18 replies to this topic

[sheepdog_lord]

Hello everyone -- I am a 24 year old male with a history of a brain AVM who has been suffering from extreme brain fog, headache, and other systemic symptoms for the better part of about 2 years. As a teenager, I was diagnosed with the brain AVM after having chronic headaches from my sophomore year to junior year of high school. I underwent stereotactic cyberknife radiosurgery and had a repeat diagnostic cerebral angiogram in September 2021 which comfirmed 99.9% obliteration of the AVM. I mention this only to draw emphasis to the fact that I have been assured medically that the cause of my current illness is not at all related to my previous illness and is instead its own standalone affliction. After the successful treatment of my AVM, I moved away to college where I enjoyed a completely medically uncomplicated 4 years with only intermittent medical disruptions and brief rough patches (as I'm sure many people experience in college anyway). It was 100% the healthiest period of my entire life and I really took my entire recovery from the AVM for granted as I thought the worst for me in life health-wise was finally over. I was probably the healthiest and smartest I've ever been in 2019 and 2020 where I had no headaches or any health issues of any kind. In March 2020, I moved back home for the pandemic and additionally enjoyed near-perfect health for the rest of the year and continued to be in peak shape from a mental and general health perspective.

My symptoms started in January 2021 with intermittent but extreme head pressure (not pain) that would make it extremely difficult to think clearly and accomplish basic tasks in particular those with an intellectual focus. I additionally noticed muscle twitching (fascilations) in my arms and legs at around this time as well. Over the course of the following months, I started to encounter these episodes of head pressure and intermittent episodic brain fog more consistently where I was generally experiencing these "episodes" on 3-4 days out of the week with increasing intensity and persistence over time. The "episodic" nature of my illness is key here as in-between the instances of head pressure, I was able to largely regain near 100% of my baseline daily functioning for the most part. However, as time went on and I got closer and closer into Fall 2021, I started to notice that I was not making complete recoveries in-between my episodes of head pressure, and the frequency of the head pressure episodes and brain fog was increasing.

In late september 2021, I had a panic-attack like episode and migranous-like dizziness attack simultaneously about 48 hours after I went home after my repeat cerebral angiogram. During this episode, i was extremely disoriented, dizzy, hyperventilating, and confused to the point where my girlfriend had to call 911 for me. The rest of the evening is a near complete black-out memory wise for me, but after having some brain imaging done to rule-out stroke, I was diagnosed with having a migraine (despite the fact that I had no headache) due to an aura-like sensation that I had before the dizziness/panic attack where I was unable to read any kind of text or written language. After this particular episode, my brain fog and head pressure became near-daily occurrenecs and I started to notice a more consistent decline in my overall mental abilities. I additionally started having the now-chronic sensation of living in a waking dream and not really being 100% aware of everything that is going on. That's really the only way that I can successfully describe it -- I constantly feel as though I am living in a dream and my thoughts are slowly moving through molasses. I guess another way to describe it is living life on complete autopilot. I constantly find myself doing things and going through life with the sensation that I am not 100% in control and my mind wakes up in the middle of things and spontaneously becomes aware.

After this episode of dizziness and disorientation in September 2021, I started to have episodes like this happen regularly alongside intensification of my brain fog. Moving into the winter of 2021, I was no longer completely recovering between head pressure episodes, and I was really never a day without some kind of symptoms, be it dizziness or head pressure. My "dizziness" isnt actually dizziness per se, but a constant feeling as though I am not getting enough blood to my brain, and an overall woozy feeling that's associated with that. These dizziness "episodes" come on relatively suddenly over a period of about 30 minutes to an hour and last for at least the rest of the day, or multiple days at the most. During these episodes, it is extremely difficult to do anything at all, and I really can only lay around or look at my phone while I wait for the episode to pass.

In December 2021, I started to notice my first memory disruptions, where towards the end of any given day, I found myself having a difficult time recollecting what I had done earlier in that day, or what happened in the days previously. This has continued alongside the brain fog, dizziness, fatigue and head pressure throughout 2022 while continuing to worsen.

