MITOCHONDRIA: THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE
Mitochondria Have Been Linked To Practically Every Disease Process
Pick a disease… any disease. Chances are, new research is linking that disease process with some aspect of Mitochondrial Dysfunction. How can something so microscopic have such a huge impact? It all boils down to energy. How much are you producing verses how much are you consuming; and an energy deficit equals dysfunction.
Research is finally starting to shift from mere evaluation of symptoms to a deeper understanding of root-causation of those symptoms, implicating Mitochondrial Dysfunction at an extraordinary level.
Mitochondria function within metabolic pathways capable of providing the abundance of energy necessary to drive every living process in the human body. Think of Mitochondria as being responsible for a literal chain of events, each of which support optimal health through interconnected links. The disease processes that develop are now able to be traced back to the different links in the chain that became impaired or broken. This information is now guiding how researchers study disease and how they are viewing potential new treatment and prevention methods for a majority of disease processes we face today.
Click the links below to see relevant medical journal articles and online resources that discuss the connection to Mitochondria:
AGING (yes, aging is a disease)
(2010) New insights into the role of mitochondria in aging: mitochondrial dynamics and more.
(2012) Mitochondria and aging.
(2013) The role of mitochondria in aging.
(2014) Mitochondrial Aging and Age-Related Dysfunction of Mitochondria.
(2015) Mitochondrial dysfunction in aging: Much progress but many unresolved questions.
(2016) The Mitochondrial Basis of Aging.
ALZHEIMER’S
(2010) The Alzheimer’s Disease Mitochondrial Cascade Hypothesis.
(2010) Mitochondrial dysfunction is a trigger of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology.
(2010) Alzheimer’s disease: diverse aspects of mitochondrial malfunctioning.
(2013) Deconstructing Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Alzheimer Disease.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
ARTHRITIS (Osteoarthritis)
AUTISM
(1998) Autism: a mitochondrial disorder?
(2008) Evidence of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism and Implications for Treatment.
(2009) Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Autism and Mitochondrial Disease.
(2010) Autism and mitochondrial disease.
(2010) Mitochondrial dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders: Cause or effect?
(2010) Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism.
(2013) Autism: Metabolism, Mitochondria, and the Microbiome.
(2014) Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Chronic Disease: Treatment With Natural Supplements.
(2016) Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
(2017) Next Generation Sequencing Mitochondrial DNA Analysis in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
(2017) Next Generation Sequencing Mitochondrial DNA Analysis in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
(2017) CLINICAL TRIAL – Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
AUTO-INFLAMMATORY ILLNESSES (Mast Cell Activation)
(2012) Mitochondrial Components Are a Possible Trigger of Auto-inflammatory Illnesses.
BIPOLAR DISORDER
(2001) Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphisms in Bipolar Disorder
(2004) Molecular evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction in bipolar disorder
(2007) Is bipolar disorder a mitochondrial disease?
(2008) Mitochondrial dysfunction in bipolar disorder
(2008) Mitochondrial involvement in psychiatric disorders.
(2009) Mitochondrial Variants in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder
(2010) Abnormalities in Mitochondrial Structure in Cells from Patients with Bipolar Disorder
(2011) Mitochondrial dysfunction and pathology in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
(2012) Impaired mitochondrial function in psychiatric disorders.
(2013) Mitochondrial Functions in Mood Disorders (online resource)
(2017) Neurobiological basis of bipolar disorder: Mitochondrial dysfunction hypothesis and beyond
(2017) Molecular Mechanisms of Bipolar Disorder: Progress Made and Future Challenges
(2018) Ant1 mutant mice bridge the mitochondrial and serotonergic dysfunctions in bipolar disorder
(2018) Mitochondrial Agents for Bipolar Disorder
(2018) Mutation links bipolar disorder to mitochondrial disease
(2018) Bipolar Disorder as a Mitochondrial Disease
BONE HEALTH
CANCER
(2002) Mitochondrial defects in cancer.
