Lipid Replacement Therapy, the use of functional oral supplements containing cell membrane phospholipids and antioxidants, has been used to replace damaged, usually oxidized, membrane ...glycerophospholipids that accumulate during aging and in various clinical conditions in order to restore cellular function. This approach differs from other dietary and intravenous phospholipid interventions in the composition of phospholipids and their defense against oxidation during storage, ingestion, digestion and uptake as well as the use of protective molecules that noncovalently complex with phospholipid micelles and prevent their enzymatic and bile disruption. Once the phospholipids have been taken in by transport processes, they are protected by several natural mechanisms involving lipid receptors, transport and carrier molecules and circulating cells and lipoproteins until their delivery to tissues and cells where they can again be transferred to intracellular membranes by specific and nonspecific transport systems. Once delivered to membrane sites, they naturally replace and stimulate removal of damaged membrane lipids. Various chronic clinical conditions are characterized by membrane damage, mainly oxidative but also enzymatic, resulting in loss of cellular function. This is readily apparent in mitochondrial inner membranes where oxidative damage to phospholipids like cardiolipin and other molecules results in loss of trans-membrane potential, electron transport function and generation of high-energy molecules. Recent clinical trials have shown the benefits of Lipid Replacement Therapy in restoring mitochondrial function and reducing fatigue in aged subjects and patients with a variety of clinical diagnoses that are characterized by loss of mitochondrial function and include fatigue as a major symptom. This Article is Part of a Special Issue Entitled: Membrane Structure and Function: Relevance in the Cell's Physiology, Pathology and Therapy.
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•LRT can restore and help maintain mitochondrial membrane function by replacing damaged membrane phospholipids.•LRT oral phospholipids are taken in and transported to tissue cells by different mechanisms.•Clinical trials have shown the benefits of LRT in restoring mitochondrial function and reducing symptoms such as fatigue.•By reducing oxidative damage to mitochondrial membranes LRT may reduce activation of NLRP3 and reduce sterile inflammation.
Membrane Lipid Replacement is the use of functional, oral supplements containing mixtures of cell membrane glycerolphospholipids, plus fructooligosaccharides (for protection against oxidative, bile ...acid and enzymatic damage) and antioxidants, in order to safely replace damaged, oxidized, membrane phospholipids and restore membrane, organelle, cellular and organ function. Defects in cellular and intracellular membranes are characteristic of all chronic medical conditions, including cancer, and normal processes, such as aging. Once the replacement glycerolphospholipids have been ingested, dispersed, complexed and transported, while being protected by fructooligosaccharides and several natural mechanisms, they can be inserted into cell membranes, lipoproteins, lipid globules, lipid droplets, liposomes and other carriers. They are conveyed by the lymphatics and blood circulation to cellular sites where they are endocytosed or incorporated into or transported by cell membranes. Inside cells the glycerolphospholipids can be transferred to various intracellular membranes by lipid globules, liposomes, membrane-membrane contact or by lipid carrier transfer. Eventually they arrive at their membrane destinations due to ‘bulk flow’ principles, and there they can stimulate the natural removal and replacement of damaged membrane lipids while undergoing further enzymatic alterations. Clinical trials have shown the benefits of Membrane Lipid Replacement in restoring mitochondrial function and reducing fatigue in aged subjects and chronically ill patients. Recently Membrane Lipid Replacement has been used to reduce pain and other symptoms as well as removing hydrophobic chemical contaminants, suggesting that there are additional new uses for this safe, natural medicine supplement. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Lipid Therapy: Drugs Targeting Biomembranes edited by Pablo V. Escribá.
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•Oxidative damage to membrane phospholipids occurs in essentially all chronic and acute medical conditions, cancer and aging.•Membrane Lipid Replacement with glycerolphospholipids replaces damaged phospholipids and restores membrane and cellular functions.•Clinical trials have shown the benefits of Membrane Lipid Replacement in restoring mitochondrial function and reducing symptoms.•Membrane Lipid Replacement can also be used to remove toxic chemicals and other substances due to a ‘bulk flow’ mechanism.•Oral Membrane Lipid Replacement supplements are safe, inexpensive, effective and convenient.
In a Perspective, James Boyce and Michael Ash discuss Lara Cushing and colleagues' research study on the implications of California's policy on carbon trading.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Carbon pricing has been criticized by environmental justice advocates on the grounds that it fails to reduce emissions significantly, fails to reduce the disproportionate impacts of hazardous ...co‐pollutants on people of color and low‐income communities, hits low‐income households harder than wealthier households, and commodifies nature. Designing carbon pricing policy to address these concerns can yield outcomes that are both more effective and more equitable.
Carbon pricing has been criticized by environmental justice advocates on the grounds that it fails to reduce emissions significantly, fails to reduce the disproportionate impacts of hazardous co‐pollutants on over‐burdened communities, has a regressive distributional impact, and commodifies nature. Carbon pricing policy can be designed to address these concerns, however, yielding outcomes that are more effective as well as more equitable.
