Improving autoimmune and mitochondrial disorders by increasing energy production

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Most of the autoimmune disorders such as diabetes, myasthenia

gravis, polymyalgia, fibromyalgia, lupus, Crohn's disease, arthritis,

myositis, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy are

characterized by low energy. The energy molecule produced in the

mitochondria of the cells is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The body

depletes its supply of ATP while dealing with the toxins absorbed

through exposure to a wide variety of environmental contaminants and

chemicals. Toxin load including infection can be a trigger for an

autoimmune disorder, and the ATP deficiency increases the pain and

other disabling symptoms.

In the body, ATP: moves substances into and out of the cell; moves

muscles; opens and closes channels; produces signals that stimulate

hormones; detoxifies the body; teams up with sulfate to become a

sulfate donor for renewal and repair. Without it, cellular function

is impaired or stopped and the cell dies; this is what produces the

wasting. The body needs ATP to repair and renew the same parts the

deteriorate and cause pain in autoimmune disorders: chondroitin

sulfate (cartilage, bone, skin, cornea, arteries); dermatan sulfate

(skin, blood vessels, heart); heparan sulfate (lungs, arteries,

basement membranes); heparin (lung, liver, skin, mast cell granules);

keratan sulfate (cartilage, cornea, vertebral discs).

Illness robs our bodies of ATP, and the sicker one is, the more

energy one needs. Mitochondrial disorders that involve the reduced

production of ATP are also serious; because there hasn't even been a

treatment the prognosis for these disorders ranges in severity from

progressive weakness to death.

Using just one example, scleroderma is a chronic disorder

characterized by excessive deposits of collagen. Progressive systemic

scleroderma, the serious type of the disease, can be fatal. In an

article (published in Scleroderma Voice, 2003 #3) titled Fatigue and

Weakness in Scleroderma Patients by Jane H. Park, Ph.D., from

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Ms Park reports, " Our

studies showed that the thigh muscles of scleroderma patients at rest

had an average reduction of 35% in concentrations of both ATP

(adenosine triphosphate) and PCr (phosphocreatine) compared to normal

muscles. These decreases were present in patients with both diffuse

or limited scleroderma. "

Mitochondrial disorders and autoimmune disorders are now sometimes

treated with supplements that compensate by increasing ATP

production, and this can be done at home with the same supplements

you might take for general energy increase. These supplements include

coenzyme Q10, carnitine, vitamins C and K, and various components of

the vitamin B complex, especially riboflavin. Lecithin, which

contains the needed phosphate for ATP and PCr production, should be

an asset. Ginseng and Rhea extract take the more direct approach;

they actually contain ATP. Magnesium is important because it is

required by all the muscle enzymes involved in energy production.

Magnesium and ATP always tightly bind together, and ATP is only

active in the presence of proper concentrations of magnesium. The

concentrations of magnesium are also low in muscles of patients with

either diffuse or localized disease. During the stress of exercise,

the muscle deficit in magnesium is actually increased, and this is

probably why wasting disorders are usually made worse rather than

better when a person exercises.

Salvatore DiMauro and Schon, both of the Neurology Department

at New York's Columbia University, reported in the January 1998 issue

of The Neuroscientist, that even a little help can mean a lot in

mitochondrial disorders, says DiMauro, a neurologist. " Patients can

be sick when they have 85 percent mutant mitochondria in a given

tissue, but if they have 80 percent, they may be much, much better

and may not show symptoms. So, if you can change the proportions even

slightly, you may do the patient a lot of good. " ATP increase is also

useful to people who do not have 'mutant mitchondria' but simply have

low ATP production for any reason. In an open label clinical study

involving people with allergies and autoimmune disorders who were

given of a specific Rhea extract called ATP Boost in 1998,

respondents reported the following results for symptom remission:

allergies 73%; pain, 77%; range of motion improvement, 76%. Further,

73% of participants noted an increased energy level.

An ATP increaser that heals the mitochondria obviously has huge

implications for mitochondrial disorders and autoimmune disease.

Researcher Michel Grise really hit the jackpot when he discovered

that Prosoteine facilitates normal ATP production by taking a

restorative aproach that was previously unavailable. This may also

prove to be a valuable supplement for cancer patients because, as

shown by the work of Dr. Koch, when ATP is elevated cancer

often goes away. There's a summary article on that subject at:

http://tinyurl.com/5cdkv. Prosoteine is available from Practical

Magic Herbs in Duncan BC (748-1040) or you can join me online.

regards,

Duncan Crow