Posted on 01/30/2023 8:45:50 AM PST by ConservativeMind
Some autoimmune diseases attack the nerves in the arms and legs. Researchers are pursuing a new approach to counteracting this damage.
Researchers have shown in lab experiments that propionate can protect nerves and help them regenerate. The findings could be useful for treating autoimmune diseases that cause damage to nerve cells, such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Propionate is naturally produced in the intestine when dietary fiber is broken down.
Previous studies had already demonstrated that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are deficient in propionate and can benefit from taking additional propionate.
Accordingly, the substance could also be useful for patients with CIDP.
CIDP patients suffer from sensory disturbances, muscle weakness and pain. The cause of the disorder is not fully understood. The immune system attacks the nerves in the arms and legs. The nerve sheath, an insulating coating around the nerve cells, is broken down and eventually the cells die. Said Thomas Grüter: "A therapy that protects the nerves and aids regeneration is not yet available."
Thomas Grüter's team has now explored the protective effect of propionate in cell culture and in animal experiments. The group isolated the two most important cell types in the peripheral nervous system from rats: nerve cells and Schwann cells; the latter form the sheath of the nerve cells.
The researchers cultivated the two cell types separately and exposed them to oxidative stress, which usually causes damage to the cells. The team treated some cell cultures with propionate and compared the effects with untreated cultures. Significantly fewer cells died in the treated cultures. In addition, the cells grew back more readily after treatment than when no propionate had been administered. Animal experiments confirmed these results: after administering propionate, the nerve cells had better protection against oxidative damage.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
However, it is available on its own as a mold inhibitor, and past use of this form in excess appears to cause metabolic problems, according to Wikipedia.
Have to wonder if it’d help diabetic feet/toe/eye damage.
https://www.acsh.org/news/2019/04/24/propionate-common-food-preservative-alters-our-metabolism-does-make-it-disruptor-13977 [2] Report 79 by the FDA Here is a much fuller statement
“Propionic acid occurs naturally in various foods including butter and cheese. … it is a normal intermediary metabolite. …demonstrated low acute toxicity after oral administration to mice or rats...Microbial assays for mutagenicity of propionic acid and calcium and sodium propionate were negative. Investigations of the teratogenicity of calcium propionate in four mammalian systems also were negative. Short-term feeding tests show …adverse effects on weight gain [weight decreases, not increases] only when propionate intakes are many orders of magnitude greater than the estimate of human dietary intake of propionate used as a food ingredient, about 1 mg per kg per day. Longterm feeding studies of propionic acid and calcium propionate have not been reported. However, a long-term feeding study of sodium propionate showed no adverse effects in rats.”
Endocrine Disruption is a Medieval Spell in the Hands of Environmentalists
http://pandthethirdvoice.blogspot.com/2017/11/endocrine-disruption-is-medieval-spell.html
No, it wouldn’t help diabetic damage.
The article from The American Council on Science and Health says that our bodies convert propionate into glucose and can/will contribute to weight gain and insulin resistance.
Summary says, “The short-chain fatty acid propionate increases glucagon and FABP4 production, impairing insulin action in mice and humans”.
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