Optimized Nutrition in Mitochondrial Diseases Correlates with Improved Muscle Fatigue, Strength, and Quality of Life: You Are What You Eat, or Are You?

Excerpt

Mitochondrial diseases are a heterogeneous group of genetic and clinical disorders [1, 2]. Complicating the presentation is the wide spectrum of clinical presentations and varying organ involvement. Energy demands often dictate organ involvement, with organs requiring the highest energy needs becoming the most dysfunctional. The variability of genetics, clinical presentation, and prevalence of mitochondrial disorders, coupled with the rarity of individual diseases, make the investigation of directed treatments difficult. In fact, to date, over 50 clinical trials have been undertaken, yet only a single drug, idebenone, has demonstrated scientific evidence for the European Medicines Agency’s approval for one specific mitochondrial disease, Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) [3, 4]. …