Posted on 09/12/2008 11:36:54 AM PDT by djf
Special Report: Researchers Move Closer To Restoring Human Body's Ability To Make Vitamin C
By Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc. © 2008
Hamilton, Ontario CANADA (Sept. 11, 2008)- Utilizing gene therapy, researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) report, for the first time, that they have successfully restored the ability to make vitamin C in a genetic strain of mice that no longer produces vitamin C as most animals do, suggesting a future day when this lost capability can be restored to humans.
Utilizing a harmless virus as a vector (delivery agent), a working copy of the gulonolactone oxidase gene was re-inserted into mouse liver cells and their ability to naturally produce vitamin C was restored, enough to increase their blood levels by 6-fold in just four days, and within 23 days blood concentrations were 20-fold higher. Gene therapy was so effective, vitamin C levels in the genetically defective mice were similar to normal mice who naturally produce vitamin C throughout the day.
Only a small number of animals, guinea pigs, fruit bats, primate monkeys and humans, do not produce vitamin C naturally by enzymatic conversion of blood sugar to ascorbate, the type of vitamin C that is continually produced in the liver of most animals. For example, a 160-pound goat, about the same weight as a human, will synthesize about 13,000 milligrams of vitamin C per day.
Modern humans, by comparison, produce no vitamin C and consume only about 110 milligrams of vitamin C from their daily diet. Early hunter gatherers who foraged for food are believed to have consumed around 640 mg of vitamin C per day from fruits and vegetables.
Vitamin C deficiency is universal in humans and is caused by a single gene defect. This genetic defect is believed to have occurred long ago in human history and was transferred to all succeeding generations. The gene that makes the enzyme gulonolactone oxidase, which is currently found in all humans, is dysfunctional. This finding gives rise to speculation that early humans once produced their own vitamin C as most animals do today.
While humans can consume vitamin C supplements to boost vitamin C blood levels, it is often difficult to achieve high concentrations needed to prevent or even treat disease. Researchers speculate that if the ability to continually synthesize vitamin C in humans could be restored, humans would likely live far longer, and experience fewer cataracts, gallstones, aneurysms (bulging blood vessels), as well as less cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Animals that produce vitamin C naturally live on average about 8-12 times beyond their age when childhood growth ceases. For comparison, humans live only 2-3.5 times beyond their age of physical maturation (~ age 18 years) and live about 60-75 years. This research suggests a day when humans might live hundreds of disease-free years of life.
This report comes on the heels of recent studies showing intravenous vitamin C therapy may be promising for treatment of cancer. The mouse gene therapy study was published in an advanced online edition of Human Gene Therapy, and the complete paper can be viewed here:
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/hgt.2008.106
Lead researcher Herb E. Schellhorn of the Department of Biology at McMaster University, said the future of this type of research may depend upon the acceptance of gene therapy altogether, since earlier gene therapy involving humans have been disappointing. But he reports researchers around the world are eager to learn more about his work and fellow researchers at McMaster University are vying to conduct further studies. Schellhorn is currently writing a grant proposal, seeking funding to proceed with follow-up studies. #### © 2008 Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc.
Harmless Virus as a vector? Did nobody watch I Am Legend?
It’s a pretty well known and studied technology now.
They take the genome they want to insert into you, put it into a virus, then infect ya.
Don’t worry.
They haven’t put the cooties genome into a virus yet.
The other mammal that doesn’t produce vitamin C? IIRC, guinea pigs.
You really have no idea man, I do happen to know, don’t disarm people unless you really have the knowledge, and you don’t.
I think I remember that novel. Wasn’t it a sexually transmitted disease?
I defer to your dazzling, spectacular brilliance.
Yawwwwnnnnnnnnnn...
have you seen that they can print organs and skin for burn victims with an inkjet printer?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070221093208.htm
have you seen that they can print organs and skin for burn victims with an inkjet printer?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070221093208.htm
We finally bought empty gelatin capsules and spent hours loading the bulk VitC into the gelatin capsules and then spent a lot of time swallowing capsules all day. yuk.
In other news, researchers have developed a strain of mice that they hope will one day replace grapefruit and oranges.
“You don’t even have to squeeze the little suckers,” enthused the lead researcher.
“You just train them to pee in your glass.”
Lol!
Mice in Bloody Marys!
There’s gotta be a good drinking game in there somewhere!
So maybe some of those biblical lifespans weren't exagerated??
Med sciences ping.
thanks, bfl
“You know those ready-to-use mixed drinks? If we could fit dinner and a [bleep] in there, we’d have it made.”
(BTW, could this also help with "Syndrome X" as it is sometimes called? Continuous lowering of blood sugar sounds like it could have all *kinds* of benefits.)
Cheers!
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