Tag Archives: Adenosine triphosphate

Giving Your Mitochondrial Health a boost by IV NAD

August 11, 2014

Restoring Mitochondrial Health by IV NAD

What are mitochondria?

They are membrane bound organelles which are found in most of the cells (eukaryotic cells) that make up living things. They are also sometimes termed to as the powerhouses.

Why are mitochondria vital in our bodies?

Mitochondrial HealthAs we have just mentioned, mitochondria are also referred to as powerhouse due to the functions that they do in our bodies. Their main work is to generate the energy that our body cells require in order to execute their jobs. One of such cells which need a lot of energy is the brain cells. The brain cells are responsible for the communication to all the other parts of the body and thus these mitochondria must be transported along the cells.

Mitochondria generate chemical energy similarly to the one we normally get from batteries. This energy which is generated by the mitochondria in the form of chemical is referred to as Adenosine Triphosphate or simply ATP. This is an energy currency that every ling thing cell can use and this is what makes it possible for us to be kept alive.

What are mitochondrial diseases?

These are diseases which result from the failure of mitochondria. As we already know, mitochondria are responsible for supplying energy to the cells. Mitochondria themselves are present in all the cells except in the red blood cells. They produce about 90 of the energy that the cells use. In the case when the mitochondria fails to work, then the energy that the cells get decline and consequently cell injury or even cell death follow. If the process occurs all over the body, then the whole system fails and the life of the person in which it is happening becomes threatened.

These mitochondrial diseases commonly cause damage on critical organs such as the brain, heart, skeletal muscles, kidney and sometimes the respiratory system.

Symptoms of a mitochondrial disease watch out for

The symptoms of a mitochondrial disease vary depending with the cells that are affected. Generally they may include the following:-

  • There may be loss in motor control
  • Muscle weakness and pain may also be another symptom
  • Visual or hearing impairment, especially if their system cells are the ones affected.
  • Gastro-intestinal disorders & Swallowing difficulties may be evident when the respiratory cells are affected.
  • Another symptom of mitochondrial disease is poor growth, since for growth to occur, cell multiplication must occur and it is a process that requires a lot of energy.
  • The victim may also become diabetic
  • Cardiac disease
  • Liver disease
  • Respiratory infection
  • Seizure among many other symptoms.

Which principle is used in mitochondrial restoration?

Mitochondrial HealthMitochondrial restoration is a natural process that seeks to restore the various body organs which have been previously cellularly affected to their normal working state. The mitochondrial restoration targets the organs that have been affected by the decline in energy supply and hence whose functional capacity has been also been affected and then restores its functional state.

Mitochondrial treatment involves measures that restore cells to their normal working condition by ensuring they get the energy necessary for them to function. These measures involve ensuring that there are sufficient mitochondria in the body and they are working correctly. Therefore, the treatment seeks to eliminate the cause of mitochondrial failure which had previously occurred.

Why is IV NAD preferred in mitochondrial restoration treatment?

What is NAD? NAD refers to Nicotinamide adenine Dinucleotide, which is a metabolic co-enzyme responsible for every aspect of life. There are basically two classes of these co-enzymes, digestive and metabolic enzymes. NAD treatment bases on the metabolic enzyme, as this enzymes are responsible for restructuring, repair and remodeling of the cells. The metabolic enzyme provide an advantage in that they operate in every cell, every organ and every cell. NAD is essential in the production of ATP, which is the basic energy molecule in our bodies.

Advantage of IV NAD therapy in mitochondrial health restoration

As we have seen, mitochondria are very important since they are responsible for the production of energy that the cells use. When the cells do not get enough energy due to failure in mitochondria, this is a death threatening disease since it may cause all the cells to fail in their function and consequently failure in the entire systems which may pose the patient to death.

If the situation of energy deficiency occurs as a result of mitochondrial failure, this situation needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Prescription can be given to the patient in response to the situation, but this method has limitations. Some of the medications that are administered to mitochondrial failure patient are known to be habit forming and may cause dependency. This makes the patient rely on the medication on daily life and in case of withdrawal; withdrawal symptoms and craving for the drugs may follow.

IV NAD therapy is a treatment that is natural and is based on the principle that, “body has ability to heal on itself as long as the necessary conditions are maintained.” This means that even after the therapy is administered to the patient, there cannot be addiction to the drug. Another advantage is that the therapy generally contributes to the well-being of a person by ensuring the mitochondria are working correctly as well as the NAD co-enzymes.

