Hello everyone. This will be my first post ever here at PR. I've been lurking here for a couple of months now after my teenage daughter got the diagnosis moderate to severe ME/CFS (ICC definition) five months ago.
I came across this article yesterday that had me thinking a bit: A New Potential Cause for Alzheimer’s: Arginine Deprivation
An executive summary with quotes (bold to enhance important keywords):
"A new Duke University study in mice suggests that in Alzheimer’s disease, certain immune cells that normally protect the brain begin to abnormally consume an important nutrient: arginine. Blocking this process with a small-molecule drug prevented the characteristic brain plaques and memory loss in a mouse model of the disease"
...
"The group did find CD11c microglia and arginase, an enzyme that breaks down arginine, are highly expressed in regions of the brain involved in memory, in the same regions where neurons had died.
Blocking arginase using the small drug difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) before the start of symptoms in the mice, the scientists saw fewer CD11c microglia and plaques develop in their brains. These mice performed better on memory tests."
The drug DFMO seems to be a arginase inhibitor drug. Having read several posts here about different peoples sometimes positive experiences with nitrate donors of different kinds, and thinking about the recently published patent from Fluge & Mella on nitrate donors I thought that this might be of relevance. Going back to look at the Fluge & Mella patent once more yesterday I find the following sentence:
"Further, the skilled person is well aware of other compounds suitable to influence the NO level, e.g. by influencing the amount or level of available substrate for NO production. Examples thereof include compounds inhibiting arginase, e.g. arginase II, a competitor of the NO synthase (NOS)."
I started searching for more information about arginase inhibition, and it seems to be a hot topic in other areas in life science research at the moment. I'll compile a list later. Meanwhile, let me know what you think.
I came across this article yesterday that had me thinking a bit: A New Potential Cause for Alzheimer’s: Arginine Deprivation
An executive summary with quotes (bold to enhance important keywords):
"A new Duke University study in mice suggests that in Alzheimer’s disease, certain immune cells that normally protect the brain begin to abnormally consume an important nutrient: arginine. Blocking this process with a small-molecule drug prevented the characteristic brain plaques and memory loss in a mouse model of the disease"
...
"The group did find CD11c microglia and arginase, an enzyme that breaks down arginine, are highly expressed in regions of the brain involved in memory, in the same regions where neurons had died.
Blocking arginase using the small drug difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) before the start of symptoms in the mice, the scientists saw fewer CD11c microglia and plaques develop in their brains. These mice performed better on memory tests."
The drug DFMO seems to be a arginase inhibitor drug. Having read several posts here about different peoples sometimes positive experiences with nitrate donors of different kinds, and thinking about the recently published patent from Fluge & Mella on nitrate donors I thought that this might be of relevance. Going back to look at the Fluge & Mella patent once more yesterday I find the following sentence:
"Further, the skilled person is well aware of other compounds suitable to influence the NO level, e.g. by influencing the amount or level of available substrate for NO production. Examples thereof include compounds inhibiting arginase, e.g. arginase II, a competitor of the NO synthase (NOS)."
I started searching for more information about arginase inhibition, and it seems to be a hot topic in other areas in life science research at the moment. I'll compile a list later. Meanwhile, let me know what you think.