For HIV-infected people and not only
Glutathione precursor GlyNAC promises to reverse premature aging in people with HIV
Taking the drug helps restore the cells' reserves of the natural antioxidant glutathione and fight oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Premature aging of people with HIV is recognized as a new serious public health problem. Accumulating data show that people with HIV between the ages of 45 and 60 develop characteristics that are usually observed in people without HIV over the age of 70. For example, decreased walking speed, physical functions and cognitive abilities, mitochondrial aging, increased inflammation, immune dysfunction, weakness and other health conditions are significantly higher in people with HIV compared to uninfected people of the same age and gender.
According to the press release of Glutathione precursor GlyNAC reverses premature aging in people with HIV, endocrinologist Rajagopal Sekhar, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and his team have been studying this problem. One of their studies was devoted to how the combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) affects the aging process in people with HIV, it was published in the journal Biomedicines.
There are several theories of aging. Among them are the theory of free radicals and the theory of mitochondria. They suggest that oxidative stress (accumulation of free radicals in the body) and mitochondrial dysfunction that occurs over time play an important role in this process. In people with HIV, both of these events are present in an enhanced version.
Free radicals are one of the byproducts of cellular energy production. These are highly reactive molecules that can damage cells, membranes, lipids, proteins and DNA. Cells depend on antioxidants, which they use to neutralize these molecules. When cells cannot neutralize free radicals, there is an imbalance between radicals and antioxidant reactions, which leads to harmful and destructive oxidative stress. One of the most important natural antioxidants, according to researchers, is glutathione.
"The free radicals generated by burning fuel in mitochondria can be compared to some waste produced by an internal combustion engine of a car, some of which are removed by an oil filter," Sekhar said. "If we don't periodically change the oil filter, the car engine will reduce its performance and reduce mileage."
Similarly, if the balance between the production of free radicals and the antioxidant reaction in cells consistently favors the former, cellular function may be disrupted over time. Glutathione helps cells maintain the balance of oxidative stress, keeps the oil filter clean. At the same time, its levels are significantly lower in the elderly, as well as in conditions associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including HIV infection, diabetes, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders, neurometabolic diseases, cancer, obesity and other conditions.
Restoring glutathione in cells is not easy, because this substance cannot work when taken orally for the same reasons that diabetic patients cannot eat insulin. It will be digested before it gets into the cells. In addition, the presence of glutathione in the blood cannot correct glutathione deficiency.
"Glutathione is a small protein consisting of three building blocks: the amino acids cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid. We found that people with glutathione deficiency were also deficient in cysteine and glycine, but not glutamic acid," Sekhar said. "We then tested whether restoring deficient glutathione precursors could help cells replenish their glutathione. But there is another catch, since cysteine cannot be given as such, we had to add it in another form called N-acetylcysteine."
In past studies, Sekhar and his colleagues determined that the addition of GlyNAC, a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine, corrected glutathione deficiency in the cells of naturally aged mice to levels found in younger mice. Interestingly, the levels of glutathione and mitochondrial function, which were lower in older mice before taking GlyNAC, and oxidative stress, which was higher before taking GlyNAC, were also comparable to the levels found in young mice after taking GlyNAC for six weeks.
The same results were observed in a small study on elderly people who had high oxidative stress and glutathione deficiency inside cells. In this case, ingestion of GlyNAC for 2 weeks corrected glutathione deficiency and reduced both oxidative stress and insulin resistance (a prediabetic risk factor).
In the current study, Sekhar and his colleagues conducted an open clinical trial involving six men and two women with HIV, as well as eight uninfected control participants corresponding in age, gender and body mass index. Everyone was between 45 and 60 years old. People with HIV received stable antiretroviral therapy and were not hospitalized for six months prior to the study.
Before taking GlyNAC, the HIV group compared with the control group had glutathione deficiency and several conditions associated with premature aging, including higher oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, increased inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance, greater damage to genes, decreased muscle strength, increased belly fat and impaired cognition and memory.
The addition of GlyNAC for 12 weeks made it possible to eliminate all the above disadvantages. At the same time, stopping the administration of GlyNAC led to a deterioration in some indicators after eight weeks.
"It was interesting to see so many new beneficial effects of GlyNAC that have never been described before. Some of the most encouraging results included improved physical strength, correction of cognitive decline and other defects in people with HIV," Sekhar said.
"It is encouraging that GlyNAC can reverse many of the changes characteristic of people with HIV. There is currently no known treatment to correct these abnormalities. Our results may have implications beyond HIV and require further study," the scientist added.
Overall, these findings in HIV patients support the concept that GlyNAC dietary supplements reduce several signs of aging and that glutathione deficiency and oxidative stress may contribute to them.
Encouraged by these results, Sekhar continued his research testing the value of GlyNAC supplements to improve the health of a growing elderly population and completed an open trial and another double-blind placebo-controlled trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.
"The results of these recently completed trials confirm the findings of the study in people with HIV," concludes the expert, who is currently the principal investigator of two randomized clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of GlyNAC on elderly people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
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