Institute of Microbiology
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.
Division of Immunology and Gnotobiology
Head: prof. RNDr. B. ŘÃhová, DSc.
VÃdeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague 4
Tel.: 241 062 345, 241 062 353 Fax.: 241 721 143
In this era of an increasingly enlightened public about the health benefits of nutritional supplements, there is a new area perhaps more overlooked than any other. This central area of health and nutrition is the ingestion of dietary nucleic acid bases, NUCLEOTIDES, which the essential building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Numerous studies in animals and humans show dramatic benefits in health, function, and survival with the supplementation of nucleic acid elements. These effects are so powerful that survival in life threatening assaults ranging from radiation to infection to shock has been markedly increased.
From the standpoint of longevity studies, no single method has increased longevity more than supplementing DNA and RNA elements. Nucleotide supplementation is thus one of the most rejuvenating, immune enhancing, and tissue supporting regimens ever to be discovered. Recent evidence indicates that the body is often not able to make enough DNA and RNA to protect, repair, and regenerate cells to their optimum function. This is especially true for cells that have high turnover rates such as the intestinal lining that may fully replace itself every week.
The demand for production may particularly exceed synthetic capacity under conditions of stress in which the demand for greater cell activity and function becomes acute, particularly for the dynamic populations of cells in the immune system.
When demand exceeds production capacity, DNA and RNA base components become essential nutrients for protecting and preserving health. Numerous lines of evidence will be presented to show the far reaching health benefits of supplementing DNA and RNA during health stresses and even for general well being and longevity.
Numerous published scientific studies indicate very significant health benefits from DNA and RNA component supplementation. Almost every system of the body has documentation of improved health, vitality, or function from providing supplements of these fundamentally important cellular elements, from infancy to advanced age. The following is a brief summary from the vast literature supporting the many published benefits of nucleotide supplementation in the diet.
Thousands of published scientific studies in the metabolic pathways related to the formula components also suggest the following potential benefits of these nutrients:
1. Cell membrane repair.
2. Increased SAMe and serotonin levels.
3. Balance of neurotransmitter chemistry in the brain.
4. Increased melatonin with immunologic, antiaging, and antioxidant effects.
5. Regeneration and repair of insulating myelin sheaths of nerves.
6. Rejuvenating degenerating proteins into functional proteins again.
7. Required for full antioxidant potency of antioxidant proteins in every cell and tissue.
8. Repair of joints and cartilage.
9. Reduced risk of colon and other cancers.
10. May help reverse precancerous lesions to normal cells.
11. Improved histamine clearance.
12. Supports detoxification pathways in the liver.
When DNA and RNA are ingested intact, they are intensely metabolized by intestinal bacteria and the intestinal lining. Recent evidence indicates that the body is often not able to make enough DNA and RNA to protect, repair, and regenerate cells to their optimum function. This is especially true for cells that have high turnover rates such as the intestinal lining that may fully replace itself every week.
The demand for production may particularly exceed synthetic capacity under conditions of stress in which the demand for greater cell activity and function becomes acute, particularly for the dynamic populations of cells in the immune system.
When demand exceeds production capacity, DNA and RNA base components become essential nutrients for protecting and preserving health. Numerous lines of evidence will be presented to show the far reaching health benefits of supplementing DNA and RNA during health stresses and even for general well being and longevity. Numerous published scientific studies indicate very significant health benefits from DNA and RNA component supplementation.
Almost every system of the body has documentation of improved health, vitality, or function from providing supplements of these fundamentally important cellular elements, from infancy to advanced age. The following is a brief summary from the vast literature supporting the many published benefits of nucleotide supplementation in the diet.
Tissue Regeneration
In order to sustain health, virtually every tissue in the body must regenerate itself regularly. It is now known for example that even neurons in the brain have the capacity to regenerate. Having adequate supplies of all the nucleic acid bases may be one of the most significant limiting factors on whether a tissue will be able to express its greatest capacity for regeneration and self repair.
A study in rats looked at the ability of the liver to regenerate depending on whether or not injections of nucleic acid bases were given. In this study, the rats had 70% of their livers surgically removed. The animals that received IV nucleic acids showed liver regeneration rates that were significantly greater than the untreated control animals. Any tissue, in order to regenerate, requires the ability to make DNA and RNA to support the process of making new cells. Providing readily absorbed and assimilated DNA and RNA bases can be one of the most powerful ways to assist any tissue to repair and renew itself.
ANY TISSUE, IN ORDER TO REGENERATE, REQUIRES THE ABILITY TO MAKE DNA AND RNA TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS OF MAKING NEW CELLS. PROVIDING READILY ABSORBED AND ASSIMILATED DNA AND RNA BASES CAN BE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WAYS TO ASSIST ANY TISSUE TO REPAIR AND RENEW ITSELF.
Wound Healing
A wound, surgical or otherwise, results in severing the usual integrity of tissue organization. It is a special case of tissue regeneration in which cells migrate into the area of the wound to either regenerate new tissue or to fill the defect with scar tissue. The type of healing depends on the tissue ~ the liver will tend to restore normal liver cells in the wound, whereas the skin will tend to fill the breach with scar to heal the opening and restore strength.
Several studies in wound healing have assessed the effects of supplemental nucleic acids on wound healing, especially of surgical wounds. Compared to the control group, those receiving the supplements showed more rapid healing, greater tensile strength of the skin, and significantly reduced scarring.
→ FGF studies on wound healing
Endocrine (Pituitary) Gland Repair
Some of the tiniest organs in the body have the most profound effects on our health and well being. These are the endocrine glands that secrete minute amounts of hormones into the blood
without which every function of the body can suffer.
The pituitary gland located at the base of the skull has been called the master gland because it makes hormones that control the functions of other endocrine glands. It secretes hormones that regulate the thyroid and adrenal glands, the ovaries and testes, and the production of breast milk. The posterior region of the gland exerts control over the kidneys to adjust fluid balances throughout the body. Perhaps most important for longevity, the pituitary also makes growth hormone, that has been shown to have some of the most powerful age-reversing effects of any hormone ever studied. Inadequate nutritional support to this gland can have devastating and far-reaching effects throughout the body.
PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT FOR LONGEVITY, THE PITUITARY ALSO MAKES GROWTH HORMONE, THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL AGE-REVERSING EFFECTS OF ANY HORMONE EVER STUDIED. INADEQUATE NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT TO THIS GLAND CAN HAVE DEVASTATING AND FAR-REACHING EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE BODY.
The adrenal glands, situated atop the kidneys, secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline, the fight or flight hormones. These powerful hormones increase heart rate and blood flow to muscle so that the body is immediately prepared for vigorous physical activity. In our ancestral past, this rapid preparation was a key to surviving in a hostile environment. However, modern living often puts a chronic stress on the adrenal glands, the myriad stimuli that surround us tending to keep the fight or flight mechanism constantly activated.
