October 19, 2005
My favorite supplement for scleroderma
From the "Life-Enhancement" website sited below. this is a great explanation of my favorite supplement for Scleroderma: L-Arginine:
"Arginine Boosts Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular Function
Major age-related health problems can benefit from this amino acid
ARGININE ALSO PROTECTS AGAINST HEART DISEASE
Arginine's effects (through its release of NO) on decreasing blood pressure and increasing blood flow are also central to its role in helping to protect against heart disease. They explain the ability of arginine to improve exercise capacity, even in patients with congestive heart failure (a chronic weakening of the heart’s pumping capacity).2 And they explain arginine's ability to decrease pulmonary vascular resistance (a measure of the resistance of blood vessels to the flow of blood through them) in the lungs of patients with pulmonary hypertension.3 (Pulmonary refers to the lungs.)
OK, but what is pulmonary hypertension? It's high blood pressure in the lungs - not a good thing. It comes about gradually as a consequence of untreated respiratory failure. And what is that? Respiratory failure is a condition in which oxygen levels in the blood become dangerously low, or carbon dioxide levels become dangerously high. It results from an inadequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the blood, or from an inadequate movement of air in and out of the lungs. And those defects can be caused by many different diseases or conditions that affect one's ability to breathe properly. A few examples are chronic bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, muscular dystrophy, and obesity.
PULMONARY HYPERTENSION IS A MAJOR THREAT
Let's review that chain of events in the reverse order (the order in which the events actually occur). Someone with one of those breathing-impairment conditions may develop respiratory failure, which is manifested as poor oxygenation of the blood. This can lead to pulmonary hypertension as the cardiovascular system tries to compensate for the oxygen deficiency. The pulmonary hypertension comes about through a constriction of the blood vessels, and this increases the pulmonary vascular resistance, because the now narrower inner diameter of the blood vessels tends to impede blood flow.
All in all, this is bad news, because regardless of what caused the respiratory failure in the first place, pulmonary hypertension will damage the blood vessels, further impairing oxygenation. And poor oxygenation will eventually cause heart failure and other malfunctions of the heart and brain. Finally, death pays a visit.
ARGININE REDUCES PULMONARY HYPERTENSION
But didn't we say that arginine could help with pulmonary hypertension? Yes - and a recently published study from Japan gives new evidence of that fact.4 The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 19 patients (average age 49) with pulmonary hypertension. Oral arginine supplementation was followed by hemodynamic (blood-flow) testing and cardiopulmonary exercise testing, using a number of different measurement techniques that need not concern us. Let's just see the results.
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Arginine's effects (through its release of NO)
on decreasing blood pressure and increasing
blood flow are also central to its role in
helping to protect against heart disease.
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With a dose of 0.5 g of arginine per 10 kg of body weight (equivalent to 4 g for a 175-lb person), there was a 9% drop in pulmonary arterial pressure and a 16% drop in pulmonary vascular resistance 60 minutes after administration, indicating improved blood flow. For evaluation of exercise capacity, a dose of 1.5 g of arginine per 10 kg of body weight (equivalent to 12 g for a 175-lb person) was administered daily for one week. The patients were then tested while riding an exercise bicycle. With arginine (but not placebo) there was an 8% increase in peak oxygen consumption, associated with a 12% increase in peak work load, indicating improved cardiovascular function."
You can read more at:
http://www.life-enhancement.com/le/article_template.asp?ID=611
Posted by Sclero Crusader | Filed under:
