The cause of the predilection of Babesia gibsoni for reticulocytes.
Yamasaki M, Otsuka Y, Yamato O, Tajima M, Maede Y.
Author information: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Abstract This study was conducted to determine why Babesia gibsoni replicates well in reticulocytes. First, B. gibsoni was cultivated in resealed erythrocyte ghosts loaded with either erythrocyte or reticulocyte lysate, and in reticulocyte ghosts loaded with either erythrocyte or reticulocyte lysate.
The parasites multiplied well in the erythrocyte or reticulocyte ghosts loaded with reticulocyte lysate compared to the other resealed cells loaded with erythrocyte lysate.
Second, the parasites were cultivated in erythrocytes in culture medium supplemented with either erythrocyte or reticulocyte lysate. The parasites multiplied better in reticulocyte lysate-containing cultures than in erythrocyte lysate-containing cultures.
Finally, the parasites were cultivated in erythrocytes in culture medium supplemented with glutamate, aspartate, asparagine, glycine, isoleucine, proline, taurine or GSH, which were present in higher concentrations in reticulocytes than in erythrocytes.
Supplementation of the culture medium with glutamate and GSH resulted in enhancement of the multiplication of the parasites, while the other amino acids did not enhance the multiplication.
These results indicated that the high levels of the multiplication of B. gibsoni in reticulocytes are partly due to the high concentrations of glutamate and GSH in reticulocytes.
posted
Hubby learned the hard way that glutamine supplementation might not be a good idea for tickborne patients. Some of his first symptoms were nausea, vomiting and dry heaves.
He had had good luck in the past with using glutamine supplementation to heal gastritis. He actually continued using the glutamine daily for probably at least 6 months while the G.I. docs tried to find something to control his symptoms and help him eat. He lost 30 pounds during this time.
By the time he got an endoscopy his stomach was uniformly inflamed from top to bottom.
I posted a journal article I found years ago that showed that glutamine also helps bartonella grow, but wasn't aware that it also helps babesia grow.
Hubby finally made the connection to glutamine as aggravating his symptoms when a doc put him on a protein powder called "Ultrameal Sustain". It had very high amounts of glutamine. This was when he first started having the seizure like spells.
Eventually we did find G.I. parasites and by treating those and adding HCL betaine to increase his stomach acid he finally healed his stomach.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
The full article does say that -- Quote -- A glutamate dehydrogenase has been found in erythrocytes infected with the babesia species such as B. bovis, B, bigemina and B. microti. -- End Quote
So it does look like this is an issue with the babesia species known to infect humans.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Hubby had a love/hate relationship with glutathione. He had such a severe reaction to his first glutathione IV that he never returned to work after that and went on disability at that point.
It was at least 6 months before another doc could convince him to try IV glutathione again. And then once he got a PICC line we used the glutathione daily for a year or so and then multiple times weekly for probably another couple of years.
The way I understand the article is that glutathione cannot actually enter the red blood cells but it acts to protect the cells from oxidative damage caused by babesia thus allowing the babesia to grow.
Glutathione is a very important antioxidant and detoxes lots of things, but in my opinion based on this info it should be used cautiously in patients with babesia.
The last few years of his life hubby took ALAMax on the suggestion of his then LLMD who also had a nutrition degree. That particular brand of alpha lipoic acid seemed to help his body produce it's own glutathione which probably would have less direct effect on babesia growth than an IV injection.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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If I read the abstract and posts correctly, glutathione increases babesia growth?
Here is my frustration. Why are LLMD's not doing more research? It seems like the "famous" LLMD's recommend something and then all LLMD's jump on board without doing their due diligence.
That "famous" LLMD recommended liposomal glutathione for herxes. I read oral glutathione is not assimilated in the body.
Also read that glutathione is used by oncologists to mitigate peripheral neuropathy caused by chemotherapy.
Since I have neuropathy, I thought it might be good to try. I have a port so we ordered IV glutathione. When I pushed the glutathione I noticed that I would have nausea and other symptoms.
