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Nicolson 2014 - Use of Natural Supplements to Improve Mitochondrial Function (CFS)

Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
I don't think this has been posted yet.

Neurodegenerative and Fatiguing Illnesses, Infections and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Use of Natural Supplements to Improve Mitochondrial Function.
Garth L. Nicolson, Robert Settineri and Rita R. Ellithorpe
Functional Foods in Health and Disease 2014; 4(1):23-65
Publication date: January 25, 2014

Full paper available here:
http://functionalfoodscenter.net/files/81845995.pdf

This paper is a review of various studies that have tested health supplements for a variety of fatiguing illnesses, including CFS.

There are a grand total of 319 references in this paper! A special Phoenix Rising prize goes to the first person who reads them all!

The review suggests that there have been substantial reductions in fatigue in CFS patients after some of these supplements were prescribed. But the devil is in the detail i.e. the methodology of the reviewed papers. i.e. were there control groups?

I've only checked one of the reviewed papers (see next post), which does not have a control group, but I suspect that they are mostly, or entirely, low-powered and without an adequate control group.

ABSTRACT

Background: Many chronic diseases and illnesses are associated with one or more chronic
infections, dysfunction of mitochondria and reduced production of ATP. This results in fatigue
and other symptoms that occur in most if not all chronic conditions and diseases.

Methods: This is a review of the published literature on chronic infections in neurodegenerative
diseases and fatiguing illnesses that are also typified by mitochondrial dysfunction. This
contribution also reviews the use of natural supplements to enhance mitochondrial function and
reduce the effects of chronic infections to improve overall function in various chronic illnesses.

Results: Mitochondrial function can be enhanced by the use of various natural supplements,
notably Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT) using glyerolphospholipids and other mitochondrial
supplements. In various chronic illnesses that are characterized by the presence of chronic
infections, such as intracellular bacteria (Mycoplasma, Borrelia, Chlamydia and other infections)
and viruses, LRT has proven useful in multiple clinical trials. For example, in clinical studies on
chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome and other chronic fatiguing illnesses where a
large majority of patients have chronic infections, LRT significantly reduced fatigue by 35-43%
in different clinical trials and increased mitochondrial function. In clinical trials on patients with
multiple intracellular bacterial infections and intractable fatigue LRT plus other mitochondrial
supplements significantly decreased fatigue and improved mood and cognition.

Conclusions: LRT formulations designed to improve mitochondrial function appear to be useful
as non-toxic dietary supplements for reducing fatigue and restoring mitochondrial and other
cellular membrane functions in patients with chronic illnesses and multiple chronic infections.
 
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Bob

Senior Member
Messages
16,455
Location
England (south coast)
This an example of one of the papers it reviews, which 'coincidentally' happens to be by the same authors:

Lipid Replacement Therapy with a glycophospholipid formulation with NADH and CoQ10 significantly reduces fatigue in intractable chronic fatiguing illnesses and chronic Lyme disease patients.
Nicolson GL, Settineri R, Ellithorpe E.
Intern J Clin Med 2012; 3(3): 163-170.
http://file.scirp.org/Html/2-2100271_19382.htm

I've checked it out and it has no control group.
 
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Messages
13,774
Maybe this shows I'm really biased and unreasonable, but I have to admit toa certain instinctive scepticism of papers that talk about 'natural supplements'. Thanks for having a look anyway... no control group is generally a good reason for scepticism!
 

August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
I've taken 10mg of NADH and 200mg of CoQ10 for about a year without any measurable benefits. However, it was shortly after this that I found out that I had very high EBV and significantly high HHV-6 titres. This could have very well been cancelling out any improvements!

I think anyone that has been ill for an extended period of time is going to have some level of mitochondrial dysfunction.
 

Radio

Senior Member
Messages
453
I am fully recovered from CFS :woot:

Repairing the mitochondria, we allow our cells to increase their nutrient uptake so that supplementation support will have the most dramatic effect.


The key to my recovery was...

1. Super clean diet (The low histamine Chef Diet) + Organic rice...No coffee, No table salt...Just Eat Real Food...

2. Phospholipid Replacement therapy

3. Supporting mineral deficiencies

4. Methylation Support, <---(last step), Also, Limit P5P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) inhibits PST (phenol sulphur-transferase) activity.
 