(2005) Mitochondria and cancer: Warburg addressed.
(2010) The Warburg effect and mitochondrial stability in cancer cells.
(2012) Mitochondrial Function and Cancer (Poster)
(2012) Mitochondria and cancer. (Douglas C. Wallace)
(2012) Warburg Effect and Mitochondrial Metabolism in Skin Cancer.
(2012) Energy metabolism of cancer: Glycolysis versus oxidative phosphorylation (Review).
(2013) Mitochondria and Cancer: Past, Present, and Future.
(2013) Cancer cell metabolism: implications for therapeutic targets.
(2014) The Role of Mitochondria in Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases.
(2015) Cancer as a mitochondrial metabolic disease.
(2015) Targeting mitochondria metabolism for cancer therapy.
(2016) Targeting Cancer Metabolism – Revisiting the Warburg Effects.
(2016) The Warburg Effect: How Does it Benefit Cancer Cells?
(2016) Mitochondria and Cancer. (Wei-Xing Zong, Joshua D. Rabinowitz, Eileen White)
(2016) Mitochondria, cholesterol and cancer cell metabolism.
CELIAC with NEUROLOGIC IMPAIRMENT
CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (ME/CFS)
(2009) Chronic fatigue syndrome and mitochondrial dysfunction.
CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISORDERS (EB, EDS, Marfan, LDS, OI)
About Mitochondrial Disorders (Connective Tissue Disorders Resource Page)
CROHN’S / ULCERATIVE COLITIS / IBS
Impaired Mitochondria and IBS/Crohn’s Ulcerative Colitis (Resource Page)
CYSTIC FIBROSIS
(2009) Dysfunction of mitochondria Ca2+ uptake in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells.
DEPRESSION and other MOOD DISORDERS
(2008) Mitochondrial involvement in psychiatric disorders.
(2009) Mitochondrial Variants in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder
(2011) Mitochondrial dysfunction and pathology in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
(2012) Impaired mitochondrial function in psychiatric disorders.
(2013) Mitochondrial Functions in Mood Disorders (online resource)
DIABETES
(2010) Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Insulin Resistance.
(2012) Mitochondrial Dysfunction and β-Cell Failure in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
(2015) Mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance: an update.
DYSAUTONOMIA (Autonomic Dysfunction)
Dysautonomia / Autonomic Dysfunction
DYSKINESIA
(2010) Mitochondrial Abnormalities in the Putamen in Parkinson’s Disease Dyskinesia.
ECLAMPSIA PRE-ECLAMPSIA
(1989) Pre-eclampsia–a mitochondrial disease?
(1998) Placental mitochondria as a source of oxidative stress in pre-eclampsia.
(2016) Mitochondrial [dys]function; culprit in pre-eclampsia?
(2016) Mitochondrial role in adaptive response to stress conditions in preeclampsia.
EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS
(2009) Biology and Treatment of Eosinophilic Esophagitis
EPILEPSY
(2012) Mitochondrial disease and epilepsy.
FIBROMYALGIA
(2004) Increased DNA fragmentation and ultrastructural changes in fibromyalgic muscle fibres.
GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS (general)
(2013) Unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms: Think mitochondrial disease.
HAIR DISORDERS (See also Skin Disorders below)
(2010) Aging Hair. (Senescent Alopecia)
(2016) DHEA and frontal fibrosing alopecia: molecular and physiopathological mechanisms.
HEART DISEASE
(2005) Mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease.
(2007) Mitochondrial dysfunction in atherosclerosis.
(2008) Heart mitochondria: gates of life and death.
(2009) Mitochondria in the human heart.
(2012) Mitochondria and heart disease.
(2013) Mitochondria as a therapeutic target in heart failure.
(2013) Mitochondria in heart failure: the emerging role of mitochondrial dynamics.
(2013) Mitochondrial dysfunction in heart failure.
