Update on Coagulation testing & Dr. Glueck.

[Guest guest]

Hi all, The status report on my coagulation testing is still in progress, although I do have some pretty significant news on how it's perhaps impacting my health so far. Dr. Glueck has asked that I have 3 more tests performed before advising me on a full course of treatment (and remarkably, he's refusing any payment for his consultation, even though he's more than entitled). In the meantime, based on my medical history, he's telling me that testing positive for the ENOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthesis) mutation could be significant and problematic and he's advised that I start immediately taking an OTC medical food product called Arginaid. This is often used in the hospital setting for wound healing, diabetic ulcerations, etc. It's also used to prevent blood vessel and cornary spasming and reduce the risk of plaque build-up and heart attack.

(people with this mutation have a 3-fold greater risk of heart attack). Arginaid is a drink version of L-arginine, an essential amino acid which is a protein and Nitric Oxide precursor. Apparently, the ENOS defect makes it difficult to produce/synthesize Nitric Oxide, which is important for wound healing, fighting infection, muscle and vascular health, hormone production, etc. (Body builders commonly supplement with Arginine.) It's also good to note that infection depletes arginine stores. One of the known effects of poor Nitric Oxide synthesis is blood vessel spasming. This is extremely interesting to me personally because vessel spasms are thought to be at the root of migraines, something I've had to deal with for 2 decades. Doing more research on NO and arginine, I've just now learned that arginine is one of the supplements suggested in migraine

treatment. So it looks as if things are perhaps coming full circle here. It's very possible that this coagulation defect is at the basis of my chronic infections, migraines, fatigue and overall pain and weakness. With all the supplements I've taken, I've never taken Arginine. I've thought about taking it before, but based on the tremendous amount of supplement info out there and my lack of success with so many previous supplements, it's hard to know what's actually worth trying. Having these test results pointing me in a specific & logical direction, however, gives me so much more confidence in how to approach my illness in general. Although I'm not convinced Arginine is the answer, knowing that my efforts are based on something concrete gives me a greater feeling of empowerment as well as more reasonable hope for some kind of success. I still think it would be smart for all pwc, and pw/FMS to have coagulation testing done, but if that's not immediately possible, then I think that it would behoove pwc with symptoms similar to mine (and I know there are a lot of us out there) to do some research on Nitric Oxide synthesis and talk to their doctors about doing a therapeutic trial with arginine and see if some of their symptoms are alleviated. In the meantime, I will keep everyone posted on my trial with arginaid (as soon as it arrives), and will also update you once I've had the additional blood testing and get Dr. Glueck's full recommendations. I have to say that I am more convinced than ever that Dr. Glueck is a very fine doctor, in addition to being a well known researcher and director of the Jewish Hospital in Cincinatti. He obviously cares about patients or he wouldn't be consulting people at no

charge and continuously running free health studies for patients. His research has created a number of medical breakthroughs, resulting in better lives for so many people. I hope that his efforts will help pwc as well. penny Wikipedia on Nitric Oxide: Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones. Arginine, taken in combination with proanthocyanidins[4] or yohimbine[5], has also been used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. In proteins The geometry, charge distribution and ability to form multiple H-bonds make arginine ideal for binding negatively charged groups. For this reason arginine prefers to be on the outside of the proteins where it can interact with the polar environment. Incorporated in proteins, arginine can also be converted to citrulline by PAD enzymes. In addition, arginine can be methylated by protein methyltransferases. As a precursor Arginine is the immediate precursor of NO, urea, ornithine and agmatine; is necessary for the synthesis of creatine; and can also be used for the synthesis of polyamines (mainly through ornithine and to a lesser degree through agmatine), citrulline, and glutamate. For being a precursor of NO, (relaxes blood vessels), arginine is used in many conditions where vasodilation is required. The presence of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), a close relative, inhibits the nitric oxide reaction; therefore, ADMA is considered a marker for vascular disease, just as

L-arginine is considered a sign of a healthy endothelium.