and depressed for as long as they can remember.  For these people there is a greater tendency to try drugs and alcohol in order to improve energy and mood, and simply feel better, but the risk for addiction is high.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Genetics and addiction

A word of caution is necessary as we discuss genetics and addiction, or, any other disease.  Inherited variations in genes do not invariably lead to disease.  Lifestyle and mind style factors often override, so to speak, a genetic tendency.  Basically the DNA is the hardware in the computer and the epigenome is the software, which is influenced by our lifestyle and the choices we make in our lives.  The epigenome responds to our thoughts, emotions, beliefs and overall stress levels, as well as our diet, exercise levels and other features of our daily lives.  Basically, the genes put the bullet in the gun, but it is our lifestyle and mind style that pulls the trigger.

NAD deficiency:

There may be a genetic polymorphism that reduces a gene coding for a mitochondrial protein which regulates NAD production.  Since mitochondrial DNA is all received from the mother through the egg (no mitochondria are found in sperm) we can look to the maternal side for clues to energy production in the family history.

Dopamine D2 receptor impairment:

Since the primary neurotransmitter of the reward pathway is dopamine, genes for dopamine synthesis, degradation, receptors, and transporters are areas of research. Also, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, opioid, and cannabinoid neurons all modify dopamine metabolism and dopamine neurons. Therefore, defects in various combinations of the genes for these neurotransmitters may result in a Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS).

The brain

The brain is composed of billions of nerve cells, called neurons. Brain activity is the interaction of neurons as they communicate with one another. Neurons do not actually touch one another; instead, they are separated by a small gap called a synapse. Activity within a neuron is electrical; however electrical activity cannot cross the synapse. When one neuron wants to signal another, it releases a number of neurotransmitter chemical molecules into the synapse. For each type of neurotransmitter, the receiving neuron has specific receptor sites on the surface. As neurotransmitter molecules bind to a receptor site, the process causes electrical activity in the receptor neuron. The receiving neuron then releases the neurotransmitter molecules so that the sending neuron can absorb them from the synapse in a process called re-uptake, stopping the communication.

Feeling the pleasure

The presence of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the synapses of the reward center of the brain is directly related to every feeling of pleasure we experience, from eating good food to falling in love. Other neurotransmitters mediate other emotions and attitudes.

Avenues of addiction

As people continue to use addictive substances, receptor function decreases, which requires the increased use of substances for pleasure or just a sense of well-being. In the absence of external substances, the body experiences a neurotransmission deficit. Some people begin by taking drugs to feel high while others begin by innocently increasing their prescription use to achieve the original effect. There are as many reasons to become addicted as there are people who become addicted. In most cases, NO ONE begins by believing they will become a slave to an external power which completely consumes and controls their life.

Understanding withdrawal

When a chemically dependent person is denied access to a substance to which s/he is addicted, the addicted brain goes into a frenzy that manifests itself in the physical symptoms of withdrawal. The symptoms may be life threatening and may induce agitation, hallucinations, intestinal upsets, severe muscular aches, etc. After withdrawal, the body may be completely free of the addicting substance, yet neurotransmitters of the brain are still not in balance. This may lead to physical feelings of craving, an almost overwhelming desire to use the substance again.

Treatment process

The first step is a comprehensive functional medical evaluation which reviews all systems in the body, including digestion, nutrient absorption, hormone balance, immunity and the like.  After that dietary recommendations are provided, along with nutritional supplements. Then the 10 day intravenous program is started. The IV infusion varies from day to day and is individualized for each patient. Each day of the treatment, a nurse inserts an IV line. The patient relaxes in a lounge chair while the intravenous formulation is slowly infused through the vein. The uncomfortable feelings of withdrawal and cravings subside and remain at bay surprisingly quickly. Between the fourth and eighth day patients typically report feelings of amazing mental clarity. Infusions are tolerated well and any mild side effects disappear at the cessation of infusion. The severe physical symptoms of withdrawal vanish; however, the full protocol is required to complete the treatment and minimize or eliminate physical cravings. Note that following treatment the psychological aspects of addiction still need to be addressed. During the day the patient may watch television, read, eat, and even doze. At the end of the day, the IV is disconnected and the patient leaves the outpatient clinic.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Life after treatment

After treatment the patient is no longer physically addicted and may certainly resume a normal life; however, an addicted person will typically not have been leading a normal life for some time. In order to rejoin the world successfully, a variety of aftercare coping strategies can be helpful. The patient upon receiving treatment needs to continue engaging with the different support groups and commit to:

• Individual psychotherapy
• Group psychotherapy
• Family psychotherapy
• Exercise programs
• Affinity and other social groups
• Residential and/or Intensive Outpatient Programs

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The understanding