Free Republic

The retina places a large energy demand on the body, in part due to the activity of photoreceptors. These specialized cells are responsible for receiving light and transmitting visual information to the brain. Photoreceptor death is the cause of vision loss in many retinal diseases, and there are no effective therapies that improve their survival. In a paper, researchers studied the dependence of photoreceptors on glutamine. Their results indicate that maintaining the balance of amino acids in these cells is important for photoreceptor health. The energy requirements of photoreceptors make them vulnerable to small changes in metabolism. Glutamine feeds into...

The liver has a unique ability, regeneration. However, the liver stops regenerating in cases of diseases that involve chronic liver damage. Research has discovered in animal models a previously unknown mechanism of liver regeneration. It is a process that is triggered very quickly, just a few minutes after acute liver damage occurs. The authors write that nutritional glutamate supplementation can effectively promote liver regeneration and benefit patients with severe and chronic liver damage. The results show that liver and bone marrow are interconnected by glutamate. After acute liver damage, liver cells, called hepatocytes, produce glutamate and send it into the...

Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's immune system attacks healthy cells instead of protecting them. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is one such autoimmune condition characterized by faulty circulatory and immune systems, leading to the occurrence of fibrosis (hardening and scarring of healthy tissue) of the skin and internal organs. Countering oxidative stress using antioxidant compounds, is therefore, being increasingly explored as a therapeutic strategy. To this end, a team of researchers has investigated the effectiveness of Twendee X (TwX)—a dietary supplement comprising of a combination of eight active antioxidants—in reducing oxidative stress in SSc mouse models. Prof. Inufusa says, "Studies have...

A research team brings together experts in an effort to discover exactly what is ailing the sickest long COVID patients and find treatments for them. The team reports that a disproportionate number of people affected—nearly 70%—are female and face debilitating symptoms that are identical to chronic fatigue syndrome, now referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. Blood samples show telltale amino acid deficiencies, suggesting readily available supplements have potential as therapy. "We do not actually believe that long COVID is a separate new disease," explains Jan Willem Cohen. Thirty patients had persistent severe long COVID symptoms 12 months...