In general, I am constantly alternating between three different states:

1. Dizziness/Lightheadedness Attack: feel a funny feeling in my head building over 30 minutes of time and then dizziness and disorientation lasting for several hours to several days. During this time, it is extremely difficult for me to do anything and I have noticed speech issues during these times as well. During these episodes I am not in any pain, just the dizziness

2. Headache: pounding headache that starts in the back of my head, worsens on standing up for a few seconds with my heartbeat, or stabbing headache on left side of head. I can typically at least act normally during these episodes, but I am barely functional so I am not certain whether or not they are migraines

3. General fog without headache or dizziness: this is when I am at my most functional, where I am not having a dizziness/lightheadedness or headache attack, but still in considerable brain fog/having memory difficulties, feeling like everything is a dream.

Some other things that I have noticed and other symptoms:

1. Extremely poor appetite. I normally have to force feed myself at various times throughout the day, because otherwise I would not have any appetite.

2. GI disturbances -- very difficult to flush stools, extreme bloating and gas, frequent undigested food in stool, having 3-4 bowel movements a day. I have seen a GI and had a colonoscopy and tested negative for most serious GI illnesses, including parasites. I have not followed up.

3. Random pain in the right side of my chest

4. Lost all my interests in doing basically anything

5. Random and occasional pain in joints throughout my body. I had a negative rheum workup.

6. still have a sex drive, but sex isnt as pleasurable lately and i have definitely noticed an overall reduction in drive.

Things I have tried:

1. CoEnzyme Q10 -- 300 mg

2. Zoloft -- 25 mg

3. Magnesium 250 mg

4. PQQ -- 20 mg

5. Thiamine -- 2000 mg

6. Riboflavin -- MAKES DIZZINESS WORSE

7. Methylfolate -- MAKES DIZZINESS WORSE

8. Vitamin B12 -- no change

9. Selenium, Iodine, Zinc, Copper

The combination of Zoloft, Coenzyme Q10, PQQ and Thiamine made the most significant difference for a while (worked decently and had like a 30-40% reduction in fog) but then I stopped after the zoloft caused genital numbing. Went back on and did not have the same benefit as before, despite being on for similar amounts of time.

So far I have had a negative Rheum panel, negative GI panel and colonoscopy/endoscopy, negative head CT, normal CBC, vitamin B12, CMP and thyroid indications.

Does anyone have any idea regarding what could be going on with me/what my next steps should be? I am truly desperate. I cannot go on living like this.

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[Turnbuckle]

The combination of Zoloft, Coenzyme Q10, PQQ and Thiamine made the most significant difference for a while (worked decently and had like a 30-40% reduction in fog) but then I stopped after the zoloft caused genital numbing. Went back on and did not have the same benefit as before, despite being on for similar amounts of time.

 

 

Those three I highlighted are suggestive of a mitochondrial source of your troubles, as PQQ promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and the others improve mito functioning. Has mitochondrial disease been considered by your doctors?

 

 

[sheepdog_lord]

Those three I highlighted are suggestive of a mitochondrial source of your troubles, as PQQ promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and the others improve mito functioning. Has mitochondrial disease been considered by your doctors?

 

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. the leading diagnosis for me is complex migraine disorder, which has been really difficult for me to accept because this just started randomly one day and I'm a little on the older side to start developing migraines. only other mitochondrial diseases i can think of are hereditary and i dont have any family history of mitochondrial disease, or signs of MELAS which is the most common one. 

[Turnbuckle]

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. the leading diagnosis for me is complex migraine disorder, which has been really difficult for me to accept because this just started randomly one day and I'm a little on the older side to start developing migraines. only other mitochondrial diseases i can think of are hereditary and i dont have any family history of mitochondrial disease, or signs of MELAS which is the most common one. 

 

 

One can acquire mitochondrial damage in various ways, ie, from drugs—

 

Drug-induced mitochondrial toxicity has been recognized to cause organ toxicity to the liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, heart and the central nervous system. Drug classes identified to cause mitochondrial toxicity are anti-diabetic drugs (thiazolidinediones, fibrates, biguanides), cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), anti-depressants (SARIs), pain medications (NSAIDs), certain antibiotics (fluroquinolones, macrolide), and anti-cancer drugs (kinase inhibitors and anthracyclins).

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC6628177/

 

 

 

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with increased susceptibility to migraine. An easy way to tell if you have damaged mitochondria is to force mitochondrial morphology either to fusion or fission. Feeling better with mito fusion or feeling worse with mito fission will indicate mito damage.

 

Taking 1-3 grams of DHM (dihydromyricetin) will produce mito fusion, while 0.5-1 grams of nicotinamide will produce mito fission.