IMMUNE HEALTH (Innate and Adaptive)
(2015) Mitochondria in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity.
INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS / PAINFUL BLADDER SYNDROME
(2012) Protein expression profiling in interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome: A pilot study of proteins associated with inflammation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. (Connection to P53 and Mitochondrial Dysfunction as associated with IC/PBS.)
LIPOMATOSIS (Multiple Symmetrical Lipomatosis / Lipomas)
(2013) Multiple Symmetrical Lipomatosis–a mitochondrial disorder of brown fat.
LIVER ISSUES (Hep B, Hep C, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Autoimmune Hepatitis)
(2006) Mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatitis C virus infection.
(2013) Hepatitis C Virus-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunctions.
(2015) Anti-mitochondrial M2 antibody-positive autoimmune hepatitis.
LUPUS
(2004) Mitochondrial hyperpolarization: a checkpoint of T-cell life, death and autoimmunity.
(2015) Normalization of CD4+ T Cell Metabolism Reverses Lupus.
(2016) Role of altered mitochondria functions in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus.
MIGRAINE
(1995) Mitochondria, magnesium and migraine.
(1996) Migraine and mitochondrial dysfunction.
(1999) Mitochondrial disease and cyclic vomiting syndrome.
(2004) Role of magnesium, coenzyme Q10, riboflavin, and vitamin B12 in migraine prophylaxis.
(2006) Mitochondrial dysfunction and migraine: evidence and hypotheses.
(2013) Mitochondrial dysfunction in migraine.
(2013) Studies on the Pathophysiology and Genetic Basis of Migraine.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
(2008) Mitochondria and disease progression in multiple sclerosis.
(2012) The role of mitochondria in axonal degeneration and tissue repair in MS.
(2013) Mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis.
(2014) The central role of mitochondria in axonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis.
(2015) Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in multiple sclerosis.
(2017) Rab32 connects ER stress to mitochondrial defects in multiple sclerosis.
MUSCULAR DEGENERATION (Duchenne’s and Becker Type Muscular Dystrophy)
(1995) Muscular degeneration in Duchenne’s dystrophy may be caused by a mitochondrial defect.
NEUROPATHY
(2005) Mitochondrial neuropathy.
(2012) Mitochondria and peripheral neuropathies.
(2013) Peripheral neuropathy in mitochondrial disorders.
PARKINSON’S
(2014) The centrality of mitochondria in the pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
PSORIASIS
Note: Several of these articles discuss multiple disorders, including psoriasis.
(2014) Mitochondrial dysfunction: a neglected component of skin diseases.
RAYNAUD’S SYNDROME
(2005) Pathogenesis of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
(2008) Regulation Of Vasnular Reactivity In Scleroderma: New Insights Into Raynaud’s Phenomenon
(2010) Recent Achievements In The Management of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
(2016) Raynaud’s Phenomenon: A Brief Review Of The Underlying Mechanisms
RETINAL DEGENERATION
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS / PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
(2011) When should a rheumatologist suspect a mitochondrial myopathy.
SKIN DISORDERS
(1999) Hair and skin disorders as signs of mitochondrial disease. (Hair abnormalities, rashes and pigmentation disorders, hypertrichosis, and acrocyanosis.)
(2014) Mitochondrial dysfunction: a neglected component of skin diseases. (Hair abnormalities, rashes, pigmentation abnormalities and acrocyanosis.)
SJOGREN’S SYNDROME
VITILIGO
(2003) Alterations of mitochondria in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of vitiligo patients.
(2013) Vitiligo: A Possible Model of Degenerative Diseases
MITOCHONDRIAL SPECIFIC DISORDERS
In addition to the above disorders / diseases, traditional Mitochondrial disease processes can include anything affecting the autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia), digestive processes, cellular respiration, disorders associated with muscle function and wasting/atrophy, dysfunctions affecting proper cell function, viability, and regulation of cell death/apoptosis.