The result is often varying degrees of adrenal burnout, exhausting the reserves of the gland to make the fight or flight hormones when really needed. Burned out adrenals give rise to a chronic low energy state, fatigue, and poor stress tolerance, like depleted batteries that fail to get recharged. These glands are especially prone to nucleotide deficiency under chronic stress, a condition that supplementation can help to restore, much as giving a long needed recharge to a nearly totally drained battery.
The thymus gland, residing behind the breastbone, is often considered the organ of rejuvenation and longevity. It is the gland in which the T cells of the immune system are formed and given identity. Upon release it is the T cells in particular that help find and destroy cancer cells and cells that have become afflicted with viruses. The thymus gland tends to shrink with time, yet specific supplementation has been found to bring this vital organ back to more youthful function. In particular, providing nucleic acid bases for this gland with very dynamic cell turnover can significantly rejuvenate this gland and its life preserving activities.
The thyroid gland, at the base of the neck in front of the windpipe, produces thyroid hormones, the main control mechanism for setting basal metabolic rate. In some circles it is believed that we are in the midst of an epidemic of undetected deficiency of thyroid function. Tests of thyroid function may not show overt clinical disease, but low-level deficiency can significantly reduce quality of life. Effects are subtle and can include generally low energy, sluggish bowel function, lack of initiative, tendency to depressed mood, and weight gain with great difficulty losing the added pounds.
Dietary iodine and the amino acid tyrosine are important building blocks to make thyroid hormone naturally from the gland. In addition, correcting insufficient nucleic acid production under stress will also support recovery of a sluggish gland.
The salivary glands reside in several pockets in the mouth. Although not as essential as the other glands to sustain life, they provide a vital role in the first stages of preparing food for
complete digestion. These metabolically active glands also require a rich supply of nucleic acids to maintain adequate salivary flow. Nucleotide supplementation can thus be a very powerful tonic to sustain and boost the functions of the most vital glands in the body. These glands set our level of energy, our ability to respond to stress, our capacity to maintain strong immune defenses, the hydration of our bodies, and a wide range of hormone balances essential to a high quality of life.
Intestinal Integrity, Maturation, and Bowel Flora
The intestinal lining replaces all of its cells every seven days. Only a single layer thick, this lining is highly dependent on a sufficient supply of nucleic acids to completely regenerate itself every week. If nutritional support is inadequate, defective regeneration of the intestinal mucosal lining impairs the enzymatic stages of digestion, which can lead to a vicious cycle of deteriorating digestion and nutritional status.
Cellular Immunity
Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that supplementing nucleic acid elements has profoundly beneficial effects on boosting the function of lymphoid tissue. In part, the reason for this is that lymphoid tissue is highly dynamic such that cells that have become sensitized to microbial invaders or cancer cells need to divide rapidly to make an army of specifically targeted cells to eliminate the invader.
A rich supply of nucleic acids, often beyond that the body can readily make, may be required for all the activities required for expanding the cells that prevent a minor invasion from becoming an overwhelming infection or uncontrolled malignancy.
Published studies have particularly demonstrated that cellular immunity is significantly strengthened with nucleic acid supplementation. Research that has examined natural killer cell function has shown especially dramatic effects on increasing the activity and function of these tumor surveillance and elimination cells. Improved health of body tissues in general and enhanced cellular immunity in particular, likely accounts for the vastly improved outcomes observed in the face of a wide range of minor tolife threatening insults.
Memory Enhancement
An adequate pool of RNA is needed to manufacture new proteins that are essential to memory function. Although other support nutrients are an important factor, optimum memory function is not possible without a rich supply of nucleic acids.
Many studies in animals and humans have found a dramatic improvement in memory function with nucleic acid supplementation. Whether it is the ability to remember the right pathway to get through a maze for a prize of cheese, or to remember facts and figures, giving supplements of DNA and RNA elements has highly significantly increased performance.
Perhaps most dramatically, one researcher has focused on giving nucleic acids to persons with dementia. Even with advanced cases, if he went to high enough delivery levels to his patients, in almost every case memory improvement was very significant. The doctor reported that even in advanced cases of dementia dramatic memory recovery occurred if high enough levels of nucleic acids were given.
Longevity
It is perhaps functional nucleic acid deficiency that limits our potential for healthy longevity more than any other single factor. Of all the interventions that have ever been attempted to increase the life span of mammals, no method ever studied has been more powerful for mammalian life extension than nucleic acid supplementation. Compared to other techniques that have increased longevity of experimental animals up to 50%, administering nucleic acids has doubled and even tripled the usual maximum life span.
In a landmark study, a strain of rats was used that had a usual life span of 800-900 days. The study began with all of the animals at day 750, rather advanced in age at the entry of the test protocol. Half of the animals were used as controls and received their standard diet, housing, and care. The treatment group animals were given identical conditions with the exception of receiving weekly injections of DNA and RNA.
After eight weeks the control rats looked much worse than at the start of the study, losing fur and muscle mass, and showing reduced physical activity. In sharp contrast, at this time in the study, the treated animals actually looked and behaved like younger animals. They regrew fur and increased their muscle mass, had renewed libido, and were significantly more active. By day 150 of the study, all of the untreated control animals had died.
In dramatic contrast, the minimum additional life span in the treated animals was 850 days, minimally doubling the usual life span of the animals. Perhaps most noteworthy, the longest lived animal in the treatment group survived 1500 days from the start of the study.
This is the greatest life extension ever reported for a mammal; nearly triple the usual maximum life span. It is especially remarkable because the animals were of advanced age at the start of the study. Weekly injections of DNA effectively increased the remaining life spans of the animals by 500-900%. It is as yet unknown whether even greater degrees of life extension could be achieved by beginning nucleic acid supplementation at an even earlier age, before any organ deterioration had occurred.
It is likely that the longevity achieved would be at least as great or greater. Any intervention that slows, stops, and reverses the loss of methyl groups from DNA is slowing, stopping, and even reversing aging at the DNA level. Supplemented nucleotides provide the most powerful nutrient factors for improving DNA methylation ever studied.
The most sensitive blood chemistry test for determining the rate of methyl group loss from DNA is called homocysteine. The higher the homocysteine level above 4-6, the greater the rate of methyl group loss from DNA. The teenage level of homocysteine is 4-6, which tends to rise 1-2 points per decade, such that at 60-70, the level is typically 12-15 or higher. Elevated homocysteine has in parallel with aging effects also been found to be a cardiac risk factor. Above a level of 6.3, cardiac risk rises exponentially, with a level of 15 carrying a risk four times, and a level of 20 carrying a risk that is nine times greater for a major cardiovascular incident than that of the general population.
In a major double blind randomized placebo controlled clinical study the effects of laser-enhanced nutrients on homocysteine reduction and other important metabolic factors and clinical symptoms. This study was reviewed and approved by the Western Institutional Review Board as meeting the international standards for the design and safety of human clinical research.