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CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
@Bob On page 20, there were healthy control groups AND a crossover study:

"In a subsequent cross-over study the effects of LRT on fatigue and mitochondrial function
were monitored in patients with moderate to severe chronic fatigue [212]. There was good
correspondence between reductions in fatigue and gains in mitochondrial function. After 8
weeks of LRT with NTFactor, mitochondrial function was significantly improved, and after 12
weeks of NTFactor supplementation, fatigue was decreased by 35.5% (p<0.001), and
mitochondrial function was found to be similar to that found in young healthy adults (26.8%
increase, p<0.0001) [212]. After 12 weeks of supplement use, subjects were placed on placebo
for an additional 12 weeks, and their fatigue and mitochondrial function were again measured.
After the placebo period, fatigue and mitochondrial function were intermediate between the
initial values and those found after 8 or 12 weeks on the supplement, indicating that continued
supplementation is required to show improvements in mitochondrial function and maintain lower
fatigue scores [212]."

I'm done quoting for a while. I've got my NT Factor Lipids on my kitchen counter beckoning to me.
 

Martial

Senior Member
Messages
1,409
Location
Ventura, CA
I have no improvement in fatigue or anything else after taking NT Factor for 11 weeks. I must be a hard case.:depressed:

Well it may help the mitochondria for protection and healing, but if there are no improvements then perhaps there is an active infection of some kind that is still contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction and needs to be addressed as well?
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
Well it may help the mitochondria for protection and healing, but if there are no improvements then perhaps there is an active infection of some kind that is still contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction and needs to be addressed as well?

Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure there's plenty that needs to be addressed!
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
@Bob On page 20, there were healthy control groups AND a crossover study:

"In a subsequent cross-over study the effects of LRT on fatigue and mitochondrial function
were monitored in patients with moderate to severe chronic fatigue [212]. There was good
correspondence between reductions in fatigue and gains in mitochondrial function. After 8
weeks of LRT with NTFactor, mitochondrial function was significantly improved, and after 12
weeks of NTFactor supplementation, fatigue was decreased by 35.5% (p<0.001), and
mitochondrial function was found to be similar to that found in young healthy adults (26.8%
increase, p<0.0001) [212]. After 12 weeks of supplement use, subjects were placed on placebo
for an additional 12 weeks, and their fatigue and mitochondrial function were again measured.
After the placebo period, fatigue and mitochondrial function were intermediate between the
initial values and those found after 8 or 12 weeks on the supplement, indicating that continued
supplementation is required to show improvements in mitochondrial function and maintain lower
fatigue scores [212]."

I'm done quoting for a while. I've got my NT Factor Lipids on my kitchen counter beckoning to me.

The patients were 'aged' people suffering from fatigue, and the paper states that decreased mitochondrial function is a characteristic of aging and fatigue.

I don't think that age-related mitochondrial dysfunction is the same as ME-related mitochondrial dysfunction.

I only had a quick look at the paper (reference 212, and found through an internet search) but it didn't seem to be controlled in in the usual sense.
 

Martial

Senior Member
Messages
1,409
Location
Ventura, CA
The patients were 'aged' people suffering from fatigue, and the paper states that decreased mitochondrial function is a characteristic of aging and fatigue.

I don't think that age-related mitochondrial dysfunction is the same as ME-related mitochondrial dysfunction.

I only had a quick look at the paper (reference 212, and found through an internet search) but it didn't seem to be controlled in in the usual sense.

It is still helpful to supplement and support the michondria for support, and because there is such a heavy assault from chronic pathogens as it is. The source may not be the same in both cases but the benefits are still very high in both cases. Though in CFS it would be more important to treat these underlying etiologies as well. Mitochondrial dysfunction is just part of being in a state of disease, the complications on ATP production and the energy house of the immune system seems to always come into play. Supporting all the unique passageways and finding what works for each individual will probably be helpful in the cases unrelated to stress of aging, etc.

Methylation mutations, genetic pre dispositions, nutritional re balancing, finding specfic viral and bacterial loads, there is so many possibilites and options out there sometimes I just get excited thinking of all the cool research that can be done, and things that people can try out seems so cool! Never would you have so much access to all of this, and so many tools to work with say, like thirty years ago.