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New to Methylation

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1
I'm very new to using genetic information to find possible therapies for health issues. I have severe anxiety, among other symptoms, and am hoping to use my methylation gene analysis to help guide me on supplements and diet changes I could make to see some improvement. I've just started to dive into it though and am getting a bit twisted up so I was hoping I could get some advice from this community. Here are my results:

Here are your homozygous mutations as indicated in your SNP gene table above (not including MTHFR):

  • VDR Taq
  • MTRR A664A
  • BHMT-08
Here are your heterozygous mutations as indicated in your SNP gene table above (not including MTHFR):

  • MAO-A R297R
  • ACAT1-02
  • MTRR A66G

From what I've researched so far, it seems like I might benefit from a methylated B-12 supplement and maybe Vitamin D.

What are your thoughts? Do you think anxiety/panic attacks would stem from these mutations?
 
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15,786
@swerty - VDR Taq and BHMT-08 are reported backwords, and have little impact anyhow. You have the slightly better versions.

MTRR A664A doesn't have an impact, and MTRR A66G will only have an impact if homozygous or compound heterozygous with another substantial missense mutation.

The ACAT1 SNP has no known impact. MAOA R297R also has no impact.

There don't seem to be any problems with those methylation SNPs.
 
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Messages
19
@Valentijn Hi, sorry to bother you, but I'm having gigantic problems concentrating (can't work, on disability) and am really suffering. Fatigue at the moment is not too bad - SSRIs trigger enormous fatigue - but I'm wondering if methylation (homozygous for A66G) my explain my enormous problems concentrating, or perhaps other funky genes genetic genie caught.

Might I ask you if anything catches your eye?

thank you so much.
 

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... I'm wondering if methylation (homozygous for A66G) my explain my enormous problems concentrating, or perhaps other funky genes genetic genie caught.
MTRR A66G reduces methylB12 cycling to about 30% of normal, from what I recall, though that might require other mutations to be present as well. If it is causing a problem, B12 supplementation might help. But there's no way of knowing if it's the culprit - having blood measurement of B12 and/or homocysteine would give a better indication.
 
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PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
@Valentijn Hi, sorry to bother you, but I'm having gigantic problems concentrating (can't work, on disability) and am really suffering. Fatigue at the moment is not too bad - SSRIs trigger enormous fatigue - but I'm wondering if methylation (homozygous for A66G) my explain my enormous problems concentrating, or perhaps other funky genes genetic genie caught.

Might I ask you if anything catches your eye?

thank you so much.
Unfortunately it's not that simple. Finding an answer to your disability from a miniscule snapshot of your genes is very unlikely. Sorry to sound pessimistic, but at the same time it's best not to get too caught in the "methylation fad".

Not that the methylation issues aren't real or sources of issues. Far from it. But there's so much more than that, and the approach to look at a bunch of genes and jumping to hasty conclusions is not the way to go. Especially because it's backed by little to no evidence.

For instance your homozygous MTRR mutation could at best suggest an issue with B12 metabolism, but you will need to run specific functional tests to see if that's the case or not.

There's millions of perfectly heatlhy individuals with all sorts of "funky gene" combinations. :) And there can be a ton of other reasons for your disabling issues: hormonal, neurological, immune, intestinal etc...

It's best to find a competent physician and get some guidance. (though "competent" and "physician" in the same sentence is kind of an oxymoron :rolleyes:)

I wish you the best of luck
Grumpy cat out! :D
 
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For instance your homozygous MTRR mutation could at best suggest an issue with B12 metabolism, but you will need to run specific functional tests to see if that's the case or not.


It's best to find a competent physician and get some guidance. (though "competent" and "physician" in the same sentence is kind of an oxymoron :rolleyes:)

I wish you the best of luck
Grumpy cat out! :D


And there you have my problem... was mainly concerned something fixable was being overlooked.

THANK YOU
 
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19
MTRR A66G reduces methylB12 cycling to about 30% of normal, from what I recall, though that might require other mutations to be present as well. If it is causing a problem, B12 supplementation might help. But there's no way of knowing if it's the culprit - having blood measurement of B12 and/or homocysteine would give a better indication.

Thank you very much!!
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
You have a copy of MTHFR C677T, which might increase your need for folate, particularly the 5-MTHF form, not folic acid. You may also need B12.

The report you have, though, is only a selection of genes. You may have others impacting you as well. Ben Lynch has a Strategene program that may be helpful.

I know several people who have been helped by understanding their SNPs. However, that's only part of the picture. Environmental factors, like diet, gut health, toxins, infectious agents, stress, etc. can impact your biochemistry and alter how your genes are being expressed.

The Genova Diagnostics NutrEval test is tremendously helpful in determining need for methylating nutrients as well as providing info on environmental factors.
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
It gives status for heavy metals and environmental toxins - MTBE, styrene, etc. need for methylation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Better than SpectraCell and OAT.

Over the past 8 years, I've found them to be a good indication of problems in these areas. O think a lot of us have hidden toxicity that is complicating things.