Perhaps the single most powerful homocysteine-lowering nutrient is trimethylglycine, or TMG. This molecule has three methyl groups to donate, hence the prefix trimethyl. It is also known as betaine because it is a natural substance derived from sugar beets. Previous research has shown that high dose betaine can reduce the risk of mortality the first year after a heart attack from 25% to 0%. In addition, high dose betaine in conjunction with vitamin cofactors has been the only intervention that has permitted women with a genetic disease of high homocysteine levels (homocystinuria) to conceive and have normal gestation and deliveries. In other persons with homocystinuria, adding betaine has reversed neurologic defects and caused gray hair to darken and lost hair to regrow.
The study formula for boosting methyl group transfers and reducing homocysteine contained betaine as the main component. In addition vitamin cofactors that are known to support these pathways were also included, particularly vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. Niacin was also included to assist with fat metabolism in addition to homocysteine reduction, for further cardiovascular support.
The treatment group received increasing doses of the methylation formula over a 3-month period of time, whereas the placebo group only received sugar pills. Subjects had blood drawn at baseline and every month for homocysteine levels, blood counts, and other metabolic tests. Subjects completed daily written reports and each week completed an extensive standardized symptom survey.
By the completion of the study, the treatment group showed very dramatic metabolic improvements not seen in the placebo group. Homocysteine levels for the treatment group started at values that on average carry about double the cardiac risk that by the end of the study reduced to values at less than the risk of the general population. The reduction at every dosage level was highly statistically significant, the homocysteine reduction for the group suggestive of a 20-30 year physiologic reduction in this aging measure.
The placebo control group showed no significant change in homocysteine level. The study compellingly demonstrated that the laser enhanced methylation formula was the essential factor in significantly lowering homocysteine and thereby improving methyl group transfer chemistry.
→ Food supplement with complete amino acids
In addition to reduced homocysteine, the treated subjects also showed highly statistically significant improvement of several clinical symptoms that included the following:
1. Reduced anxiety
2. Decreased body aches and pains
3. Elevation of mood
4. Decreased paranoia and obsessive-compulsive scales
5. Reduced hostility
6. Much decreased global symptom profile (all symptoms taken together in one
comprehensive score)
Reducing homocysteine and improving methyl group transfers does more than protect and repair DNA and lower cardiac risks. Thousands of published scientific studies in the metabolic pathways related to the formula components also suggest the following potential benefits of these nutrients:
1. Cell membrane repair
2. Increased SAMe and serotonin levels
3. Balance of neurotransmitter chemistry in the brain
4. Increased melatonin with immunologic, antiaging, and antioxidant effects
5. Regeneration and repair of insulating myelin sheaths of nerves
6. Rejuvenating degenerating proteins into functional proteins again
7. Required for full antioxidant potency of antioxidant proteins in every cell and tissue
8. Repair of joints and cartilage
9. Reduced risk of colon and other cancers
10. May help reverse precancerous lesions to normal cells
11. Improved histamine clearance
12. Supports detoxification pathways in the liver
ATP Benefits
ATP stands for Adenosine TriPhosphate, perhaps the most important of all the nucleic acid derivatives in the body. Its effects are so powerful and essential to cellular function, a description of its unique properties warrants special attention. ATP is the fundamental currency of every cell in the body.
Virtually every activity in the body that requires energy uses ATP as the source of power. Whether the function is building complex molecules from building blocks, maintaining the electric potential of cell membranes, or allowing muscle fibers to contract for mobility, speed, and strength, it is ATP that provides the electrochemical fuel.
Cellular Energy
There are two fundamental ways ATP is generated in the body, one very efficient and one very wasteful. Efficient ATP production occurs through aerobic metabolism in the mitochondria, tiny organs or organelles within the cell that burn fuels like fat and glucose to generate ATP.
Aerobic means that oxygen is used to completely ~burn~ a fuel for maximum ATP production. As nucleotides boosts cellular oxygen delivery, already making ATP production more efficient, the ATP has an ideal environment for further boosting cellular energy conditions; thus all the desirable ATP effects are likely to be even more potent. Inefficient ATP production occurs through anaerobic metabolism. Anaerobic means without oxygen, so very little energy and ATP are extracted from fuels.
When glucose is broken down through anaerobic metabolism, each molecule of glucose only gives rise to 2 molecules of ATP, wasting 95% of the potential glucose energy. Further, the byproduct of this reaction is two molecules of lactic acid, which makes the cells more acidic and less functional.
In athletes, lactic acid accumulation causes muscle fatigue and the ~burn~, whereas in cancer cells lactic acidosis is a long recognized metabolic disturbance that can promote a dwindling spiral of progressive malignancy.
The direct suppression of tumor cell lines by ATP is likely related to increased cellular energy efficiency. The oxygenating effects of nucleotide supplementation combined with a supply of ATP is likely to be additive and even synergistic at helping cells throughout the body achieve higher energy potentials and more ideal energy balances.
Neurologic Effect
ATP is the primary fuel that drives learning, memory, and concentration functions. ATP is essential to maintain the membrane potentials that permit nerves to integrate and transmit signals throughout the central and peripheral nervous system. In addition, giving ATP or its breakdown product adenosine intravenously has shown pain relief comparable to injected morphine for pain due to ischemia (impaired blood flow).
Two surgical studies have shown a 25% reduction in the need for postoperative narcotic pain relievers when adenosine was given IV. Perhaps most remarkable, peripheral neuropathic pain is one of the most difficult pain syndromes to manage. Excruciating constant pain may resist all but the most drastic measures. IV adenosine for 45-60 minutes reduced neuropathic pain for 6 hours to 4 days in 86% of persons tested.
Cardiac Strengthening
The cyclic contraction of cardiac muscle is highly ATP intensive and thrives on aerobic metabolism. The combined oxygenation and ATP delivery effects of DNA/RNA formulas provide the heart with an enhanced energy supply for efficient function. Providing intravenous ATP has been shown to slow conduction through the AV node, which has been used to slow down certain excessively fast heart rated called tachycardias. Occasionally chest symptoms can occur with rapid intravenous infusions of ATP that resolve within seconds after stopping the infusion. ATP is not known to cause excessively slow heart rates in persons whose heart rates are normal.
Muscle Performance
Skeletal Muscle also requires abundant quantities of ATP for muscular contraction. Supplemental ATP has been described as an ~explosive performance enhancer. Especially, if given with two other nutrient supporters of muscle function, creatine monohydrate and creatine pyruvate, muscle endurance, performance, and recovery can be significantly boosted.
Lung Function
ATP administration has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects on lung function, particularly the delicate lining membranes of the airways and alveoli. In the lung, branching tubes called bronchi and then bronchioles deliver air to and from the tiny air sacs called alveoli.
The alveoli form a large membrane only a single cell in thickness through which capillary blood can pick up a new supply of oxygen and unload carbon dioxide with every breath. In vitro, or test tube level research, has shown that ATP increases secretion of surfactant in the alveoli. Surfactant is an essential substance that keeps the alveoli from collapsing when the breath is exhaled, preserving integrity of functional gas exchange.