I thought maybe it was causing detox but since it really didn't help my neuropathy or give an increase in energy, I decided to stop it.
I am beyond frustrated with the medical establishment both alternative and allopathic.
They should be the ones on the internet researching not us. They have the medical background and knowledge to understand what they are reading.
I wonder what the "famous" LLMD would say about this article? If someone sees him, they should take this abstract to him, let him read it and comment.
Posts: 538 | From kentucky | Registered: Nov 2011
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There are 2 or 3 other journal articles that also say that glutathione increases babesia growth.
Glutathione is one of the body's most important antioxidants.
At the time hubby first did glutamine and also glutathione he had not been diagnosed with any tickborne diseases -- we had no idea what was wrong with him.
But yes, there are many LLMD's who prescribe glutathione in various forms. I think it can be helpful in some patients, but I posted this article so people would realize that not just meds, but nutritional supplements can have adverse effects.
Glutathione can work miracles in some Parkinsons patients and since hubby had a parkinsonian tremor for about 10 years that was one of the reasons we used the glutathione. Plus his lipid peroxides were extremely elevated when those were tested.
Also the glutathione seemed to be the only thing that would bring him out of his loss of consciousness episodes which happened at least daily for several years during his seizure-like spells.
But it is very significant that his parkinsonian tremors went away with extremely aggressive babesia treatment. We knew that the babs was causing the tremors the 3 times he tried to pulse babs meds during the 14 months of treatment and within 2 or 3 days of stopping malarone 3 different times the tremors started coming back.
I think it is kind of like supplementing with magnesium -- yes, that might feed lyme, but you can't starve out the lyme by skipping the magnesium and it has too many other uses in the body to not supplement.
If you are treating babesia then I feel like glutathione supplementation might be ok. Unfortunatly hubby was mostly only treating lyme during the time he was using the IV glutathione.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
GSH in someone like me who has a CBS mutation would send me into a severe tailspin unless that CBS mutation is also treated...
So not only could GSH "feed" Babs, it could also make other methylation issues worse.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Glutathione helps many go from bed bound, feeling like they are dying, to having some semblance of a life.
"That famous" LLMD has done his research. If you read his book you would see hundreds upon hundreds, thousands maybe, of research citings in the back.
You may just be allergic to it. Doesn't mean it doesn't help many, many people. It is widely used by Integrative Drs, not solely LLMD's.
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Also there is a difference between just oral Glutathione and liposomal.
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Phoiph
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
To quote from the previously mentioned article:
"...Oxidative stress is thought to be a mechanism for the inhibition of malaria parasite growth in vivo..."
"...Indeed intracellular replication of the malarial parasites in G6PD-deficient erythrocytes that are sensitive to oxidative stress is impaired, especially if these cells are subjected to oxidative stress..."
Oxidative stress is one of the ways Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment disables pathogens...
In the past, it has been "falsely rumored", in my opinion, that Babesia "likes" oxygen, and that that Hyperbaric Oxygen "feeds" Babesia, although this and other studies suggest that oxidative stress produced by Hyperbaric Oxygen is actually inhibitory to its growth and reproduction...
This was also supported by my own experience with severe Babesia which resolved with consistent mHBOT...
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Tincup
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Oh Bea!
You are the maraschino cherry and whipped cream on top of my hot fudge sundae! Thank you very much!
For the past few months I've been trying to figure out why when I use the heparin, which works on the Babesia quite well, and use the glutathione at other times it seems to be a good thing.
But, when doing the glutathione at the same time (same day) as the heparin I am a really sick puppy! My symptoms increase to a beyond a tolerable level and it is days till I get back to my "normal crummy".
This makes perfect sense!!
I came here tonight to post preliminary info I've gathered on why we sweat with babesia. It is driving me crazy! I am soaking multiple sets of clothes, sheets and pillows almost every day and I'm at my wits end with doing laundry.