The following is a list of Mitochondrial specific disorders that continues to grow:
Alpers Disease
Barth Syndrome
Beta-oxidation Defects
Acyl-Carnitine Deficiency, Carnitine Deficiency
Creatine Deficiency Syndromes
CoEnzyme Q10 Deficiency
Deficiencies in Complex I, II, III, IV (and COX Deficiency) and V
CPEO
CPT I and II Deficiencies
KSS
Lactic Acidosis
LBSL / Leukodystrophy
LCAD
LCHAD
Leigh Disease
Luft Disease
MAD / Glutaric Aciduria Type II
MCAD
MELAS
MERRF
MIRAS
Mitochondrial Cytopathy
Mitochondrial DNA Depletion
Mitochondrial Encephalopathy
Mitochondrial Myopath
MNGIE
NARP
Pearson Syndrome
Pyruvate Carboxylase Deficiency
Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency
POLG Mutations
Respiratory Chain Disorders
SCAD
SCHAD
VLCAD
WHY MITOCHONDRIA ARE BEING LINKED TO SO MANY DISEASES
For complex organisms like humans, ATP-energy is the very currency of life. Without it, we cease to exist. Practically every physiological mechanism performed by our bodies require ATP; from cellular actions, muscular function, nerve and neuron activity and beyond. Ineffective Mitochondrial function (referred to as Mitochondrial Dysfunction) interrupts the sufficient supply of ATP. The devastating effects are only recently being realized.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction and other related Metabolic Dysfunctions are now being linked as a common factor in practically every disease process and the list continues to grow. As is often the case, the true cause of a disease has rarely been understood. But as medical research continues to seek answers past symptomatology, Mitochondria are increasingly being implicated.
Heart disease is an excellent example of how the newfound link to Mitochondria is changing the medical community. A new field of medicine is developing called Metabolic Cardiology. If you come to these physicians symptomatic and in crisis, they initially will likely treat you as any other Cardiologist to address your immediate issue. However, these physicians view cardiac health as being closely related to Mitochondrial health and will have a secondary objective to address and improve overall Mitochondrial function. In fact in adult onset heart disease, some estimates suggest that by the time a patient becomes symptomatic and seeks medical attention, they may have been suffering from Mitochondrial dysfunction for up to 10 to 15 years!
The series of processes involved in cellular respiration and ATP-production can be viewed as a literal “chain” of linked events. As researchers look passed the symptoms and continue to trace back to the source of failure, evidence points toward one or more Mitochondrial links in the chain having been broken or impaired. The link or links broken will determine the disease process that develops. Of course, this can be compounded because as one link is broken, stress to the overall system occurs that can end up affecting other links, triggering additional broken links and further complications. Although creation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), otherwise called oxidative stress, is a normal and natural effect of Mitochondrial function and metabolism, the less efficient Mitochondrial function the higher the level of ROS creation. Reducing oxidative stress (antioxidant therapy, both in the form of antioxidant supplementation and Nrf2 gene activation to increase production of Superoxide Dismutase) has become a primary focus in mediating a majority of chronic and degenerative diseases.
This compounded effect is no more evident than in the process of aging. The biological process of aging is now considered a disease, and the disease process is rooted in both the reduction in the overall quantity of Mitochondria within cells and the decrease in Mitochondrial functional capacity. This new knowledge offers an explanation as to why people seem to age at differing rates; it’s all a matter of how many Mitochondria, how well they function, and how quickly they can recover from damage or effects from toxic exposures (referred to as Mitochondrial DNA Repair Rate).
But the future of medicine is looking bright. As research is being directed toward Mitochondrial dysfunction being the source of disease, more extensive knowledge is being acquired about the complexities of these little organelle and how best we can support their health. By improving overall numbers, functional capacity and Mitochondrial DNA Repair Rate, we are beginning to unlock the answers to true preventative medicine and the ability to address symptoms and overall disease impact on quality of life. This will finally lead to tangible and curative remedies to all the diseases that ail us.