The bronchial tubes are lined with tiny brush like structures called cilia that are constantly sweeping particulates that get into the lung upward and outward. ATP not only increases the Ciliary Beat Frequency or CBF (key factor in the defense of the airways), it also increases the secretion of mucus and water from the bronchial lining, to help keep the lungs clear at all times.
In some conditions, the blood pressure in the vessels in the lungs can rise too high, a condition known as pulmonary hypertension. When given intravenously, ATP binds to the lining of the pulmonary vessels and stimulates a cascade of events that cause the blood vessels to relax and lower the pressure.
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common inherited genetic diseases. Impaired water and electrolyte secretion from the bronchial lining results in thick secretions that block the bronchial tubes and result in recurring infections. ATP has been found to increase electrolyte and water secretion with improved clearance of secretions, offering hope of a new and useful intervention in this often aggressively progressive condition.
Cellular Immune Enhancement
Natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells as reviewed are subtypes of effector lymphocytes that have a vital role in immune defense against tumors and virus-infected cells. Recent research suggests that ATP may play an important role in the mechanism through which these effector cells eliminate the target abnormal cells. In test tube studies, ATP has been shown to enhance the ability of cytotoxic lymphocytes to rupture the membranes of tumor cells.
Antitumor Effects
In test tube studies, adding ATP has shown the ability to inhibit the growth of several types of human cancer cell lines. The types of cancer cells inhibited include pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, androgen-independent prostate cancer (i.e., not responsive to male hormone manipulation, the most aggressive variant), breast cancer, myeloid and monocytic leukemia (bone marrow derived tumors of blood forming cells), and multidrug resistant colon cancer.
In contrast, normal cells from these tissues showed less inhibition of growth or no inhibition at all, suggesting that increasing ATP outside cells may have a selective inhibitory effect on several cancer cell lines. Administering ATP may also enhance the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapeutic agents, increasing the antitumor effect of a given dose, or greatly reducing the dose required for a therapeutic effect. In particular, decreasing the dose of the treatment agents can dramatically reduce the toxicity of these antitumor drugs.
For example adding ATP to the drug doxorubicin to cultures of human ovarian cancer cells doubled the tumor cells eliminated compared to using doxorubicin alone. When ATP was given, 30-50% more doxorubicin accumulated in the cancer cells, whereas giving ATP to healthy human cells did not increase the accumulation of the drug.
In a randomized human clinical study, intravenous ATP was given to patients with advanced lung cancer at 2-4 week intervals. Whereas the control patients lost 2 pounds per month, the treated patients had stable to slightly increased weight. Over the six months of the study, the control patients lost one third of their muscular strength, while the ATP treated patients lost no strength. Although some medications may maintain weight in cancer patients, this is usually due to fat gain while muscle is lost. Intravenous ATP is the first intervention ever studied that appears to be able to maintain muscle mass, body weight, and muscle function in advanced cancer patients.
Thus ATP may be broadly beneficial in supporting antitumor cell biology. ATP enhances cellular immune function, inhibits the growth of several types of tumors, and in some cases may be able to cause direct elimination of tumor cells. In addition, ATP protects from radiation injury and may preserve weight and muscle strength. Further study will be needed to assess the full range of benefits it may provide. Given its high safety profile, ATP use may be one of the most beneficial adjuncts developed for supportive care, enhancing the results of conventional treatments.
Improved Human Survival of Shock
Under conditions of metabolic stress, such as depriving a tissue of oxygen through reduced blood supply, a rapid and massive depletion of ATP within cells occurs. Giving ATP or its metabolite adenosine has been described as a ~natural defense system~ to protect the tissues from the effects of severe oxygen deprivation. These protective effects include improved function of energy generating mitochondria, better electrolyte transport, increased ATP within cells, reduced oxygen consumption, and improved function of messenger molecules within the cells.
Shock is a condition in which there is a generalized reduction of blood flow and oxygenation to tissues below that required for their function. If shock is sustained, organ failure or death may occur. Once shock is reversed, supportive measures to assist tissue recovery can significantly affect quality of outcome.
In a study of 32 patients with acute kidney failure or multiple organ failure due to shock, highly beneficial effects of intravenous ATP were observed. The patients were randomly divided into the treatment group that received intravenous ATP or the control group that did not. The survival rate of 73% in the control group was increased to 100% survival in the ATP treatment group, showing the powerful tissue restorative effect of this intervention.
Sexual Function
In human tissue studies, the administration of ATP and adenosine has been found to induce the smooth muscle relaxation that is essential for erectile function. In diabetic men, erectile dysfunction is common through several mechanisms. The erectile tissue of diabetic men has been found to be especially sensitive to the smooth muscle relaxation effects of ATP, offering
them a hopeful avenue of recovery of erectile function.
The one precaution is that the purine nucleic acids adenine and guanine are metabolized to uric acid in the body. Persons with elevated uric acid or a history of gout may have a very slightly increased risk of an episode of gout while taking nucleic acid supplements. Because of the very high potency and bioavailability of the nucleic acid elements in known nucleotide formulas, the specific quantities of purine bases are well below that usually associated with an increased risk of elevating uric acid.
REFERENCES:
Grimble GK. Dietary nucleotides and gut mucosal defense. Gut 1994; Supplement 1: S46-S51.
Rigby PG. The effect of ~exogenous~ RNA on the improvement of syngeneic tumor immunity. Cancer Research 1971; 31: 4-6. Savaiano DA, Ho CY, Chu V, Clifford AJ. Metabolism of orally and intravenously administered purines in rats. J Nutr 1981; 110: 1793-1804.
Uauy R, Quan R, Gil A. Role of nucleotides in intestinal development and repair: implications for infant nutrition. J Nutr 1994; 124: 1436S-41S.
Bowles JT. The evolution of aging: a new approach to an old problem of biology. Medical Hypotheses 1998; 51: 179- 221.
Agteresch HJ, et al. Adenosine triphosphate: established and potential clinical applications. Drugs 1999; 58(2): 211-232.
Gur S, Ozturk B. Altered relaxant response to adenosine and adenosine 5~-triphosphate in the corpus cavernosum from men and rats with diabetes. Pharmacology 2000; 60: 105-112.
Bohoun C, Caillard L. S-adenosyl-methionine in human blood. Clinica Chimica Acta 1971; 33: 256.
Borsook H, et al. The biochemical basis of betaine-glycocyamine therapy. Annals of Western Medicine and Surgery 1951; 5(10): 825-9.
Borsook H, et al. Treatment of cardiac decompensation with betaine and glycocyamine. Annals of Western Medicine and Surgery 1951; 5(10): 830-55.
Boushey CJ, et al. Quantitative assessment of plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease: probable benefits of increasing folic acid intakes. JAMA 1995; 274: 1049-57.
Cooney C. Methyl magic: maximum health through methylation. Andrews McNeil Publishing: Kansas City, 1999.
