I imagine that there is not one person whose life has not been affected by disease. I have seen many family members and friends struggle with the crippling effects of cancer, Alzheimer's and many other chronic and non-chronic illnesses. I chose this article because it touches on holistic medicine and alternative treatments, something I am very interested in. Research is a vital part of discovering better ways to combat disease and find ways to prevent it. This article discusses using the cells own mitochondria to prevent and understand more about what causes disease and aging. Doug Wallace, a researcher, hypothesizes in this article, "My belief is that mitochondrial dysfunction underlies the etiology of most common complex diseases, as well as aging." This hypothesis is supported by a recent study conducted by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Boston-based Cambridge Institute that found less copies of mitochondrial DNA in cancer and tumor cells, than you would find in healthy tissue.
Over time, we accumulate more and more mitochondrial-DNA mutations and this affects how we feel that we have less energy as we age, and could also attribute to age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
Wallace also shares his findings on human migration and explains how this can effect mitochondria efficiency. He explains that many of us have mitochondria that is not suited for our environment. For example, our cells may be adapted to an active lifestyle, low-fat diet and hot climate and is maladapted to a sedentary lifestyle and high-fat diet, common in colder climates. Wallace believes this to be a main contributor for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, autism and other types of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Instead of going to a neurologist for Alzheimer's, what if we went to a biochemist? This article gives us a look into what is really causing these diseases and how our mitochondria may be the key to treating disease. As Wallace says in this article, everything revolves around energy. Most genetic studies focus on the mutations in nuclear DNA to find associations between disease and genes, not mitochondrial DNA. This new research may offer a new, holistic approach to combating disease and understanding the complexities of cellular energy and its relation to our health and well-being.
Post by: Madelin Crapo
Post by: Madelin Crapo
https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/jnj-champions-of-science/defeating-diseases-with-energy/
I found this article so fascinating I shared it on my Facebook wall! It makes sense to me that mutations in mitochondrial DNA over time can result in age-related diseases, as well as mitochondrial dysfunction being the underlying cause of so many illnesses. I also think that the question posed about instead of going to a doctor for a particular illness, what if you went to a biochemist instead, is part of the reason the MCAT was changed to reflect such a large portion of biochemistry - so that incoming medical students would understand more about how the biochemistry of the body affects all the systems in the body.
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ReplyDeleteThis article attracted my attention concerning energy. I am now a Biochemistry student and I agree that mitochondrial-DNA may be key to age-related diseases. Because, from my understanding, diseases really start at the cellular level. I have also heard about how human migration can effect the efficiency of our very cells. Humans can adapt to their environment but those changes take time. It only makes sense that during the adaptation there would be problems and mutations that occur. There is so much more we can explore concerning mitochondria.
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This is such a cool article! I love it how it mentions how humans have about as much potential energy as a lightning bolt! In that case maybe Zeus was real?? But in all seriousness I'm very interested by how it mentions certain mitochondria are more adapted to different lifestyles. Like how some mitochondria are adapted for active lifestyles and hot climates. I'd love to have my mitochondria investigated to see what kind of climate and lifestyle my body is most naturally outfitted for? I won't lie, I hope my body is most adapted to my lazy lifestyle.
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DeleteI agree, I think it would be absolutely incredible to be able to have a lab analyze your mitochondria and be able to tell you where and what type of life style would be fit you personally, it would make life that much easier. I looked up mitochondria sequencing and wasn't able to find a lab that does it for that specific purpose but there are several commercial labs that do it looking specifically for disorders that directly correlate with the function of the mitochondria. Check it out if you get some time, maybe in the future you'll be able to send a tissue sample in and get it analyzed to see where you should live.
DeleteMNG Laboratories - Neurogenetic answers https://mnglabs.com/providers/mtdna/
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