[sheepdog_lord]

One can acquire mitochondrial damage in various ways, ie, from drugs—

 

 

 

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with increased susceptibility to migraine. An easy way to tell if you have damaged mitochondria is to force mitochondrial morphology either to fusion or fission. Feeling better with mito fusion or feeling worse with mito fission will indicate mito damage.

 

Taking 1-3 grams of DHM (dihydromyricetin) will produce mito fusion, while 0.5-1 grams of nicotinamide will produce mito fission.

 

what causes mitochondrial dysfunction and is there any way to cure/significantly improve longterm?

[Turnbuckle]

what causes mitochondrial dysfunction and is there any way to cure/significantly improve longterm?

 

Mutations and epimutations of mtDNA can cause mito dysfunction. Epimutations (methylation) are more insidious as they may be able to escape the cellular QC processes. My own problem stemmed from a few months of statin use, which made me feel like a very old man who could barely get out of bed. Recovery took years, and was only partial. Eventually I hit on a treatment method involving cycling fission and fusion, and then hit on a better method to get rid of both types of damage. This I posted in my mito thread, but I'll repeat it here--

 

Background:

 

Previously I posted methods of cycling mitochondrial morphology to clean up defective mtDNA, which eliminated mutations via the PINK1/Parkin QC process. The normal QC process can detect mutated mtDNA genes during fission as all mito genes are critical and thus the mito membrane potential goes to zero if just one is defective. Greatly magnifying fission and fusion with supplements will aid that process. But there is another source of mitochondrial damage that isn’t so easily eliminated — epigenetic damage. Like nDNA, mtDNA also picks up aberrant methylation with age. This methylation degrades ATP production, but the QC process doesn’t catch it unless the problem is addressed at a critical time, like during biogenesis. If a mitochondrion with one loop of methylated mtDNA runs out of enzymes while involved with replication, then membrane potential may dip to zero and it will get labeled for recycling. Thanks to methylation, it won’t have as much enzyme reserves as other mitochondria, so it will be preferentially targeted. Also, biogenesis is the best time to demethylate mtDNA as methyltransferase can’t operate while there is only one strand.

 

Until recently, mtDNA wasn’t even known to have methylation, and researchers are still confused as to why it is there. Some speak of mtDNA hypermethylation like it is bad while normal methylation has some purpose.

 

See, for instance: Hypermethylation of mitochondrial DNA in vascular smooth muscle cells impairs cell contractility

 

I don’t agree. I say all mtDNA methylation is bad. Methylated mtDNA mooches enzymes off other mtDNA, and because they don’t produce as much ATP they don’t produce as much ROS, and thus have a survival advantage as they are less prone to mutation. Eventually the cell will become full of moochers and result in fatigue and many other problems of aging.

 

So I say get rid of them all, mutations and methylation alike.

 

The new protocol:

 

This new procedure is much simplified. It requires only two doses, Mito1 and Mito2, which are alternated on a daily basis.

 

Mito1 (fission)

● NAM+R, 1 g of each

● AKG, 1 g

● PQQ, 20 mg

 

Mito2 (fusion)

● GMS, 1 g, and/or DHM, 2 g (DHM is preferred as GMS doesn't penetrate the BBB)

● AKG, 1 g 

● PQQ, 20 mg

 

NAM+R (nicotinamide plus ribose) is a fission promoter, GMS (glycerol monostearate) and DHM (dihydromyricetin) are fusion promoters, AKG (alpha-ketoglutarate) is a demethylase promoter, and PQQ is a biogenesis promoter. All of these are fast acting.

 

A two week experiment using reps to failure and GMS:

 

Warm water was sufficient to dissolve everything, but the PQQ was taken in a capsule to insure that the other ingredients got a slight head start (probably unnecessary).

 

Mito1 and Mito2 were taken on alternating days. Each dose was taken in the evening and reps of dumbbell curls to failure counted first thing in the morning — five or six hours after dosing — using the same arm.

 

My hypothesis was that the number of reps would reflect mito damage. With mito fusion, enzymes are shared, thus ATP production and reps would be maximum. With fission, methylated (or otherwise damaged) mtDNA produce less ATP and reps would be minimum. The difference would reflect average damage, and if the treatment worked, the difference should decline. If all damage was removed, then the difference should go to zero.