Cooney C. Are somatic cells inherently deficient in methylation metabolism? A proposed mechanism for DNA methylation loss, senescence and aging. Growth, Development, and Aging 1993; 57(4): 261-73.
Frankel P. The methylation miracle: unleash your body~s natural source of SAMe. St. Martin~s Mass Market Paper 1999
Kishi T, et al. Effect of betaine on SAMe levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency and peripheral neuropathy. Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease 1994; 17(5): 560-6.
Lee MA, et al. Study on homocysteine~s role in atherosclerosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1994; 91(14): 6369-73.
McCully KS. The homocysteine revolution: medicine for the next millennium. Keats Publishing: Los Angeles, California, 1999.
McKully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. American Journal of Pathology 1969; 56: 111-28.
Morrison LM. Use of betaine-lipotropic combinations in clinical practice. Geriatrics 1953; 1953; 8: 649-55.
Nygard O, et al. Plasma homocysteine levels and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. New England Journal of Medicine 1997; 337: 230-6.
Nygard O, et al. Total plasma homocysteine and cardiovascular risk profile (the Hordaland homocysteine study). JAMA 1995; 274(19): 1526-33.
Perry IJ, et al. Prospective study of total serum homocysteine concentration and risk of stroke in middle-aged British men. Lancet 1995; 346(1): 395-8.
Ray J. Meta-analysis of hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for venous thromboembolic disease. Arch Intern Med 1998; 158: 2101-6.
Wainfan E, et al. Methyl Groups in carcinogenesis: effects on DNA methylation and gene expression. Cancer Research 1992; 52(Suppl.7): 2071S- 7S.
Wendel U, et al. Betaine in the treatment of homocystinuria due to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency. Eur J Pediatr 1984; 142: 147-50.
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DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Results will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each person.
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.
Division of Immunology and Gnotobiology
Head: prof. RNDr. B. ŘÃhová, DSc.
VÃdeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague 4
Tel.: 241 062 345, 241 062 353 Fax.: 241 721 143
In this era of an increasingly enlightened public about the health benefits of nutritional supplements, there is a new area perhaps more overlooked than any other. This central area of health and nutrition is the ingestion of dietary nucleic acid bases, NUCLEOTIDES, which the essential building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Numerous studies in animals and humans show dramatic benefits in health, function, and survival with the supplementation of nucleic acid elements. These effects are so powerful that survival in life threatening assaults ranging from radiation to infection to shock has been markedly increased.
From the standpoint of longevity studies, no single method has increased longevity more than supplementing DNA and RNA elements. Nucleotide supplementation is thus one of the most rejuvenating, immune enhancing, and tissue supporting regimens ever to be discovered. Recent evidence indicates that the body is often not able to make enough DNA and RNA to protect, repair, and regenerate cells to their optimum function. This is especially true for cells that have high turnover rates such as the intestinal lining that may fully replace itself every week.
The demand for production may particularly exceed synthetic capacity under conditions of stress in which the demand for greater cell activity and function becomes acute, particularly for the dynamic populations of cells in the immune system.
When demand exceeds production capacity, DNA and RNA base components become essential nutrients for protecting and preserving health. Numerous lines of evidence will be presented to show the far reaching health benefits of supplementing DNA and RNA during health stresses and even for general well being and longevity.
Numerous published scientific studies indicate very significant health benefits from DNA and RNA component supplementation. Almost every system of the body has documentation of improved health, vitality, or function from providing supplements of these fundamentally important cellular elements, from infancy to advanced age. The following is a brief summary from the vast literature supporting the many published benefits of nucleotide supplementation in the diet.
Thousands of published scientific studies in the metabolic pathways related to the formula components also suggest the following potential benefits of these nutrients:
1. Cell membrane repair.
2. Increased SAMe and serotonin levels.
3. Balance of neurotransmitter chemistry in the brain.
4. Increased melatonin with immunologic, antiaging, and antioxidant effects.
5. Regeneration and repair of insulating myelin sheaths of nerves.
6. Rejuvenating degenerating proteins into functional proteins again.
7. Required for full antioxidant potency of antioxidant proteins in every cell and tissue.
8. Repair of joints and cartilage.
9. Reduced risk of colon and other cancers.
10. May help reverse precancerous lesions to normal cells.
11. Improved histamine clearance.
12. Supports detoxification pathways in the liver.
When DNA and RNA are ingested intact, they are intensely metabolized by intestinal bacteria and the intestinal lining. Recent evidence indicates that the body is often not able to make enough DNA and RNA to protect, repair, and regenerate cells to their optimum function. This is especially true for cells that have high turnover rates such as the intestinal lining that may fully replace itself every week.
The demand for production may particularly exceed synthetic capacity under conditions of stress in which the demand for greater cell activity and function becomes acute, particularly for the dynamic populations of cells in the immune system.
When demand exceeds production capacity, DNA and RNA base components become essential nutrients for protecting and preserving health. Numerous lines of evidence will be presented to show the far reaching health benefits of supplementing DNA and RNA during health stresses and even for general well being and longevity. Numerous published scientific studies indicate very significant health benefits from DNA and RNA component supplementation.
Almost every system of the body has documentation of improved health, vitality, or function from providing supplements of these fundamentally important cellular elements, from infancy to advanced age. The following is a brief summary from the vast literature supporting the many published benefits of nucleotide supplementation in the diet.
Tissue Regeneration
In order to sustain health, virtually every tissue in the body must regenerate itself regularly. It is now known for example that even neurons in the brain have the capacity to regenerate. Having adequate supplies of all the nucleic acid bases may be one of the most significant limiting factors on whether a tissue will be able to express its greatest capacity for regeneration and self repair.
A study in rats looked at the ability of the liver to regenerate depending on whether or not injections of nucleic acid bases were given. In this study, the rats had 70% of their livers surgically removed. The animals that received IV nucleic acids showed liver regeneration rates that were significantly greater than the untreated control animals. Any tissue, in order to regenerate, requires the ability to make DNA and RNA to support the process of making new cells. Providing readily absorbed and assimilated DNA and RNA bases can be one of the most powerful ways to assist any tissue to repair and renew itself.
ANY TISSUE, IN ORDER TO REGENERATE, REQUIRES THE ABILITY TO MAKE DNA AND RNA TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS OF MAKING NEW CELLS. PROVIDING READILY ABSORBED AND ASSIMILATED DNA AND RNA BASES CAN BE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WAYS TO ASSIST ANY TISSUE TO REPAIR AND RENEW ITSELF.
Wound Healing
A wound, surgical or otherwise, results in severing the usual integrity of tissue organization. It is a special case of tissue regeneration in which cells migrate into the area of the wound to either regenerate new tissue or to fill the defect with scar tissue. The type of healing depends on the tissue ~ the liver will tend to restore normal liver cells in the wound, whereas the skin will tend to fill the breach with scar to heal the opening and restore strength.
