Re: Where are the studies? /RE: PRECURSORS

[Guest guest]

Hi from Sue,

Note: there is research below warning about using the precursors NAC at therapeutic levels.. One of the commonly used enhancers is N Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) which is an antioxidant drug. It is the altered form of the amino acid Cysteine, which is commonly found in food and later synthesized by the body to create glutathione. NAC has been demonstrated to facilitate the SHORT TERM cellular detoxification of alcohol, tobacco smoke, acetaminophen [Tylenol®] poisoning and environmental pollutants in several in vitro studies.

Recent studies show NAC supplementation may be harmful over long periods and have been associated with ONLY MODEST increases in serum glutathione. NAC has NOT PROVEN particularly USEFUL in the treatment of chronic, long-term intracellular glutathione deficiencies. Furthermore, therapeutic levels of NAC are relatively TOXIC and have been associated with significant side effects. At therapeutic doses, oral NAC supplementation has been associated with cerebral symptoms (dizziness), nausea, blurred vision, skin rashes and vomiting.

University of Virginia Health System

Contact:Abena Foreman-Trice

A Type of Antioxidant May Not be as Safe as Once Thought

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., September 4, 2007 - Certain preparations taken to enhance athletic performance or stave off disease contain an antioxidant that could cause harm. According to new research at the University of Virginia Health System, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant commonly used in nutritional and body-building supplements, can form a red blood cell-derived molecule that makes blood vessels think they are not getting enough oxygen. This leads to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a serious condition characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries that carry blood to the lungs. The results appear in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"NAC fools the body into thinking that it has an oxygen shortage," said Dr. Ben Gaston, UVa Children's Hospital pediatrician and researcher who led the study. "We found that an NAC product formed by red blood cells, know as a nitrosothiol, bypasses the normal regulation of oxygen sensing. It tells the arteries in the lung to ‘remodel'; they become narrow, increasing the blood pressure in the lungs and causing the right side of the heart to swell."

Gaston notes that this is an entirely new understanding of the way oxygen is sensed by the body. The body responds to nitrosothiols, which are made when a decreased amount of oxygen is being carried by red blood cells; the response is not to the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood. He says that this pathway was designed much more elegantly than anyone had previously imagined. "We were really surprised", he said.

The research team administered both NAC and nitrosothiols to mice for three weeks. The NAC was converted by red blood cells into the nitrosothiol, S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNOAC). The normal mice that received NAC and SNOAC developed PAH. Mice missing an enzyme known as endothelial nitric oxide synthase did not convert NAC to SNOAC, and were protected from the adverse effects of NAC, but not SNOAC. This suggests that NAC must be converted to SNOAC to cause PAH.

Could regular use of NAC produce the same effects in humans? The next step is to determine a threshold past which antioxidant use becomes detrimental to heart or lung function, according to Dr. Palmer, co-researcher of the study.

"The more we understand about complexities in humans, the more we need to be aware of chemical reactions in the body," said Palmer.

According to Gaston and Palmer, NAC is being tested in clinical trials for patients with cystic fibrosis as well as other conditions; and clinical trials with nitrosothiols are being planned. These results, Palmer says, should motivate researchers to check their patients for PAH.

The results also open up a range of possibilities in treating PAH. Palmer added that the signaling process could be restorative and healing if they figured out how to keep NAC from fooling the body.

"From here we could devise new ways for sensing hypoxia or we could in theory modify signaling to treat PAH," Palmer said.

Re: Where are the studies?

Posted by: " Reynolds" peter@... rollinreynolds

Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:34 am (PDT)

Have to agree with the importance of the precursors.Given fundamentally we are dealing with a methylation issue, then any direct supplementation of glutathione is always going to be a short term "band aid" fix and not a long term solution to the underlying problems.And of course you only have to look at the Rooney paper and other associated research to see there could be a very big down side to direct glutathione supplementation for a heavy metal toxic patient.But most people only go so far as to say "hey look, Glutathione is low.... lets supplement it!"They don't even try to get to the bottom of WHY it is low in the first place.sue_lwsn wrote:>> -Hello Sue, The companies you have mentioned generally make singular> or combinations of vitamins/minerals etc that the children require as> part of their regime.The vits and mins are not themselves a "product"> that can be trademarked. For example milk thistle is a herb. No one> company owns the herb. We use Kirkmans as there is a degree of> satisfaction with their brand as I know it is hypoallergenic and> specially formaulated. However, i will use any company that I feel> offers a high quality. No one owns herbs, minerals etc.>> I think it is great that the offer is there for some of the DANs and> their patients to try out the patches. It will be interesting to see> what happens.>> I still do not believe though that we can normalise this metabolic> issue through the skin. i wish we could!! I am trying to my son to> improvce his detox pathways. It is a strugfle for us all. I am sure> that all the comlimentary meds such as reflexology help the body in> many, many ways. Us mothers and fathers could do with it ourselves.>> Critically, once someone makes a product, they do have an obligation> to prove as near dammit that it doeas exactly what it says on the> label. I cannot argue with a pot of herbs. It doesn't promise me> anything. I will take a herbal supplement and hope it helps me. These> patches are promising a hell of a lot for an incredibly complex set> of biochemical pathways aren't they?> I will still put my money on supplying the precursers in those> pathways, such as MB12, and getting rid of the metals which affect> the production of glutathione itself. Let's get real.>> Sue>> >