Restoring Mitochondrial Health by IV NAD

 

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Glycolysis Inhibitors Help in Fighting Cancer

August 4, 2014

 

The Role of Glycolysis Inhibitors In Fighting Cancer

The best way of killing cancer cells is to starve them. This is the safest way of killing cancer cell as the normal healthy cells are not affected by this way of killing the cancerous cells. In the past it was a big problem finding a way of killing the cancerous cells without affecting the healthy body cells. This is because all the cancer cells as well as the healthy body cells depend on glucose as their energy source that they need to survive. However very many researchers have done work on the subject of cancer cell metabolism and the discovery by Otto Warburg that the cancer cells depended entirely on glucose for source of energy unlike the healthy body cells that can adapt to other sources of energy like fats helps a lot in selective killing of cancer cells without hurting the healthy body cells. The cancerous cells undergo increased glycolysis and rely on this pathway for generation of ATP energy as their sole source of energy for growth and survival.

Basing arguments on the Warburg effect, doctors have come up with different cancer therapies to help in killing the cancer cells effectively without hurting the healthy body cells. The cancer cell overdependence on the glycolitic pathway for generation of ATP energy as the sole source of survival has provided a great loophole through which the cancer cells can be selectively killed without affecting any other healthy cell by inhibiting glycolysis.

There are Glycolytic inhibitors that can be used in maiming the cancer cells by denying them their source of livelihood. By inhibiting glycolysis they exert an anticancer effect on the cancer cells hence help in killing the cancer cells.

Glycolytic inhibitors can be used mostly in fighting cancer cells that have mitochondrial defects or in hypoxic conditions. These cells often become resistant to conventional medication such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. However increased glycolysis is a common characteristic of all tumor cells and glycolysis inhibition can be used in wide range in treating cancer patients.

Though it may be difficult to understand the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that lead to increased aerobic glycolysis in the cancer cells, the metabolic repercussions of this increased glycolysis is very clear. The malignant cells become dependent or other addicted to the glycolysis pathway as the sole source of ATP energy. Researchers opine that the increased glycolysis in cancer cells may be caused by such factors as; hypoxia, oncogenic signals as well as mitochondrial dysfunction.

The cancer cells have to access a reliable supply of glucose in order to live. Unlike oxidative phosphorylation which generates more ATP energy per glucose the ATP generation of ATP through glycolysis is too little. Typically oxidative phosphorylation produces 36 ATP per glucose while glycolysis produces 2 ATP per glucose. This therefore forces the cancer cells to eat more glucose for effective metabolism as well as to accomplish other activities. The cancer cells therefore need to maintain glycolitic activities in order to grow and live on.

This metabolic characteristic of the cancer cells has availed a better way of killing cancer cells. Researchers have now proved that by inhibiting glycolysis the cancer cell will stop production of the ATP energy that they depend on and so they will die out of starvation.

When there is glycolysis inhibition the normal body cells will be able to adapt to other metabolic pathways to generate the ATP energy through the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria. The cancer cells however cannot adapt to other sources of ATP as they have defects hence will die as they will not be able to live without another source of ATP energy. The healthy body cells will be able to adapt to new sources of energy like fatty acids and amino acids to produce metabolic intermediates channeled to the TCA cycle for ATP production through respiration. Glycolysis inhibition is therefore a clever way of killing the cancer cells without harm on the healthy body cells.

DCA as a Glycolysis inhibitor

The way DCA works as a glycolysis inhibitor is very interesting; it forces the cancer cells to generate ATP through glucose oxidation but the cancer cells are not able to do this and they get starved and die. The healthy body cells can adapt to metabolic changes unlike the cancerous cells. The first way through which the body cells get energy is through glucose oxidation which happens in the mitochondria of every cell in the body and requires oxygen. Glucose respiration is the mostly utilized form of metabolism in the healthy cells. However in absence of oxygen the cells turn to glycolysis which takes place in the cell cytoplasm for energy generation. Glycolysis does not avail adequate ATP energy for normal cells; however it is the best for cancer cells. Glycolysis depends on sugar. This gives the healthy cell advantage as they have a backup plan in case the oxygen supply is interrupted. However to oxidize glucose there must be pyruvate. Pyruvate entry into the mitochondria is inhibited by an enzyme known as pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK). In case the PDK is strong then it will limit the transportation of pyruvate into the mitochondria and the healthy cells will have to depend on glycolysis even in presence of oxygen but incase its weak the pyruvate will be transported with ease to mitochondria even when the oxygen is low.