Several studies in wound healing have assessed the effects of supplemental nucleic acids on wound healing, especially of surgical wounds. Compared to the control group, those receiving the supplements showed more rapid healing, greater tensile strength of the skin, and significantly reduced scarring.
→ FGF studies on wound healing
Endocrine (Pituitary) Gland Repair
Some of the tiniest organs in the body have the most profound effects on our health and well being. These are the endocrine glands that secrete minute amounts of hormones into the blood
without which every function of the body can suffer.
The pituitary gland located at the base of the skull has been called the master gland because it makes hormones that control the functions of other endocrine glands. It secretes hormones that regulate the thyroid and adrenal glands, the ovaries and testes, and the production of breast milk. The posterior region of the gland exerts control over the kidneys to adjust fluid balances throughout the body. Perhaps most important for longevity, the pituitary also makes growth hormone, that has been shown to have some of the most powerful age-reversing effects of any hormone ever studied. Inadequate nutritional support to this gland can have devastating and far-reaching effects throughout the body.
PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT FOR LONGEVITY, THE PITUITARY ALSO MAKES GROWTH HORMONE, THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL AGE-REVERSING EFFECTS OF ANY HORMONE EVER STUDIED. INADEQUATE NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT TO THIS GLAND CAN HAVE DEVASTATING AND FAR-REACHING EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE BODY.
The adrenal glands, situated atop the kidneys, secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline, the fight or flight hormones. These powerful hormones increase heart rate and blood flow to muscle so that the body is immediately prepared for vigorous physical activity. In our ancestral past, this rapid preparation was a key to surviving in a hostile environment. However, modern living often puts a chronic stress on the adrenal glands, the myriad stimuli that surround us tending to keep the fight or flight mechanism constantly activated.
The result is often varying degrees of adrenal burnout, exhausting the reserves of the gland to make the fight or flight hormones when really needed. Burned out adrenals give rise to a chronic low energy state, fatigue, and poor stress tolerance, like depleted batteries that fail to get recharged. These glands are especially prone to nucleotide deficiency under chronic stress, a condition that supplementation can help to restore, much as giving a long needed recharge to a nearly totally drained battery.
The thymus gland, residing behind the breastbone, is often considered the organ of rejuvenation and longevity. It is the gland in which the T cells of the immune system are formed and given identity. Upon release it is the T cells in particular that help find and destroy cancer cells and cells that have become afflicted with viruses. The thymus gland tends to shrink with time, yet specific supplementation has been found to bring this vital organ back to more youthful function. In particular, providing nucleic acid bases for this gland with very dynamic cell turnover can significantly rejuvenate this gland and its life preserving activities.
The thyroid gland, at the base of the neck in front of the windpipe, produces thyroid hormones, the main control mechanism for setting basal metabolic rate. In some circles it is believed that we are in the midst of an epidemic of undetected deficiency of thyroid function. Tests of thyroid function may not show overt clinical disease, but low-level deficiency can significantly reduce quality of life. Effects are subtle and can include generally low energy, sluggish bowel function, lack of initiative, tendency to depressed mood, and weight gain with great difficulty losing the added pounds.
Dietary iodine and the amino acid tyrosine are important building blocks to make thyroid hormone naturally from the gland. In addition, correcting insufficient nucleic acid production under stress will also support recovery of a sluggish gland.
The salivary glands reside in several pockets in the mouth. Although not as essential as the other glands to sustain life, they provide a vital role in the first stages of preparing food for
complete digestion. These metabolically active glands also require a rich supply of nucleic acids to maintain adequate salivary flow. Nucleotide supplementation can thus be a very powerful tonic to sustain and boost the functions of the most vital glands in the body. These glands set our level of energy, our ability to respond to stress, our capacity to maintain strong immune defenses, the hydration of our bodies, and a wide range of hormone balances essential to a high quality of life.
Intestinal Integrity, Maturation, and Bowel Flora
The intestinal lining replaces all of its cells every seven days. Only a single layer thick, this lining is highly dependent on a sufficient supply of nucleic acids to completely regenerate itself every week. If nutritional support is inadequate, defective regeneration of the intestinal mucosal lining impairs the enzymatic stages of digestion, which can lead to a vicious cycle of deteriorating digestion and nutritional status.
Cellular Immunity
Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that supplementing nucleic acid elements has profoundly beneficial effects on boosting the function of lymphoid tissue. In part, the reason for this is that lymphoid tissue is highly dynamic such that cells that have become sensitized to microbial invaders or cancer cells need to divide rapidly to make an army of specifically targeted cells to eliminate the invader.
A rich supply of nucleic acids, often beyond that the body can readily make, may be required for all the activities required for expanding the cells that prevent a minor invasion from becoming an overwhelming infection or uncontrolled malignancy.
Published studies have particularly demonstrated that cellular immunity is significantly strengthened with nucleic acid supplementation. Research that has examined natural killer cell function has shown especially dramatic effects on increasing the activity and function of these tumor surveillance and elimination cells. Improved health of body tissues in general and enhanced cellular immunity in particular, likely accounts for the vastly improved outcomes observed in the face of a wide range of minor tolife threatening insults.
Memory Enhancement
An adequate pool of RNA is needed to manufacture new proteins that are essential to memory function. Although other support nutrients are an important factor, optimum memory function is not possible without a rich supply of nucleic acids.
Many studies in animals and humans have found a dramatic improvement in memory function with nucleic acid supplementation. Whether it is the ability to remember the right pathway to get through a maze for a prize of cheese, or to remember facts and figures, giving supplements of DNA and RNA elements has highly significantly increased performance.
Perhaps most dramatically, one researcher has focused on giving nucleic acids to persons with dementia. Even with advanced cases, if he went to high enough delivery levels to his patients, in almost every case memory improvement was very significant. The doctor reported that even in advanced cases of dementia dramatic memory recovery occurred if high enough levels of nucleic acids were given.
Longevity
It is perhaps functional nucleic acid deficiency that limits our potential for healthy longevity more than any other single factor. Of all the interventions that have ever been attempted to increase the life span of mammals, no method ever studied has been more powerful for mammalian life extension than nucleic acid supplementation. Compared to other techniques that have increased longevity of experimental animals up to 50%, administering nucleic acids has doubled and even tripled the usual maximum life span.
In a landmark study, a strain of rats was used that had a usual life span of 800-900 days. The study began with all of the animals at day 750, rather advanced in age at the entry of the test protocol. Half of the animals were used as controls and received their standard diet, housing, and care. The treatment group animals were given identical conditions with the exception of receiving weekly injections of DNA and RNA.
After eight weeks the control rats looked much worse than at the start of the study, losing fur and muscle mass, and showing reduced physical activity. In sharp contrast, at this time in the study, the treated animals actually looked and behaved like younger animals. They regrew fur and increased their muscle mass, had renewed libido, and were significantly more active. By day 150 of the study, all of the untreated control animals had died.
