A novel therapeutic strategy for Ehlers–Danlos syndrome based on nutritional supplements

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a rare disorder, comprising a group of related inherited disorders of connective tissue, resulting from underlying abnormalities in the synthesis and metabolism of collagen. This proposal is specifically concerned with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome classic type (formerly Types I-III), which is characterized by joint hypermobility and susceptibility to injury/arthritis, skin and vascular problems (including easy bruising, bleeding, varicose veins and poor tissue healing), cardiac mitral valve prolapse, musculo-skeletal problems (myopathy, myalgia, spinal scoliosis, osteoporosis), and susceptibility to periodontitis. No treatment is currently available for this disorder. The novel aspect of this proposal is based on: (i) increasing scientific evidence that nutrition may be a major factor in the pathogenesis of many disorders once thought to result from defective genes alone; (ii) the recognition that many of the symptoms associated with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are also characteristic of nutritional deficiencies; (iii) the synergistic action within the body of appropriate combinations of nutritional supplements in promoting normal tissue function. We therefore hypothesize that the symptoms associated with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome may be successfully alleviated using a specific (and potentially synergistic) combination of nutritional supplements, comprising calcium, carnitine, coenzyme Q(10), glucosamine, magnesium, methyl sulphonyl methane, pycnogenol, silica, vitamin C, and vitamin K, at dosages which have previously been demonstrated to be effective against the above symptoms in other disorders.

Functional and compositional studies of arteries stored in University of Wisconsin solution compared with Krebs-Bülbring buffer

Endothelium-dependent and -independent vasorelaxation in ring segments of rabbit thoracic aorta is reduced and noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction unaltered after prolonged storage in University of Wisconsin solution (UW) compared to arteries stored in extracellular-type solutions such as Krebs-Bülbring buffer (KBB). The aims of the present study were to determine whether angiotensin-II-induced vasoconstriction, alterations in myosin light chains, protein synthetic capacity, and subcellular structures are altered after 8 days of UW storage at 4 degrees C. The present study showed reduced contractility to angiotensin II, following 8 days of cold storage in UW, that was not reversed in the presence of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (100 microM). Measurements of contractile protein ratios in the same tissues after cold storage in UW or KBB did not show any significant alterations in smooth muscle myosin light chains or protein synthetic capacity (reflected by total RNA). It is concluded that reductions in vasoconstriction in UW-stored tissue are unlikely to be due to increased release of nitric oxide nor reduced availability of myosin light chains for phosphorylation and vasoconstriction.

Acute ethanol administration and the metabolism of glutamine by skeletal muscle of the rat: implications for ethanol-induced reductions in protein synthesis

The effect of acute ethanol administration (75 mmol/kg) on the metabolism of glutamine by skeletal muscle of the rat was studied in order to investigate the hypothesis that the concentration of this amino acid in muscle controls the rate of protein synthesis. Ethanol administration was without effect on the concentration of glutamine in EDL (extensor digitorum longus) and plantaris muscles (Type II fibre-rich muscles), but increased the concentration in soleus muscle (Type I fibre-rich muscle). The rate of release of glutamine was increased from EDL muscle, but unchanged from soleus muscle of treated animals. Ethanol administration was without effect on the maximal activity of glutamine synthetase in both soleus and EDL muscles. It is concluded that changes in the concentration of glutamine in muscle cannot explain the ethanol-induced changes in the rate of protein synthesis. Nevertheless, the increase in the concentration of glutamine in soleus muscle following ethanol administration is of interest and may be mediated via modulation of the glutamine transporter and/or the activity of glutamine synthetase in vivo.