Cancer cells have the most active PDK than the healthy cells and they are adapted to glycolysis. When PDK is weak then the cancer cells are disadvantaged and this is what the DCA does. It weakens PDK forcing the cancer cells to rely on glucose oxidation which does not favor them. Hence they will starve and die.

Dr. Dalal Akoury is an experienced integrative cancer doctor who has seen very many cancer patients journey to victory in their fight against cancer. She is available for consultations. Just call her now and begin your journey to victory against cancer.

The Role of Glycolysis Inhibitors In Fighting Cancer

 

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

MITOCHONDRIAL RESTORATION TO TREAT ADDICTION

July 29, 2014

What is a mitochondrion?

They are also sometimes referred to as the powerhouses. It is a membrane bound organelle which is found in most of the cells (eukaryotic cells) that make up living things.

What is the function of mitochondria?

mitochondrial restorationAs we mentioned earlier, mitochondria are also referred to as powerhouse due to the functions that they do in our bodies. Their main work is to generate the energy that our body cells require in order to execute their jobs. One of such cells which need a lot of energy is the brain cells. The brain cells are responsible for the communication to all the other parts of the body and thus these mitochondria must be transported along the cells.

Mitochondria generate chemical energy similarly to the one we normally get from batteries. This energy which is generated by the mitochondria in the form of chemical is referred to as Adenosine Triphosphate or simply ATP. This is an energy currency that every ling thing cell can use and this is what makes it possible for us to be kept alive.

What principle makes mitochondrial restoration able to treat addiction?

Most of the addictive drugs cause damage in the body organs. For instance, alcohol may cause damage to the liver, muscle weakness as well as brain damage in severe cases. Any attempt to help the patent recover from the addiction must therefore apart from treating the addiction itself focus on the damage that has been caused by the addictive drug on the various body organs.

Any cure for addiction that doesn’t address the damage caused by the drug is considered incomplete since even after the patient recovers from the addiction, he/she will suffer from other illnesses which may come as a result of the damage caused by the drug. On top of this, some of the prescription addiction recovery drugs have been found to have residual effects on the body of the addict even after recovering from the addiction.

Mitochondrial restoration is a natural process that seeks to restore the various body organs which have been previously cellular affected to their normal working state. The mitochondrial restoration targets the organs that have been affected by the addictive drug and hence whose functional capacity has been also been affected but the drug and then restores its functional state.

Addiction is known to first affect the human brain before the drug even has any effect to the other related organs. In this case therefore, the treatment of addiction must address the damage that has been caused to the brain by the drug. Mitochondrial restoration is an appropriate natural way of treating addiction, since it helps in the restoration of the various body organs to their normal working states.

The mitochondrial energy

As earlier mentioned, the core mandate of mitochondria in the body is to produce the energy required by the cells in the body. The mitochondrial energy production is usually accompanied by two very closely linked metabolic processes. These processes are; a) the citric acid cycle also known as the Krebs/ biological fuel and b) an oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

mitochondrial restoration

  • The citric acid cycle

This is usually a series of chemical reactions which are used by all aerobic organisms to generate energy via the process of oxidation of acetate which is derived from the food. The acetate is converted into carbon dioxide and chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This cycle also provides some precursors of certain amino acids as well as the reduction of the NADH that is used in a number of other biochemical reactions in the body.

  • Oxidative phosphorylation

This is the pathway through which the mitochondrion which is released by the oxidation of nutrients is transported to the cells. They use its structure, enzymes and energy released by the oxidation processes to reform ATP. ATP is an important molecule in the body, as it works to supply energy to all the metabolic processes.

OXPHOS operates through a network of electrons, five protein complexes which are attached in the inner membrane of the mitochondria. The five protein complexes are: –

The oxidative phosphorylation converts adenosine di-phosphate (ADP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the chemical currency of cells and can then be transported to the cells where work needs to be done.

Does mitochondrial restoration provide a permanent solution to the drug addict?

The aim of mitochondrial restoration is to ensure that the cells in the body are provided with the energy that they need to function. By ensuring that the cells are working correctly, makes it possible for the addict’s body organs to heal from the damage caused by the drugs. This ensures that the addict is healed inside out from the addiction and its damages it had caused to the addict’s body. This also helps to ensure that the recovery process doesn’t experience withdrawal symptoms and craving. This process though may take some time to complete; it provides a permanent solution to the addict as well as improving the overall well-being.