In dramatic contrast, the minimum additional life span in the treated animals was 850 days, minimally doubling the usual life span of the animals. Perhaps most noteworthy, the longest lived animal in the treatment group survived 1500 days from the start of the study.
This is the greatest life extension ever reported for a mammal; nearly triple the usual maximum life span. It is especially remarkable because the animals were of advanced age at the start of the study. Weekly injections of DNA effectively increased the remaining life spans of the animals by 500-900%. It is as yet unknown whether even greater degrees of life extension could be achieved by beginning nucleic acid supplementation at an even earlier age, before any organ deterioration had occurred.
It is likely that the longevity achieved would be at least as great or greater. Any intervention that slows, stops, and reverses the loss of methyl groups from DNA is slowing, stopping, and even reversing aging at the DNA level. Supplemented nucleotides provide the most powerful nutrient factors for improving DNA methylation ever studied.
The most sensitive blood chemistry test for determining the rate of methyl group loss from DNA is called homocysteine. The higher the homocysteine level above 4-6, the greater the rate of methyl group loss from DNA. The teenage level of homocysteine is 4-6, which tends to rise 1-2 points per decade, such that at 60-70, the level is typically 12-15 or higher. Elevated homocysteine has in parallel with aging effects also been found to be a cardiac risk factor. Above a level of 6.3, cardiac risk rises exponentially, with a level of 15 carrying a risk four times, and a level of 20 carrying a risk that is nine times greater for a major cardiovascular incident than that of the general population.
In a major double blind randomized placebo controlled clinical study the effects of laser-enhanced nutrients on homocysteine reduction and other important metabolic factors and clinical symptoms. This study was reviewed and approved by the Western Institutional Review Board as meeting the international standards for the design and safety of human clinical research.
Perhaps the single most powerful homocysteine-lowering nutrient is trimethylglycine, or TMG. This molecule has three methyl groups to donate, hence the prefix trimethyl. It is also known as betaine because it is a natural substance derived from sugar beets. Previous research has shown that high dose betaine can reduce the risk of mortality the first year after a heart attack from 25% to 0%. In addition, high dose betaine in conjunction with vitamin cofactors has been the only intervention that has permitted women with a genetic disease of high homocysteine levels (homocystinuria) to conceive and have normal gestation and deliveries. In other persons with homocystinuria, adding betaine has reversed neurologic defects and caused gray hair to darken and lost hair to regrow.
The study formula for boosting methyl group transfers and reducing homocysteine contained betaine as the main component. In addition vitamin cofactors that are known to support these pathways were also included, particularly vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. Niacin was also included to assist with fat metabolism in addition to homocysteine reduction, for further cardiovascular support.
The treatment group received increasing doses of the methylation formula over a 3-month period of time, whereas the placebo group only received sugar pills. Subjects had blood drawn at baseline and every month for homocysteine levels, blood counts, and other metabolic tests. Subjects completed daily written reports and each week completed an extensive standardized symptom survey.
By the completion of the study, the treatment group showed very dramatic metabolic improvements not seen in the placebo group. Homocysteine levels for the treatment group started at values that on average carry about double the cardiac risk that by the end of the study reduced to values at less than the risk of the general population. The reduction at every dosage level was highly statistically significant, the homocysteine reduction for the group suggestive of a 20-30 year physiologic reduction in this aging measure.
The placebo control group showed no significant change in homocysteine level. The study compellingly demonstrated that the laser enhanced methylation formula was the essential factor in significantly lowering homocysteine and thereby improving methyl group transfer chemistry.
→ Food supplement with complete amino acids
In addition to reduced homocysteine, the treated subjects also showed highly statistically significant improvement of several clinical symptoms that included the following:
1. Reduced anxiety
2. Decreased body aches and pains
3. Elevation of mood
4. Decreased paranoia and obsessive-compulsive scales
5. Reduced hostility
6. Much decreased global symptom profile (all symptoms taken together in one
comprehensive score)
Reducing homocysteine and improving methyl group transfers does more than protect and repair DNA and lower cardiac risks. Thousands of published scientific studies in the metabolic pathways related to the formula components also suggest the following potential benefits of these nutrients:
1. Cell membrane repair
2. Increased SAMe and serotonin levels
3. Balance of neurotransmitter chemistry in the brain
4. Increased melatonin with immunologic, antiaging, and antioxidant effects
5. Regeneration and repair of insulating myelin sheaths of nerves
6. Rejuvenating degenerating proteins into functional proteins again
7. Required for full antioxidant potency of antioxidant proteins in every cell and tissue
8. Repair of joints and cartilage
9. Reduced risk of colon and other cancers
10. May help reverse precancerous lesions to normal cells
11. Improved histamine clearance
12. Supports detoxification pathways in the liver
ATP Benefits
ATP stands for Adenosine TriPhosphate, perhaps the most important of all the nucleic acid derivatives in the body. Its effects are so powerful and essential to cellular function, a description of its unique properties warrants special attention. ATP is the fundamental currency of every cell in the body.
Virtually every activity in the body that requires energy uses ATP as the source of power. Whether the function is building complex molecules from building blocks, maintaining the electric potential of cell membranes, or allowing muscle fibers to contract for mobility, speed, and strength, it is ATP that provides the electrochemical fuel.
Cellular Energy
There are two fundamental ways ATP is generated in the body, one very efficient and one very wasteful. Efficient ATP production occurs through aerobic metabolism in the mitochondria, tiny organs or organelles within the cell that burn fuels like fat and glucose to generate ATP.
Aerobic means that oxygen is used to completely ~burn~ a fuel for maximum ATP production. As nucleotides boosts cellular oxygen delivery, already making ATP production more efficient, the ATP has an ideal environment for further boosting cellular energy conditions; thus all the desirable ATP effects are likely to be even more potent. Inefficient ATP production occurs through anaerobic metabolism. Anaerobic means without oxygen, so very little energy and ATP are extracted from fuels.
When glucose is broken down through anaerobic metabolism, each molecule of glucose only gives rise to 2 molecules of ATP, wasting 95% of the potential glucose energy. Further, the byproduct of this reaction is two molecules of lactic acid, which makes the cells more acidic and less functional.
In athletes, lactic acid accumulation causes muscle fatigue and the ~burn~, whereas in cancer cells lactic acidosis is a long recognized metabolic disturbance that can promote a dwindling spiral of progressive malignancy.
The direct suppression of tumor cell lines by ATP is likely related to increased cellular energy efficiency. The oxygenating effects of nucleotide supplementation combined with a supply of ATP is likely to be additive and even synergistic at helping cells throughout the body achieve higher energy potentials and more ideal energy balances.
Neurologic Effect
ATP is the primary fuel that drives learning, memory, and concentration functions. ATP is essential to maintain the membrane potentials that permit nerves to integrate and transmit signals throughout the central and peripheral nervous system. In addition, giving ATP or its breakdown product adenosine intravenously has shown pain relief comparable to injected morphine for pain due to ischemia (impaired blood flow).
