Hi, all...
I think there has to be a reason why about 90% of people who get mononucleosis, Q fever, or Ross River virus (as in the Dubbo study in Australia) are able to recover, while about 10% stay chronically ill.
As many of you know, I am the proponent of the Glutathione Depletion--Methylation Cycle Block hypothesis for the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of ME/CFS. This hypothesis describes the process of onset of the disease mechanism and the abnormalities in the physiology after the disease is established. So far, it does not deal in detail with the etiologies or root causes of ME/CFS, except to list the general categories of them, one of which is called "biological stressors" and includes infectious pathogens.,,
I think it is becoming increasingly likely that the "trip wire" for developing ME/CFS in most cases is the depletion of glutathione...
One of main depletors of glutathione is the oxidative stress that is part of inflammation, which is produced by the immune system in response to infections...
Best regards,
Rich
In the past 2 months I have been forming a new theory about certain chronic illnesses, such as ME/CFS, MS, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, depression and probably many others, and this post by Rich is mostly right on the nose with what I think about the cause of these illnesses. I first learned about methylation and watched his videos right after he died, I sure wish he was still alive to talk this over with.
I think he was a little off, though. I think this is really about Glutathione Depletion--Kreb's Cycle/Electron Transport Chain Block rather than a block in the methylation cycle. Of course the methylation cycle can be involved. But the real problem is in the Kreb's cycle and the electron transport chain which is the source of most of our energy, plus a critical problem with sulfite oxidase, which is located between the mitochondrial membranes and interacts with the electron transport chain.
Edit: The first report about folate was in 2010. I got it mixed up with another study, so I am editing this paragraph. Folate is used in the synthesis and/or repair of iron-sulfur clusters. This new information puts a different perspective on supplementation with folate and how it helps energy production because the electron transport chain is full of iron-sulfur clusters, and if your iron-sulfur clusters are being oxidized your electron transport chain will not be working very well, and you probably won't have energy. (I say probably because there
is a way that you can have energy - but it just leads to more problems like MS or mental illness) What can oxidize those iron-sulfur clusters? Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). What gets rid of H2O2? Glutathione.
My theory is that it is not really so very important what your genetics are; they could be a problem, but people without any particular genetic problems can be affected depending on various environmental factors at the time the problem begins. What matters is that if a person has enough stress of some kind, whether from a virus or something else, or several stressors at once and the body can not deal with the oxidative stress through glutathione - in other words can't make or reactivate enough glutathione, this can cause a cascade of events that leads to a vicious cycle and perpetuates the problem after the original cause is gone. Sometimes there are no symptoms for years after the cascade happens, so the illness might not seem to be connected with any event. This would be the case in people with neurodegenerative illnesses and maybe some others, too.
I am planning to talk about the cascade in another post but this is probably enough for one post. I guess I have a tendency to put too much into one post and be too technical.
Why am I so interested in this? Because I have one son with depression and another with schizophrenia. They both became ill when they had mono and I think this is what is causing their illnesses. I am trying to find a way to break the vicious cycle. I am currently testing something. If it works I will certainly post about it. Thanks, Kim