This invention may shows a way of treatment to reverse steatosis, or fatty deposits in the liver that can lead to circulation and cancer. The research team, leaded by Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D., professor of pathology, introduced an antioxidant named Mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone, or MitoQ, to experimental mice given alcohol daily for five to six weeks in sufficient quantities matching excessive alcohol consumption in humans..
Chronic alcoholics, those who drank excessively every day, experience fat accumulation in the liver cells. When alcohol is metabolized in the liver, it creates free radicals that damage mitochondria in liver cells and prevent them from using enough oxygen to produce energy. Moreover, a low-oxygen condition called hypoxia exacerbates mitochondrial damage and supports the formation of fatty deposits that can lead to circulation...
Darley-Usmar and colleagues said that the MitoQ antioxidant was able to prevent and neutralize free radicals before they damage the mitochondria, preventing a series of effects that eventually lead to steatosis.
"There has been no pharmaceutical approach that promises on the prevention or reversal of long-term damage associated with fat deposits in the liver resulting from excessive alcohol consumption," Darley-Usmar said. "Our findings tell us that MitoQ could be a useful tool for the treatment of liver damage by long alcohol usage habits..
Previous studies have shown that MitoQ can be safely administered to humans for long periods of time, "said Balu Chacko, Ph.D., associate researcher and initiator of the study." These antioxidants could potentially improve the early stages of liver disease fatty acids in patients with alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease. " Annual Records Hepatology estimates that alcohol abuse costs $ 185 billion annually in the United States, and that 2 million people suffer from some forms of alcoholic liver disease. As many as 90 percent of the liver's circulation is linked to alcohol abuse and reaches 30 percent of liver cancer..
Darley-Usmar, who is also director of the Center for Free Radical Biology said that his team is discussing with the National Institutes of Health to develop an entire family of drugs based on interactions with mitochondria. He said such drugs may be effective in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, kidney disease and neurodegenerative disorders. "We know that free radicals play a role in human disease, and we have developed antioxidants that can eliminate free radicals in the laboratory," he said. "Unfortunately, previous trials using antioxidants in humans have not been satisfactory, the difference with our findings is that we target a special cell part of mitochondria, a unique approach, and this is one of the few pre-clinical trials that demonstrate effectiveness..
Darley-Usmar said the invention could also have a significant impact on the treatment of metabolic syndrome, a fast-growing condition affecting about 50 million Americans, according to the American Heart Association. "Metabolic syndrome is described as a complicated interaction of factors caused by obesity that include liver damage due to increased free radicals, hypoxia and fat deposition," Darley-Usmar said. "It's quite similar to alcohol dependence hepatotoxicity It would be nice to see if an antioxidant like MitoQ has a therapeutic effect in preventing liver damage in those with metabolic syndrome..
Reference
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