Two surgical studies have shown a 25% reduction in the need for postoperative narcotic pain relievers when adenosine was given IV. Perhaps most remarkable, peripheral neuropathic pain is one of the most difficult pain syndromes to manage. Excruciating constant pain may resist all but the most drastic measures. IV adenosine for 45-60 minutes reduced neuropathic pain for 6 hours to 4 days in 86% of persons tested.
Cardiac Strengthening
The cyclic contraction of cardiac muscle is highly ATP intensive and thrives on aerobic metabolism. The combined oxygenation and ATP delivery effects of DNA/RNA formulas provide the heart with an enhanced energy supply for efficient function. Providing intravenous ATP has been shown to slow conduction through the AV node, which has been used to slow down certain excessively fast heart rated called tachycardias. Occasionally chest symptoms can occur with rapid intravenous infusions of ATP that resolve within seconds after stopping the infusion. ATP is not known to cause excessively slow heart rates in persons whose heart rates are normal.
Muscle Performance
Skeletal Muscle also requires abundant quantities of ATP for muscular contraction. Supplemental ATP has been described as an ~explosive performance enhancer. Especially, if given with two other nutrient supporters of muscle function, creatine monohydrate and creatine pyruvate, muscle endurance, performance, and recovery can be significantly boosted.
Lung Function
ATP administration has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects on lung function, particularly the delicate lining membranes of the airways and alveoli. In the lung, branching tubes called bronchi and then bronchioles deliver air to and from the tiny air sacs called alveoli.
The alveoli form a large membrane only a single cell in thickness through which capillary blood can pick up a new supply of oxygen and unload carbon dioxide with every breath. In vitro, or test tube level research, has shown that ATP increases secretion of surfactant in the alveoli. Surfactant is an essential substance that keeps the alveoli from collapsing when the breath is exhaled, preserving integrity of functional gas exchange.
The bronchial tubes are lined with tiny brush like structures called cilia that are constantly sweeping particulates that get into the lung upward and outward. ATP not only increases the Ciliary Beat Frequency or CBF (key factor in the defense of the airways), it also increases the secretion of mucus and water from the bronchial lining, to help keep the lungs clear at all times.
In some conditions, the blood pressure in the vessels in the lungs can rise too high, a condition known as pulmonary hypertension. When given intravenously, ATP binds to the lining of the pulmonary vessels and stimulates a cascade of events that cause the blood vessels to relax and lower the pressure.
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common inherited genetic diseases. Impaired water and electrolyte secretion from the bronchial lining results in thick secretions that block the bronchial tubes and result in recurring infections. ATP has been found to increase electrolyte and water secretion with improved clearance of secretions, offering hope of a new and useful intervention in this often aggressively progressive condition.
Cellular Immune Enhancement
Natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells as reviewed are subtypes of effector lymphocytes that have a vital role in immune defense against tumors and virus-infected cells. Recent research suggests that ATP may play an important role in the mechanism through which these effector cells eliminate the target abnormal cells. In test tube studies, ATP has been shown to enhance the ability of cytotoxic lymphocytes to rupture the membranes of tumor cells.
Antitumor Effects
In test tube studies, adding ATP has shown the ability to inhibit the growth of several types of human cancer cell lines. The types of cancer cells inhibited include pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, androgen-independent prostate cancer (i.e., not responsive to male hormone manipulation, the most aggressive variant), breast cancer, myeloid and monocytic leukemia (bone marrow derived tumors of blood forming cells), and multidrug resistant colon cancer.
In contrast, normal cells from these tissues showed less inhibition of growth or no inhibition at all, suggesting that increasing ATP outside cells may have a selective inhibitory effect on several cancer cell lines. Administering ATP may also enhance the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapeutic agents, increasing the antitumor effect of a given dose, or greatly reducing the dose required for a therapeutic effect. In particular, decreasing the dose of the treatment agents can dramatically reduce the toxicity of these antitumor drugs.
For example adding ATP to the drug doxorubicin to cultures of human ovarian cancer cells doubled the tumor cells eliminated compared to using doxorubicin alone. When ATP was given, 30-50% more doxorubicin accumulated in the cancer cells, whereas giving ATP to healthy human cells did not increase the accumulation of the drug.
In a randomized human clinical study, intravenous ATP was given to patients with advanced lung cancer at 2-4 week intervals. Whereas the control patients lost 2 pounds per month, the treated patients had stable to slightly increased weight. Over the six months of the study, the control patients lost one third of their muscular strength, while the ATP treated patients lost no strength. Although some medications may maintain weight in cancer patients, this is usually due to fat gain while muscle is lost. Intravenous ATP is the first intervention ever studied that appears to be able to maintain muscle mass, body weight, and muscle function in advanced cancer patients.
Thus ATP may be broadly beneficial in supporting antitumor cell biology. ATP enhances cellular immune function, inhibits the growth of several types of tumors, and in some cases may be able to cause direct elimination of tumor cells. In addition, ATP protects from radiation injury and may preserve weight and muscle strength. Further study will be needed to assess the full range of benefits it may provide. Given its high safety profile, ATP use may be one of the most beneficial adjuncts developed for supportive care, enhancing the results of conventional treatments.
Improved Human Survival of Shock
Under conditions of metabolic stress, such as depriving a tissue of oxygen through reduced blood supply, a rapid and massive depletion of ATP within cells occurs. Giving ATP or its metabolite adenosine has been described as a ~natural defense system~ to protect the tissues from the effects of severe oxygen deprivation. These protective effects include improved function of energy generating mitochondria, better electrolyte transport, increased ATP within cells, reduced oxygen consumption, and improved function of messenger molecules within the cells.
Shock is a condition in which there is a generalized reduction of blood flow and oxygenation to tissues below that required for their function. If shock is sustained, organ failure or death may occur. Once shock is reversed, supportive measures to assist tissue recovery can significantly affect quality of outcome.
In a study of 32 patients with acute kidney failure or multiple organ failure due to shock, highly beneficial effects of intravenous ATP were observed. The patients were randomly divided into the treatment group that received intravenous ATP or the control group that did not. The survival rate of 73% in the control group was increased to 100% survival in the ATP treatment group, showing the powerful tissue restorative effect of this intervention.
Sexual Function
In human tissue studies, the administration of ATP and adenosine has been found to induce the smooth muscle relaxation that is essential for erectile function. In diabetic men, erectile dysfunction is common through several mechanisms. The erectile tissue of diabetic men has been found to be especially sensitive to the smooth muscle relaxation effects of ATP, offering
them a hopeful avenue of recovery of erectile function.
The one precaution is that the purine nucleic acids adenine and guanine are metabolized to uric acid in the body. Persons with elevated uric acid or a history of gout may have a very slightly increased risk of an episode of gout while taking nucleic acid supplements. Because of the very high potency and bioavailability of the nucleic acid elements in known nucleotide formulas, the specific quantities of purine bases are well below that usually associated with an increased risk of elevating uric acid.
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DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Results will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each person.
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