 

Which in fact it did. See the plot below. The y-axis shows the reps and % difference, while the x-axis shows days. The curve labeled baseline is without any treatment, and likely reflects the normal intermediate situation with mito morphology in a dynamic state. It is stable at 16 reps. The upper fusion curve is relatively flat and higher than baseline as expected, while the lower fission curve is lower than baseline, but rises to meet the fusion curve after about two weeks, and stays there. Thus the percent difference goes to zero.

 

Results:

 

Improvement in running endurance, reduced hunger, and reduced need for hypertension medication.

Attached Files

•  experiment.png   438.63KB   0 downloads

Edited by Turnbuckle, 25 October 2022 - 04:36 PM.

[Dallasboy]

What is the recommended schedule for the protocol?  

[Learner056]

Dallasboy: you can take it theoretically daily, as Turnbuckle has this particular (mitochondrial protocol) structured in a way that it can be taken daily (in my opinion).  e.g.  Day1: Fission,  Day 2: Fusion.  Day 3: Fission, Day 4: Fusion ... and so on. 

 

That said, start slowly, gauge the effects, and build up the dosages till the peak.  Gauge the effects and your tolerance.  Determine for yourself the frequency.  These supplements are healthy, but you are human and not a cow, so determine the frequency for yourself.  For e.g. I can take 1g of NAM+R every 2-3 days but my son barely takes 300mg once a week.  For Fusion, we both have no issues, in fact we wish to chug boat loads of it.  I already have remarkably improvement, this has been absolutely amazing for me.  (My son is another story, but he has other psychiatric symptoms that no one can even believe to be humanly possible, and doctors while see it all, but just fail to think) 

 

Start questioning things (instead of believing what you are told), learn medicine/biology yourself and start developing awareness of issues (political/social/ethical, everything).  Ask questions, even if nobody gives a response, many times you find the answer merely by the act of asking the question.  Do not ever give up, always keep optimism for humanity and goodness.

 

 

What is the recommended schedule for the protocol?  

 

Edited by Learner056, 27 October 2022 - 09:35 PM.

[ambivalent]

I would consider the possibility of candida overgrowth, this can lead to zinc deficiency. I believe it was respponsible for my consideable brain fog as well as apea, coughing and problems caused by zinc deficiency. High dose fisetin, I believe got rid of it - I added to olive oil or yoiu could try liposomal. But you could try it and likely get quite a good effect quickly.

 

Coconut oil is good for candida too, so that might provide some relief. 

 

Anti-fungal properties of flavanoids:

 

https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/10699

 

Candia and brain fog:

 

:text=Candida%20brain%20fog%20occurs%20when,converts%20into%20a%20harmless%20substance' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>https://www.mitchell...mless substance.

 

Reading the link, maube try thiamine too.

[ambivalent]

Sorry for the bad link

 

https://www.mitchell...-is-it-treated/

 

I also think this may have been relevant, when I took TB's HEPPS from TBs Azheimers protocol I had a strong candida reaction and did find a study indicating candida palque can build up in the brain.

 

:text=Brain%20fog%20is%20a%20classic,was%20cleared%20out%2C%20memory%20improved' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>https://fosterchirop...memory improved.

 

I would try fisetin regardless, it has numerous benefits for brain health.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm...es/PMC7990461/#

[sheepdog_lord]

Sorry for the bad link

 

https://www.mitchell...-is-it-treated/

 

I also think this may have been relevant, when I took TB's HEPPS from TBs Azheimers protocol I had a strong candida reaction and did find a study indicating candida palque can build up in the brain.

 

https://fosterchirop...memory improved.

 

I would try fisetin regardless, it has numerous benefits for brain health.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm...es/PMC7990461/#

 

thanks so much for the information. im trying TMG and SAM-E this week in the hopes that these could potentially work, but i'll keep this in mind.

 

I get a lot of mouth ulcers as well. could there be a connection there?

[ambivalent]

Now that you mention it, I used to get quite a lot but haven't noticed them for years. There is strong evidence of gum disease from candida, iirc. Also, yes, oral thrush, yeast infection is one possible cause of mouth ulcers:

 

https://www.mountsin...e very common. 

 

Also, do you experience apnea or any breathing, allergy problems?

