Deafness following a course of aminoglycoside class antibiotics

[Guest guest]

A few years ago this subject went around this list and I contributed a summary

of an article I have in my possession, given to me by my friend who is an

audiologist. I went hunting for this post and had to do some digging to

find it as it was 1999 that I wrote it and fortunately I kept it!

While it makes sense for *all" Mito folk to avoid taking the aminoglycosides

class of antibiotics, just as it makes sense for all Mito folk to use the

special protocol for anaesthesia and to avoid the use of Valproic Acid (Depakote)

etc ..... it makes sense because *SOME* of the Mito folks have dire reactions.

I mean .... why take the chance?

How I wish that one of our well known Mito doctors would add to our articles

we can download and take to our doctors by writing an article about the issue

of contraindicated drugs for Mito folk. I expect they are unwilling to take

this risk of omitting something, especially since problems with these drugs

seem to be on a hit or miss basis!!!!

That having been said ... this article was written by two doctors doing research

on the subject. As you will read ... the listing of aminoglycosides as being

"ototoxic" is a responsible way of looking at them: however, I read from

this article that the ototoxicity is quite specific.

Jean

*********

Deafness following a course of antibiotics.

The article is called "Mitochondria and Risk of Deafness" by Tim P. Hutchin

and Gino A. Cortopassi of University of California. It was published in

the American Journal of Audiology, Vol4, - 1059-0889/95/0401-0012 in March

of 1995.

It is written in quite technical language, but the essence of the article

is as follows:

Certain antibiotics (aminoglycosides) perform their antibiotic function by

inducing errors in bacterial protein synthesis, eventually causing cell death.

Drugs mentioned are amikasin, neomycin, and streptomycin.

The bacterial cell is entirely cytoplasm; its DNA is not packaged into a

discrete nucleus as in mammalian cells. Mitochondia are believed to more

closely resemble bacterial cell than mammalian, making them a possible target

for aminoglcosides.

A rare genetic trait which cofers hypersensitivity to aminoglycoside antibiotics,

and is inherited maternally, exists in the human population. These humans,

when exposed to therapeutic levels of aminoglycosides, develop significant

hearing loss. A mitochondrial mutation occurs in 100% of family pedigrees

*with a trait for hypersensitivity to aminoglycosides*. The mutation is

referred to as 1555o degree. Genetic screening could find this mutation

prior to administration of the antibiotic, thereby preventing the risk to

these sensitive individuals. Their findings show that if the mutation has

occurred in a family, it remains linked to that type. This group of mtDNA

is rare in Caucasian populations, but more frequent in Asian. A warning

sign for doctors of this problem would be the occurrence of deafness after

antibiotic (aminoglycosides) use to multiple individuals

in a family. This can be tested for 1555(o) with a hair or blood sample

and the avoidance of these drugs for positive families through the maternal

inheritance pattern could be effected.

The researchers listed above are willing to test, at no charge, as many hair

or blood samples because they are interested in the distribution of the trait.

I took him up on his offer several months ago – Dr. Gino Cortopassi responded

to my Email promptly and gave me the results quite

promptly too. I found his Email address through the University of Southern

California's web master, but unfortunately, that address left when I got

my new computer.

Gino A. Cortopassi

Institute for Toxicology

Dept. of Molecular Pharmacology & Toxicology

School of Pharmacy

University of Southern California

The address given is Los Angeles, but I believe it is the Campus that

I found him.

sol8air@... wrote:

In a message dated 3/17/04

7:37:44 AM Pacific Standard Time, mitoscottie@... writes:

It is my understanding that the

aminoglycoside antibiotics *only* affect *hearing* in the *very specific MtDNA deletion A1555G

Gentamycin is ototoxic to everyone not just people with MITO. I

don't know about specific deletions, I was told by Dr. Saneto that MITO kids

in general should never recieve: Gentamycin, Tylenol, Ringer's Lactate, Gas

Anesthesia (I have the name written down somewhere of the specific anesthesia

drug to avoid) because these and some other drugs put added stress on the

mitochondria and/or damage mitochondria and increase symptoms. I always gave

my kid Tylenol until last year when he told me "by the way don't give her

tylenol". Then he gave me the list. It was a surprise to me.

kj

mom of De-Arbra age 16

Please contact mito-owner with any problems or questions.