Emergency physicians are on the front lines of treating patients with highly infectious respiratory diseases. Personal protective equipment is one defense against contamination from droplet and ...aerosol secretions. Intubation is a procedure that greatly can increase provider's risk of exposure. Utilization of an intubation box has been discussed and recommended on social media platforms. There has been scant literature demonstrating the effectiveness of such devices. This study aimed to determine degree of droplet contamination to the intubator utilizing a novel barrier enclosure with a fluorescent simulated respiratory contagion. This model confirmed both added protection to the providers preforming intubation, and reduction of spread of the droplets when such a device is applied to patient care.
Our food security depends on finding a sustainable alternative to rock phosphate for fertilizer production. Furthermore, over 2 billion people worldwide are currently affected by micronutrient ...deficiencies, and crop concentrations of essential minerals are declining. This paper examines whether a novel multi-element fertilizer, Thallo®, can produce crop yields comparable to conventional rock phosphate derived fertilizers, and have an additional benefit of increasing essential mineral concentrations. Thallo®, produced from abattoir and recycled industrial by-products, was tested against conventional mineral fertilizers in a pot trial with wheat and grass. In soil, yields were comparable between the fertilizer types, but, in a low-nutrient substrate, Thallo® showed a yield benefit. Elemental concentrations in the plant material typically reflected the relative concentrations in the fertilizer, and Thallo® fertilized plants contained significantly more of some essential elements, such as selenium and zinc. Furthermore, concentrations of the toxic element cadmium were significantly lower in Thallo® fertilized crops. Among the fertilizers, manganese concentrations were greatest in the Thallo®, but within the fertilized plants, they were greatest under the mineral fertilizer, showing the complexity of assessing whether nutrients will be taken up by crops. In summary, fertilizers from livestock waste have the potential to improve wheat and grass concentrations of essential elements while maintaining yields.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: The usefulness of metformin as an oral antidiabetic agent is widely accepted. However, several other classes of oral antidiabetic agents have been recently introduced, raising the need ...to evaluate the role of metformin as initial therapy and in combination with these newer drugs for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).
Methods: Synthesis of information was preceded by a comprehensive review of the English language literature using Medline. We also reviewed bibliographies of relevant articles. The studies most pertinent to the mechanism of action, efficacy, toxicity and administration of metformin were selected for citation in this review.
Results: Metformin acts by increasing tissue sensitivity to insulin, principally in the liver. Beneficial properties of metformin include weight reduction, favourable effects on the lipid profile and the fibrinolytic pathway, and improvement of ovarian function in some insulin‐resistant women. It does not cause hyperinsulinaemia or hypoglycaemia. Metformin is effective as monotherapy and, in combination with both insulin secretagogues and thiazolidinediones (TZDs), may obviate the need for insulin treatment. Several fixed‐dose combination pills containing metformin and other agents are available. A protocol for the initiation of therapy with contemporary oral agents for type 2 DM is presented, with emphasis on the continuing central role of metformin.
Conclusions: Metformin remains a safe and effective agent for the therapy of patients with type 2 DM. It is useful as monotherapy or in combination regimens with the newer insulin secretagogues, TZDs or insulin. It is still in most circumstances the agent of choice for initial therapy of the typical obese patient with type 2 DM and mild to moderate hyperglycaemia.
Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction has been reported in a substantial number of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Activation of the mucosal immune response and the presence of abnormal ...gut microbiota are repeatedly observed in these children. In children with ASD, the presence of GI dysfunction is often associated with increased irritability, tantrums, aggressive behaviour, and sleep disturbances. Moreover, modulating gut bacteria with short-term antibiotic treatment can lead to temporary improvement in behavioral symptoms in some individuals with ASD. Probiotics can influence microbiota composition and intestinal barrier function and alter mucosal immune responses. The administration of probiotic bacteria to address changes in the microbiota might, therefore, be a useful novel therapeutic tool with which to restore normal gut microbiota, reduce inflammation, restore epithelial barrier function, and potentially ameliorate behavioural symptoms associated with some children with ASD. In this review of the literature, support emerges for the clinical testing of probiotics in ASD, especially in the context of addressing GI symptoms.
Membrane Lipid Replacement (MLR) uses natural membrane lipid supplements to safely replace damaged, oxidized lipids in membranes in order to restore membrane function, decrease symptoms and improve ...health. Oral MLR supplements contain mixtures of cell membrane glycerolphospholipids, fatty acids, and other lipids, and can be used to replace and remove damaged cellular and intracellular membrane lipids. Membrane injury, caused mainly by oxidative damage, occurs in essentially all chronic and acute medical conditions, including cancer and degenerative diseases, and in normal processes, such as aging and development. After ingestion, the protected MLR glycerolphospholipids and other lipids are dispersed, absorbed, and internalized in the small intestines, where they can be partitioned into circulating lipoproteins, globules, liposomes, micelles, membranes, and other carriers and transported in the lymphatics and blood circulation to tissues and cellular sites where they are taken in by cells and partitioned into various cellular membranes. Once inside cells, the glycerolphospholipids and other lipids are transferred to various intracellular membranes by lipid carriers, globules, liposomes, chylomicrons, or by direct membrane-membrane interactions. The entire process appears to be driven by 'bulk flow' or mass action principles, where surplus concentrations of replacement lipids can stimulate the natural exchange and removal of damaged membrane lipids while the replacement lipids undergo further enzymatic alterations. Clinical studies have demonstrated the advantages of MLR in restoring membrane and organelle function and reducing fatigue, pain, and other symptoms in chronic illness and aging patients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK