WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE When something goes wrong in mitochondria, the tiny organelles that power cells, it can cause a bewildering variety of symptoms such as poor growth, fatigue and weakness, seizures, developmental and cognitive disabilities, and vision problems. The culprit could be a defect in any of the 1,300 or so proteins that...
Tag: <span>mitochondrial diseases</span>
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Deleting DNA to treat mitochondrial diseases
KYOTO UNIVERSITY IMAGE: HIS NEW COMPOUND CAN FIND AND HELP REMOVE MUTANT MITOCHONDRIA DNA FROM CELLS. CREDIT: MINDY TAKAMIYA/KYOTO UNIVERSITY ICEMS Mutant DNA sequences inside cellular mitochondria can be eliminated using a bespoke chemical compound. The approach, developed by scientists at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Science (iCeMS) in Japan, could lead to better...
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Coenzyme Q10 could treat mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma and Crohn’s disease
by University of Granada Graphic overview of the research. Credit: University of Granada Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a molecule essential for life that is synthesized in the cells of our organs and tissues, but is also acquired through diet Scientists from the University of Granada demonstrate for the first time that a CoQ10 supplement is capable of modulating hydrogen...
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The brain’s powerhouses are damaged in Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease
Charlampos “Haris” Tzoulis with groundbreaking research on Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. Credit: Ingvild Festervoll Melien A study performed by researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, and the University of Vienna, Austria, shows damage of the mitochondria—the cell’s microscopic powerhouses—in the brains of people with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. The researchers found that the mitochondrial power generator (known as...
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Study highlights danger of vitamin B12 deficiency
Rice University researchers found vitamin B12 promotes survival during infection by improving mitochondrial health. The expression of a fluorescent protein (top left) reflects buildup of a toxic metabolic product, propionate, in mitochondria on diets low in B12, as compared (bottom left) to those receiving sufficient B12. Mitochondrially targeted fluorescent protein (center) reveals fragmentation of mitochondria when B12 is low, and dead worms...
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Mitochondrial disease patients face difficult road to diagnosis
A new study documents the prolonged and difficult path patients face before they are diagnosed with mitochondrial diseases, a group of rare, debilitating genetic disorders. The study was led by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center; findings appear in the journal Neurology: Genetics. An estimated 75,000 Americans live with genetic conditions that result from failures...
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How incurable mitochondrial diseases strike previously unaffected families
Mitochondrial DNA. Researchers have shown for the first time how children can inherit a severe – potentially fatal – mitochondrial disease from a healthy mother. The study, led by researchers from the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge, reveals that healthy people harbour mutations in their mitochondrial DNA and explains how cases...