MITOCHONDRIAL RESTORATION TO TREAT ADDICTION

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Mitochondrial Restoration and Cancer Treatment

July 5, 2014

How Mitochondrial Restoration is Essential for Cancer Treatment

Cancer diagnosis has gradually become a worrying threat to patients all over the globe with the number of those diagnosed with the killer disease increasing every decade. Statistics in countries such as the US, India, and Canada which have unsuccessfully devoted a lot of resources in researching for the ultimate cancer cure show that millions of people are diagnosed with cancer every year despite the massive technological advancements.

Cancer has by and by grown into a global epidemic of overwhelming proportions with the statistics in the early 1900s showing that one in 20 people developed cancer, ‘40s one in 16 people developed cancer, in the 1970s the number was one in 10 while today it is one in three!

Mitochondrial Restoration

The overall death rates are falling in spite of the alarming rates of cancer incidences as a result of the so called 40-year ‘war on cancer’. Awareness creation on cancer has been farce. A deeper understanding on the same has been achieved that comprehensively have reduced its mortality cases worldwide.

Increased medical research on cancer in the recent decades have revealed how mitochondria play a central role in the propagation of the disease given the necessary conditions. As such, mitochondria have become key organelles involved by researchers and therapists in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis.

Researchers have given priority to the relationship between mitochondria, Reactive Oxygen Species signaling and activation of survival pathways under hypoxic conditions as the core subject of increased study. There is speculation that insights into the mechanisms involved in ROS signaling may offer ways of facilitating discovery specific cancer therapies.

These studies have noted that chemicals, viruses and various radiations are responsible for inducing mutations in genes encoding cancer causing proteins which in turn give rise to the disease.

A number of interrelated processes are involved in the formation of cancer in this manner, in which mitochondria, the ‘cellular power plants’ involved in cellular differentiation, signaling, cell death as well as the control of cell growth and cycle; play a central role.

The condition where parts of the body are deprived of oxygen (hypoxia) as well as stressful conditions of nutrient deprivation especially lack of glucose have been identified to promote the process of malignant transformation when a low percentage of cells maneuver and overcome cellular senescence through certain mutations.

Studies have identified cellular stress in the form of hypoxic as well as glycemic conditions as two of the major triggering events for cancer. Oncoproteins, or proteins encoded by oncogenes which have the potential to cause the transformation of a cell into a tumor cell if introduced into it, usually reinforce the process of cancer formation by altering gene expression to bring about a common set of changes in mitochondrial function and activity in cancer cells.

The cancer cells follow a program that do not conform to the normal cell behavior. The cell proliferation that is not regulated leads to formation of cellular masses that extend beyond the resting vasculature and this results in oxygen and nutrient deprivation.

The resulting condition of hypoxia then triggers a number of critical adaptations that enable cancer cells to survive. In this condition the process of apoptosis is suppressed and the glucose metabolism is altered.

Hypoxia causes elevation in mitochondrial production of chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen known as reactive oxygen species or ROS.

Scientific investigations over the recent decades suggest that oxygen depletion thus stimulates mitochondria to compensate increased reactive oxygen species (ROS).  This activates signaling pathways that promotes cancer cells survival and the growth of the tumor in a condition where the cells that escape senescent elimination emerge with oncogenic mutations and become immortalized tumors.

In this regard, studies have established that directing attention to the mitochondrial dysfunction responsible for the particular cancerous condition would be a lot effective in treating cancer. These mitochondrial disorders may be caused by mutations as already mentioned or acquired or inherited in the mitochondrial DNA as well as in nuclear genes that provide coding for mitochondrial components.

Mitochondrial Restoration

An understanding of the exact nature of the disorder in question is a key prerequisite to establishing an accurate therapeutic approach to the particular mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent treatment to cancer resulting from the same.

Scientists suggest the ATP Profile as the recommended test in diagnosing a number of the mitochondrial disorders, though research into this test is still underway to establish it as fully workable. It involves blood assessment at several levels which include the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the primary form of energy in the body and generated by the mitochondria.

The intermediate form of energy in the body also found in the blood, Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) is also included in the test. This is used by mitochondria to make ATP. Studies have shown that the more severe the dysfunction the more severe the symptoms. With the results from the diagnosis, a number of supplements can be used to remedy the disorder with specific recommendations from the doctor. A common example that various doctors recommend is riboflavin or vitamin B2 for correcting mitochondrial problems. This should be accompanied with physical therapy that help improve range of motion and dexterity.

How Mitochondrial Restoration is Essential for Cancer Treatment

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

  • Recent Posts

  • Blog Categories