Not Just H2S: Now Adenosine Has Been Shown to Induce Hibernation in Animals

[Hip]

As you will recall, hydrogen sulfide's postulated link to ME/CFS comes from its ability to put mice into a hibernation-like state, where the mice's energy metabolism is reduced to small fraction of normal.

I just came across this news item about the fact that adenosine has been found to be the hibernation switch in squirrels. See here for info.

My first thought on reading that adenosine causes hibernation in squirrels is whether this discovery may have bearing for chronic fatigue syndrome.

In other words: the hibernation-inducing effects of adenosine may provide another possible explanation for the low energy symptoms of ME/CFS.

Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that induces sleep. It also plays a role in the heart. And adenosine is of course found bound up the molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

Brain cells release ATP which is broken down to adenosine (ref: here), and since the ATP metabolism in chronic fatigue syndrome appears to be dysfunctional (ref: here), it makes you wonder whether excess adenosine may be inadvertently produced in ME/CFS, resulting in the the hibernation-like low energy symptoms of this disease.

 

[aquariusgirl]

I have high adenosine. Valtrex modulates adenosine, according to Prof Rich Deth's book: The Molecular Origins of Human Attention.

 

[Hip]

I have high adenosine. Valtrex modulates adenosine, according to Prof Rich Deth's book: The Molecular Origins of Human Attention.

Interesting. I also read one of your previous posts just now where you mention that adenosine inhibits methylation.

Caffeine and theophylline will block the adenosine receptors, thus lowering the effect of adenosine.

I used theophylline myself a few years ago, in an attempt to regain some of my sense of smell. (I lost much of much olfactory sense due to the viral infection that precipitated my CFS. Theophylline is one of the few things that can help fix a lost olfactory sense.)

 

[harrycat]

Any ideas what we can do about high adenosine nutritionally? Rich thinks that fixing methylation will do it, but any short term helpful things?

I am a real coffee lover so I found this link with caffeine intriguing.

 

[Hip]

Any ideas what we can do about high adenosine nutritionally? Rich thinks that fixing methylation will do it, but any short term helpful things?

I am a real coffee lover so I found this link with caffeine intriguing.

I came across this: ketogenic diet (a high-protein, low carbohydrate diet) which is sometimes used to treat epilepsy, has been found to increase adenosine activity in the brain.

http://www.epilepsy.ie/index.cfm/spKey/news.epilepsy/spId/DACDB5E3-EC6F-A12C-DE428687A48E1C8B.html

 

[Ema]

I have high adenosine. Valtrex modulates adenosine, according to Prof Rich Deth's book: The Molecular Origins of Human Attention.

This is so interesting!

I wonder if Valtrex modulates adenosine by tamping down the T cell response which increase during infection.

They have shown that adenosine deaminase levels are high during periods of infection with TB and brucellosis and then fall when treatment is working. So that would seem to support the idea that breaking down the high adenosine levels with increased levels of adenosine deaminase would be critical to recovering from infection and if that doesn't happen, the infections can flourish in a vicious cycle.

VERY interesting. I'm going to look up that book!

 

[Ema]

Interesting. I also read one of your previous posts just now where you mention that adenosine inhibits methylation.

Caffeine and theophylline will block the adenosine receptors, thus lowering the effect of adenosine.

I used theophylline myself a few years ago, in an attempt to regain some of my sense of smell. (I lost much of much olfactory sense due to the viral infection that precipitated my CFS. Theophylline is one of the few things that can help fix a lost olfactory sense.)

@Hip, how did you do with theophylline? Did it help you regain your sense of smell?

Did it make you anxious?

Thanks!

 

[Hip]

@Hip, how did you do with theophylline? Did it help you regain your sense of smell?

Did it make you anxious?

I had a chronic nasal and sinus infection/inflammation from an enterovirus I caught (that caused my ME/CFS), and almost entirely lost my sense of smell for 3 or 4 years.

But just a week or two of taking theophylline 200 mg twice daily created noticeable improvements in my lost sense of smell. Though when I stopped the theophylline, I soon lost some of the gains I made in recovering my olfactory sense.

Nowadays my sense of smell has come back (it's not good, but I have an adequate smell sense now) probably just through slow healing, and so I don't need to take theophylline now.

Theophylline did not make me anxious, at least at the dosage I used.

Are you having problems with your sense of smell, Ema?

 

[xchocoholic]

I ran into a study on mice and adenosine when googling why do we get drowsy. They found astrocytes in the brain were releasing adenosine. They blocked this function and observed the mice didn't get drowsy. Sorry i can't give you the link.

Dowsiness is a big problem for me during pem. I could drink a pot of coffee and sleep on day one. The need lessens on day 2. And is gone by day 3-4.

Dark chocolate seems to cause more insomnia than coffee for me. RATS.

tc .. x

 

[Ema]

I had a chronic nasal and sinus infection/inflammation from an enterovirus I caught (that caused my ME/CFS), and almost entirely lost my sense of smell for 3 or 4 years.

But just a week or two of taking theophylline 200 mg twice daily created noticeable improvements in my lost sense of smell. Though when I stopped the theophylline, I soon lost some of the gains I made in recovering my olfactory sense.

Nowadays my sense of smell has come back (it's not good, but I have an adequate smell sense now) probably just through slow healing, and so I don't need to take theophylline now.

Theophylline did not make me anxious, at least at the dosage I used.

Are you having problems with your sense of smell, Ema?

Did you notice any effects on your level of fatigue with the theophylline? How long did you take it?

I'm not having problems with my sense of smell. Thanks to migraines, I can smell the cigarette that my neighbor down the street had 3 years ago. OK, hyperbole, but you get the idea!

I was just curious how you were doing...and if the treatment had helped long term. That must be terribly difficult and make eating less than enjoyable. I'm glad that it is at least adequate now.

 

[Hip]

@Ema
I have taken theophylline daily for periods of one or two weeks, and done this several times, to try to see if there are any general benefits that this drug may have for ME/CFS, but I did not notice any. Theophylline apparently helps POTS a bit (which I have), as it is a vasoconstrictor. This vasoconstriction might help for migraines, though. You can buy theophylline OTC at a pharmacy, no prescription is necessary (in the UK, anyway).

The loss of the sense of smell was very strange. This I found really cuts you off from your environment. I realized that smell helps provide a kind of mental background context for the environment you are currently in, and when you don't get this background olfactory information from your environment, it makes your experience of the world a little flat. Of course, with ME/CFS brain fog, I think we tend to miss a lot of environmental minutiae anyway, but loss of smell definitely exacerbates this.

To an extent, I still have some mild loss of smell even now, though it is much improved from what it was around 5 or 6 years ago.

 

[Ema]

@Ema
You can buy theophylline OTC at a pharmacy, no prescription is necessary (in the UK, anyway).

Unfortunately theophylline is not available OTC in the US. My doctor was willing to write me a prescription but we found it conflicted strongly with one of my antibiotics. I've still got it on my list to try though.