 

My experience was that many supplements gave me a boost, but it would always return to the same problems, I always felt there was something upstream, well now I am convinced it was candida. I am by no means perfect, I don't concnetrate easily, but don't experience the heavy brain fog I used to, and apnea for example has gone.

 

Candida is a big problem, so it is quite likely.  But check for yeast symptoms and good luck with your current efforts. It's horrible, I know.

 

Candida/Fisetin could be a very good bet.

 

 

Edited by ambivalent, 01 November 2022 - 05:36 PM.

[sheepdog_lord]

Now that you mention it, I used to get quite a lot but haven't noticed them for years. There is strong evidence of gum disease from candida, iirc. Also, yes, oral thrush, yeast infection is one possible cause of mouth ulcers:

 

https://www.mountsin...e very common. 

 

Also, do you experience apnea or any breathing, allergy problems?

 

My experience was that many supplements gave me a boost, but it would always return to the same problems, I always felt there was something upstream, well now I am convinced it was candida. I am by no means perfect, I don't concnetrate easily, but don't experience the heavy brain fog I used to, and apnea for example has gone.

 

Candida is a big problem, so it is quite likely.  But check for yeast symptoms and good luck with your current efforts. It's horrible, I know.

 

Candida/Fisetin could be a very good bet.

 

what dosage of fisetin did you use for candida?

Now that you mention it, I used to get quite a lot but haven't noticed them for years. There is strong evidence of gum disease from candida, iirc. Also, yes, oral thrush, yeast infection is one possible cause of mouth ulcers:

 

https://www.mountsin...e very common. 

 

Also, do you experience apnea or any breathing, allergy problems?

 

My experience was that many supplements gave me a boost, but it would always return to the same problems, I always felt there was something upstream, well now I am convinced it was candida. I am by no means perfect, I don't concnetrate easily, but don't experience the heavy brain fog I used to, and apnea for example has gone.

 

Candida is a big problem, so it is quite likely.  But check for yeast symptoms and good luck with your current efforts. It's horrible, I know.

 

Candida/Fisetin could be a very good bet.

oh and how long did you take it before you started to notice a change?

[ambivalent]

A the time I didn't realise it was candida, so I didn't take it for that purpose, but then a couple of years later I traced it back. I had a huge histamine problem for months, endlesscoughing, which I now believe was yeast overgrowth/candida, but at the time didn't realise that was the cause, but it was gone 90% overnight. My apnea went, allergy to red wine too and never returned after a decade or two of the problem.

 

I maybe took 3 grams dissolved in olive oil. Worth adding lecithin. Alternatively choose liposomal. If you take it for a few days at high doses, then I suspect you will notice pretty quickly if it is the cause - I expect you will feel something even if it isn't candida. 

 

Looking on the US amazon, not too much to choose from, I have used this:

 

https://www.amazon.c...,aps,205&sr=8-4

 

The first I used was Swanson 30 grams x 100mg.

 

Honestly, you may notice something overnight, if you take a large dose. But I would go for a few days of large doses and perhaps then consider supplementing zinc, because candida can create a deficiency (in rodent model). 

 

Edited by ambivalent, 01 November 2022 - 06:51 PM.

[sheepdog_lord]

A the time I didn't realise it was candida, so I didn't take it for that purpose, but then a couple of years later I traced it back. I had a huge histamine problem for months, endlesscoughing, which I now believe was yeast overgrowth/candida, but at the time didn't realise that was the cause, but it was gone 90% overnight. My apnea went, allergy to red wine too and never returned after a decade or two of the problem.

 

I maybe took 3 grams dissolved in olive oil. Worth adding lecithin. Alternatively choose liposomal. If you take it for a few days at high doses, then I suspect you will notice pretty quickly if it is the cause - I expect you will feel something even if it isn't candida. 

 

Looking on the US amazon, not too much to choose from, I have used this:

 

https://www.amazon.c...,aps,205&sr=8-4

 

The first I used was Swanson 30 grams x 100mg.

 

Honestly, you may notice something overnight, if you take a large dose. But I would go for a few days of large doses and perhaps then consider supplementing zinc, because candida can create a deficiency (in rodent model). 

 

so your dosage was 3 grams (3000 mg or 30 100 mg capsules)?

[ambivalent]

Yes, dissolved in olive oil or take with it - a few grams, or a couple of doses and see it if it has an impact. 

[ambivalent]

Did you give it a go?

