Therapeutic gas for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders

Abstract

The use of gaseous oxygen for the production of a therapeutic gas for inhalation by a patient who has been identified as a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency, for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or Q10 deficiencies is disclosed. For the first time a non-invasive method is disclosed, upon what the body's own level of Q10 can be raised significantly without further interventions.

Claims

1. A method for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, the method comprising: a) identifying a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency; and b) administering to the person via inhalation a therapeutic gas comprising gaseous oxygen in the form of an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy, wherein sessions of inhalation of hypoxygenic and hyperoxygenic gases alternate and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is from about 15 Vol-% to about 9 Vol-% for a hypoxia session; wherein inhalation of the gas is performed in at least two time sessions, one of the time sessions being a hypoxia session of 6 minutes in which the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 12 Vol-% and another of the time sessions being a hyperoxia session of 3 minutes in which the concentration of the oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 44 Vol-% and wherein the inhalation of the therapeutic gas results in an increase of coenzyme Q10 to a therapeutic range of 2.5 mg/l in plasma of the person.

2. A method for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, the method comprising: a) identifying a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency; and b) administering to the person via inhalation a therapeutic gas comprising gaseous oxygen in the form of an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy, wherein sessions of inhalation of hypoxygenic and hyperoxygenic gases alternate and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is from about 15 Vol-% to about 9 Vol-% for a hypoxia session; wherein inhalation of the gas is performed in at least four cycles, each cycle comprising a hypoxia session of 6 minutes in which the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 12 Vol-% followed by a hyperoxia session of 3 minutes in which the concentration of the oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 44 Vol-% and wherein the inhalation of the therapeutic gas results in an increase of coenzyme Q10 to a therapeutic range of 2.5 m/1l in plasma of the person.

3. A method for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, the method comprising: a) identifying a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency; and b) administering to the person via inhalation a therapeutic gas comprising gaseous oxygen in the form of an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy, wherein sessions of inhalation of hypoxygenic and hyperoxygenic gases alternate and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is from about 15 Vol-% to about 9 Vol-% for a hypoxia session; wherein inhalation of the gas is performed in at least two time sessions, one of the time sessions being a hypoxia session of 1 minute in which the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 13 Vol-% and another of the time sessions being a hyperoxia session of 9 minutes in which the concentration of the oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 38 Vol-% and wherein the inhalation of the therapeutic gas results in an increase of coenzyme Q10 to a therapeutic range of 2.5 m/1l in plasma of the person.

4. A method for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, the method comprising: a) identifying a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency; and b) administering to the person via inhalation a therapeutic gas comprising gaseous oxygen in the form of an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy, wherein sessions of inhalation of hypoxygenic and hyperoxygenic gases alternate and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is from about 15 Vol-% to about 9 Vol-% for a hypoxia session; wherein inhalation of the gas is performed in at least six cycles, each cycle comprising a hypoxia session of 1 minute in which the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 13 Vol-% followed by a hyperoxia session of 9 minutes in which the concentration of the oxygen in the therapeutic gas is 38 Vol-% and wherein the inhalation of the therapeutic gas results in an increase of coenzyme Q10 to a therapeutic range of 2.5 mg/l in plasma of the person.

5. A method for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders or coenzyme Q10 deficiencies, the method comprising: a) identifying a person with a mitochondrial disorder or a coenzyme Q10 deficiency; and b) administering to the person via inhalation a therapeutic gas comprising gaseous oxygen in the form of an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy, wherein sessions of inhalation of hypoxygenic and hyperoxygenic gases alternate and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the therapeutic gas is from about 15 Vol-% to about 9 Vol-% for a hypoxia session; wherein the concentration of the oxygen in the therapeutic gas is about 55 Vol-% for a hyperoxia session and wherein the inhalation of the therapeutic gas results in an increase of coenzyme Q10 to a therapeutic range of 2.5 mg/l in plasma of the person.

Description

EXAMPLE 1

(1) 18 test persons were chosen and concluded the test. The test persons get randomized after an initial check-up into a control group (N=8) and a treatment group (N=10). Within three weeks all of the test persons graduated ten inhalation proceedings of 36 minutes in each case. The persons belonging to the control group respired ambient air through an air supply tube of the respiration apparatus (tube not connected), the treatment group respired for 6 minutes 12 Vol.-% O.sub.2, afterwards for 3 minutes 44 Vol.-% O.sub.2. This cycle was repeated three times, so that altogether four cycles were completed, forming an inhalation session of 36 minutes. The lowest value for pCO.sub.2 was defined to 80%.

(2) After completion of the ten treatment units all test persons were examined again.

(3) The inhalation was arranged by using an ordinary respiration apparatus. Analogous apparatus are known from the IHT. Those apparatuses were accordingly modified, so that next to hypoxygenic gases also hyperoxygenic gases with an oxygen content of 30-55 Vol-% can be ventilated.

(4) Monitoring of oxygen partial pressure of the test persons blood was performed using a commercially available equipment as for example given in DE 92 08 590 U1.

(5) The results of the collected physiological parameters of the test persons are presented in Table 1. The values of NPE (3-nitro phenyl acetic acid) and citrulline have been measured in the urine, the values for MMS (methyl malonic acid), Q10 (coenzyme Q.sub.10), and Mito Act (mitochondrial activity) in the blood of the test persons.

(6) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Control Treatment group group Parameter Mean SD pTT Mean SD pTT uTT NPE before 7.52 11.70 0.37 10.09 15.17 0.244 after 29.05 71.17 33.11 46.57 Citrulline before 5.89 3.39 0.94 8.29 9.59 0.845 after 5.38 6.05 7.59 4.46 MMS before 0.94 0.46 0.25 1.02 1.37 0.325 after 1.05 0.33 0.53 0.33 Q10 before 0.78 0.26 0.02 0.96 0.31 0.000 0.23 after 0.91 0.31 1.37 0.35 0.02 Mito Act before 86.28 12.41 0.16 84.74 6.59 0.004 0.77 after 94.03 5.14 94.57 4.31 0.84 Statistical analysis: Mean: Mean value SD: Standard deviation. pTT: paired T-Test, 2-tailed for unequally variance of the groups within the groups for indicated values before/after treatment. uTT: unpaired T-Test between treatment group and control group.

EXAMPLE 2

(7) A patient showing symptomatic disorders caused by chronic borreliosis was treated 1 minute with 13 Vol-% hypoxia and 9 minutes with 38 Vol-% hyperoxia in 6 cycles forming a session of one hour duration.

(8) A significant improvement of the skin structure and the aspect of the skin was achieved after 10 sessions. The improvement remained for about 3 months.