the 10th Paradigm-possible explanation for autoimmune diseas

[Linda in BC]

http://www.thetenthparadigm.org/index.html

This is an interesting read. Martin L. Pall, a biochemist, proposes a possible common casual mechanism for a number of autoimmune disorders. While IBDs are not mentioned specifically, if true, this explanation could most certainly apply to them.

Linda

[MBombardier]

Dear Linda,

Thanks for posting this! I have bookmarked it to read later. I just had to comment that the name NO/ONOO Cycle Diseases tickled my funny bone. Not that the diseases are funny but imagine telling someone "I have a no, oh noo, cycle disease." Sorry... I have a weird sense of humor, I know.

I noticed this man is from WA State University and has an Oregon phone number. This makes me think that he probably lives near me and is affiliated with the WSU just a few miles away. Hmmm....

[tex]

Linda,

I'll have to read it later, also, but I read far enough to see that the common key, (according to Dr. Pall), is nitric oxide. I thought I would point out, (since you mentioned that it could also apply to IBDs), that an elevated nitric oxide level is indeed known to be quite common with IBDs.

Thanks for the link.

Tex

[Linda in BC]

I know I didn't post that at a very good time, but I came across it while researching something else and figured I had better post it while i was thinking of it. I didn't know that about nitric oxide and IBD's, Tex. Interesting.

Linda

[MBombardier]

As I read Relaxation Revolution, which explains how practicing relaxation that is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response can affect our bodies down to the molecular level, I see that in several places Benson & Proctor note that the elicitation of the relaxation response leads to clinically measurable increases in nitric oxide emission. They say this is a good thing because of vasodilation, etc., etc.

I just got done reading quite a bit of Pall's website that Linda links to in this thread. His theory is that stressors cause nitric oxide to be oxidized into peroxynitrite and superoxide, which leads to oxidative stress (which in turn leads to the production of more NO according to his diagram and his explanation), and is actually the cause of so-called autoimmune diseases and supposedly unrelated diseases/disorders like Alzheimer's and PTSD. Stressors can be short-term stress, physical or severe psychological trauma, exposure to chemicals, etc.

Pall says that the cause of these illnesses must be attacked (no, really?) and his solution is nutritional support. He's not selling anything--he uses the biochemical names. What I'm wondering is...

How do (or can) these two NO functions/dysfunctions go together?

[tex]

Marliss,

I'm gonna have to study that one a bit, 'cause I've been wondering the same thing, ever since I first read about elevated NO levels in Crohn's patients.

Tex

[MBombardier]

Tex, have you had any opportunity to study on the NO issue? Just wondering...

[tex]

Marliss,

Here's my view of the apparent paradox that's at issue here. I suspect that a lot of people are confused about the functions of NO in the body, and incorrect assumptions get them into trouble. It is claimed, for example that relaxation techniques lead to elevated NO levels, which results in increased blood flow. Not true, (at least the "increased blood flow" part of it does not appear to be true). First off, from a logical standpoint, why would anyone think that a state of relaxation required more blood flow? Actually, it requires less blood flow, just as sleeping requires less blood flow, when compared with a normal state of activity. Those claims of increased blood flow as a result of relaxation, therefore, are contrary to logic, IMO. I'm not talking about relaxing as a result of exercise, now, I'm talking about "mind over matter" relaxation techniques, which minimize the expenditure of energy.

So, while it may well be true that relaxation techniques lead to elevated NO levels, that does not mean that increased NO levels are consistent with higher rates of blood circulation. In fact, the opposite is true. Recall that the old standby treatment for angina is nitroglycerin, which is a source of NO.

Nitric oxide is considered an antianginal drug: it causes vasodilation, which can help with ischemic pain known as angina by decreasing the cardiac workload. By dilating the veins there is less blood returned to the heart per cycle.[33] This decreases the amount of volume that the heart has to pump.

The red emphasis is mine, of course. The reason why that it true, of course, is because the enlarged blood vessels result in a lower blood pressure, (due to Boyle's law).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide

So yes, NO dilates blood vessels, and this does indeed make pumping blood easier, but this does not mean that blood circulation is increased - what it means is that more blood is pooled, (since the veins are more voluminous), and blood pressure is reduced, but the heart is actually pumping the same volume, or less, per cycle, not more. And as the heart rate goes down, (with increasing relaxation), obviously even less blood will be pumped.

As far as IBDs are concerned, NO is produced by phagocytes, (monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils), as part of the human immune response. According to Wikipedia:

NO is an important cellular messenger molecule involved in many physiological and pathological processes within the mammalian body both beneficial and detrimental.[1] Appropriate levels of NO production are important in protecting an organ such as the liver from ischemic damage. However, sustained levels of NO production result in direct tissue toxicity and contribute to the vascular collapse associated with septic shock, whereas chronic expression of NO is associated with various carcinomas and inflammatory conditions including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and ulcerative colitis.[2]

So the benefits, (or detriments), of NO, depend not only on how much is present, but on how long it is present, (and probably, a few other things, as well).

Tex