[sheepdog_lord]

Did you give it a go?

 

not yet; but planning to soon. 

[sheepdog_lord]

Mutations and epimutations of mtDNA can cause mito dysfunction. Epimutations (methylation) are more insidious as they may be able to escape the cellular QC processes. My own problem stemmed from a few months of statin use, which made me feel like a very old man who could barely get out of bed. Recovery took years, and was only partial. Eventually I hit on a treatment method involving cycling fission and fusion, and then hit on a better method to get rid of both types of damage. This I posted in my mito thread, but I'll repeat it here--

 

Background:

 

Previously I posted methods of cycling mitochondrial morphology to clean up defective mtDNA, which eliminated mutations via the PINK1/Parkin QC process. The normal QC process can detect mutated mtDNA genes during fission as all mito genes are critical and thus the mito membrane potential goes to zero if just one is defective. Greatly magnifying fission and fusion with supplements will aid that process. But there is another source of mitochondrial damage that isn’t so easily eliminated — epigenetic damage. Like nDNA, mtDNA also picks up aberrant methylation with age. This methylation degrades ATP production, but the QC process doesn’t catch it unless the problem is addressed at a critical time, like during biogenesis. If a mitochondrion with one loop of methylated mtDNA runs out of enzymes while involved with replication, then membrane potential may dip to zero and it will get labeled for recycling. Thanks to methylation, it won’t have as much enzyme reserves as other mitochondria, so it will be preferentially targeted. Also, biogenesis is the best time to demethylate mtDNA as methyltransferase can’t operate while there is only one strand.

 

Until recently, mtDNA wasn’t even known to have methylation, and researchers are still confused as to why it is there. Some speak of mtDNA hypermethylation like it is bad while normal methylation has some purpose.

 

See, for instance: Hypermethylation of mitochondrial DNA in vascular smooth muscle cells impairs cell contractility

 

I don’t agree. I say all mtDNA methylation is bad. Methylated mtDNA mooches enzymes off other mtDNA, and because they don’t produce as much ATP they don’t produce as much ROS, and thus have a survival advantage as they are less prone to mutation. Eventually the cell will become full of moochers and result in fatigue and many other problems of aging.

 

So I say get rid of them all, mutations and methylation alike.

 

The new protocol:

 

This new procedure is much simplified. It requires only two doses, Mito1 and Mito2, which are alternated on a daily basis.

 

Mito1 (fission)

● NAM+R, 1 g of each

● AKG, 1 g

● PQQ, 20 mg

 

Mito2 (fusion)

● GMS, 1 g, and/or DHM, 2 g (DHM is preferred as GMS doesn't penetrate the BBB)

● AKG, 1 g 

● PQQ, 20 mg

 

NAM+R (nicotinamide plus ribose) is a fission promoter, GMS (glycerol monostearate) and DHM (dihydromyricetin) are fusion promoters, AKG (alpha-ketoglutarate) is a demethylase promoter, and PQQ is a biogenesis promoter. All of these are fast acting.

 

A two week experiment using reps to failure and GMS:

 

Warm water was sufficient to dissolve everything, but the PQQ was taken in a capsule to insure that the other ingredients got a slight head start (probably unnecessary).

 

Mito1 and Mito2 were taken on alternating days. Each dose was taken in the evening and reps of dumbbell curls to failure counted first thing in the morning — five or six hours after dosing — using the same arm.

 

My hypothesis was that the number of reps would reflect mito damage. With mito fusion, enzymes are shared, thus ATP production and reps would be maximum. With fission, methylated (or otherwise damaged) mtDNA produce less ATP and reps would be minimum. The difference would reflect average damage, and if the treatment worked, the difference should decline. If all damage was removed, then the difference should go to zero.

 

Which in fact it did. See the plot below. The y-axis shows the reps and % difference, while the x-axis shows days. The curve labeled baseline is without any treatment, and likely reflects the normal intermediate situation with mito morphology in a dynamic state. It is stable at 16 reps. The upper fusion curve is relatively flat and higher than baseline as expected, while the lower fission curve is lower than baseline, but rises to meet the fusion curve after about two weeks, and stays there. Thus the percent difference goes to zero.

 

Results:

 

Improvement in running endurance, reduced hunger, and reduced need for hypertension medication.

 

would this work for mitochondria in brain cells? obviously brain is a privileged place due to BBB