and discuss current evidence for membrane related treat- ments using Lipid Replace- ment Therapy (LRT®).
Overview of Fatigue
Just as many roads lead to Rome, many conditions lead to fatigue. But at the core is mitochondrial dysfunction. The mitochondria are the en- ergy powerhouses of our cells. And the mitochondria cannot function, or cannot generate energy through electron trans- port, without healthy and in- tact membranes. The integrity of mitochondrial membranes is critical to cell function and en- ergy metabolism.
Fatigue begins and ends with the mitochondrial membrane. Guido Kroemer, MD, PhD, a French scientist known for his groundbreaking work on the mitochondrial membrane, has called this membrane the “bat- tleground on which opposing signals combat to seal the cell’s fate…the frontier between sur-
vival and death.”11
His discov-
ery that mitochondria control cell death was considered rev- olutionary, and it has shaped much subsequent research.
In healthy cells, the inner mi- tochondrial membrane where the electron transport system is located is nearly impermeable, and this is important in estab- lishing inner membrane trans- membrane chemical/electrical potential essential for oxidative phosphorylation. When a cell begins to die, it is in large part due to disrupted, damaged, increasingly permeable mito- chondrial membranes. Perme- ability of the mitochondrial membranes constitutes a point- of-no-return in programmed cell death. Importantly, mito- chondria are responsible for production of most of our cell's reactive oxygen species (ROS) and some reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Significant ox- idative damage to mitochon- drial membranes represents
Michael Ash, BSc DO ND FDipION, is an osteopath, naturopath and nutritional therapist. He was founder and director of one of the UK’s largest integrative medicine clinics in 1982, which introduced the principles and practices of functional medicine in 1992. After 25 years of full time practice he sold his practice in 2007; currently managing director of Nutri-Link Ltd, and NLeducation (a post-graduate educational division of Nutri-Link), he is also the author of many articles, both peer and non-peer reviewed,
14 Focus August 2012
the point-of-no-return of pro- grammed cell death pathways that culminate in apoptosis or regulated cell death leading to necrosis.12
Mitochondrial membrane per- meability is affected in isch- emia, viral and bacterial in- fections, metabolic diseases, neurobehavioral and neuro- degenerative diseases, among other disorders, according to Kroemer and colleagues. For example, viral proteins can in- duce mitochondrial membrane permeability, followed by swelling and fragmentation.11 It appears that chronic neuro- degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease, may also involve mitochondrial dysfunction and increases in mitochondrial permeability. Many other conditions, such as heart disease, metabolic syndrome, dysbiosis related illnesses and even psychiatric
as well as editor of
www.nleducation.co.uk. He is also a member of Allergy Research Groups® Research and Development team and is involved in the creation and testing of new and existing natural agents for the purpose of inducing immune modulation and tolerance with a focus on the mucosal immune system. He is a faculty member of the Institute for Functional Medicine and lectures internationally on immune and gastrointestinal function.
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