No toxin test is perfect and it's impossible to test for all toxins. But, especially doing the PrePay program for $159, its a great value for a lot of info.

It also depend on how deep your toxicity is. This will catch it for most people early on, but once youve been detoxing a long while and gotten rid if the easy stuff it won't register here and you'll need a Doctors Data provoked urine heavy metal test to find it.

But this gives you a great place to start.
 
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19
You have a copy of MTHFR C677T, which might increase your need for folate, particularly the 5-MTHF form, not folic acid. You may also need B12.

The report you have, though, is only a selection of genes. You may have others impacting you as well. Ben Lynch has a Strategene program that may be helpful.

I know several people who have been helped by understanding their SNPs. However, that's only part of the picture. Environmental factors, like diet, gut health, toxins, infectious agents, stress, etc. can impact your biochemistry and alter how your genes are being expressed.

The Genova Diagnostics NutrEval test is tremendously helpful in determining need for methylating nutrients as well as providing info on environmental factors.


Hi, my GP just strongly encouraged me not to do the test, saying he'd done it may times but never seen it help anyone.

Do you have any stories to the contrary?
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Taurine, Bile, Liver Cycle and me: Per my MPP Extended Test, I am deficient in Taurine and haven't spent a great deal of time researching this topic. Taurine appears to have a critical role in bile production. I will try to summarize my layman's observations of their relationships in this post.

Hypothesis: Low Taurine is leading to borderline bile production which is contributing to poor digestion, stress on the liver, poor toxin elimination, and can be extended to explain some of my other non-specific symptoms.

Interesting summary, thanks for posting. I was going to test a bit of Taurine sooner or later because of the known relaxing/calming effects. If it also helps digestion I might as well catch two birds with a stone :)
Talking about animals...

    • Increase bile production and decreases bile saturation. [Source]
That's in hamsters, but I am no rodent. :D Is there evidence that it does it in humans too?

Cheers
 

caledonia

Senior Member
I unfortunately have a lot of experience with anxiety, and I have researched this area a lot. Anxiety like everything else is a result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Yes, you have some SNPs that could be implicated in anxiety - MTHFR, MTR and MTRR would inhibit methylation somewhat. If you have bipolar type anxiety, the COMT could be an actor. Methylation inhibition causes lower levels neurotransmitters like serotonin, and that can cause anxiety.

Methylation can also be inhibited by mercury and lead. You can see this on Ben Lynch's Strategene report.

If you do Sterling's Report from MTHFRsupport, you can see GAD genes. Those control the GABA/glutamate ratio. Mine lights up like a red Christmas tree.

The overall GABA/glutamate levels can be low (caused by methylation inhibition of neurotransmitters), and the ratio can be reversed, causing anxiety, caused by mercury. I'm not sure if you could have enough GAD mutations to cause this to happen without mercury. My ratio has gotten better as I've gotten rid of mercury.

The adrenals can also be a player. Either high or low cortisol can cause anxiety. Mercury also negatively impacts the adrenals. Long term stress, lots of coffee or energy drinks, etc. are bad too.

Having done various tests including the Nutreval - for mental health, my suggestion would be to get a Neuroadrenal profile. This includes both neurotransmitters levels and the GABA/glutamate balance and a 24 hour cortisol saliva test.

You can get one from Integrative Psychiatry.net. Then buy the consultation from the nurse practitioner and get supplement suggestions.

Or you can simply experiment with something to raise serotonin such as 5htp or inositol, and take GABA or theanine to see if that helps calm the glutamate. Then also eliminate all processed foods from your diet (50% of them contain MSG) and also avoid tomatoes, mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, and anything with umami like fish sauce - those contain a high amount of natural glutamates.

For the adrenals, I would not do supplementation unless you have a test to see if they're high or low. Then if so, supplement to bring those to normal.

I would also try some magnesium supplementation as that is calming and is a co-factor for methylation and many other processes in the body and is often deficient.

Then once you feel better, I suggest looking at toxic metals like mercury and lead to see if those are the underlying issue. The best and safest chelation protocol I have found is the Cutler Frequent Dose Chelation protocol. I have a link to that in my signature link.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
@PeterPositive



What test is that, specifically?
Typically homocysteine level and MMA (methylmalonic acid)
The former can be enough to give you an idea of how the B12 metabolism is working, although there are other factors that can influence methylation and thus homocysteine values.

If you want to be more thorough you should probably do both.

Cheers
 
Messages
19
Typically homocysteine level and MMA (methylmalonic acid)
The former can be enough to give you an idea of how the B12 metabolism is working, although there are other factors that can influence methylation and thus homocysteine values.

If you want to be more thorough you should probably do both.

Cheers

Thank you so much.

I just had them taken yesterday by my cooperative GP, for a clinician I will consult.

I had taken about 50 mcg of methyl B-12 which, together with some trimethylglycine made me pretty confused.

Do you think that little methyl B12 would affect MMA levels a week later?

Thank you once again.