I will make the post and put the link here. Maybe then we can put the info shared together to gain more insight.
Again, thanks for providing me some confirmation and a missing piece of the puzzle!
Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Bea or someone with a brain that is working, if you please.
Here is a quote that may be distantly related... and may help explain the heparin use and why people feel better, aside from the other reasons commonly known.
"Erythrocyte [red blood cell] invasion [of malaria/babesia] is enhanced when blood flow is slow and the cells are tightly packed"
Also consider biofilms perhaps?
Can someone combine this concept with the above info and make a very simple explanation of what could be done here? I don't have any brain right now, but feel we are close, and are on to something that could help us all if only it could be put into logical order.
Phoiph
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41238
posted
Tincup...
If you look at the "big picture" of hypoperfusion (which is basically what you're talking about when you say "blood flow is slow and the cells are tightly packed")...
Sluggish circulation inhibits oxygen from getting to tissues, impairing the "oxidative stress" defense mechanism (which, as illustrated in above article, is inhibitory to growth and reproduction of malaria parasites); low oxygen also results in impaired metabolism of cells (nutrients not getting in, toxins not getting out) and impaired delivery of immune cells...
This, plus many other related "downstream" reactions, in my opinion, leads to an environment conducive to pathogen growth...
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Growth-inhibitory effect of heparin on Babesia parasites.
Bork S, Yokoyama N, Ikehara Y, Kumar S, Sugimoto C, Igarashi I.
Author information: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
Abstract We examined the inhibitory effects of three heparins on the growth of Babesia parasites.
The multiplication of Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. equi, and B. caballi in in vitro cultures and that of B. microti in vivo were significantly inhibited in the presence of heparins, as determined by light microscopy.
Treatment with various concentrations of heparin showed complete clearance of the intracellular parasites. Interestingly, a higher percentage of abnormally multidividing B. bovis parasites was observed in the presence of low concentrations of heparin.
Furthermore, fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled heparin was preferably found on the surfaces of extracellular merozoites, as detected by confocal laser scanning microscopy. These findings indicate that the heparin covers the surfaces of babesial merozoites and inhibits their subsequent invasion of erythrocytes.
PMCID: PMC310193
FreePMC Article
PMID: 14693545 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
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posted
Phoiph - You are the sweet sticky carmel on my apple of life! (yes, I'm sappy today too.) Thanks for putting this info into real words. It helped a lot!
Ok. I've re-read all the posts and abstracts. On some posts we are talking about Glutathione, on others Glutamine.
Now I am mixed up again! (Trust me, it is me, not you all.)
So, let's say someone with Babesia is taking Glutamine, glutathione and heparin and their Babesia symptoms are going through the roof.
Can someone explain why? Which is a good thing to take with Babesia, which is bad?
You don't know how much I appreciate any input. Thank you all so much!
surprise
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34987
posted
Thank you Bea- I remember about 4 years ago, before my daughter and I knew we had Lyme and Bart, I was doing GF/CF diet w/ her and trying to heal leaky gut.
Bought some capsules of glutamine (suppose to help heal lining), her and I both took 1, and we both got angry/ horrible reaction! I actually up and threw the bottle away, it was so bad.
Excess glutamine in the brain is also known to exacerbate OCD (PANDAS/PANS) The supplement PharmaNac has some very interesting studies about this (NAC to clear) and OCD foundation http://www.ocfoundation.org/glutamate.aspx
Glutathione and NAC were very good supplements for both of us. But glutamine... horrid. And Bartonella had been a predominant player.
Also have a story about the summer I let her chew excessive Trident gum (aspartame targets same receptors as glutamate) and OCD ramped up- the PharmaNac helped clear it.
-------------------- Lyme positive PCR blood, and positive Bartonella henselae Igenex, 2011. low positive Fry biofilm test, 2012. Update 7/16- After extensive treatments, doing okay! Posts: 2518 | From USA | Registered: Nov 2011
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
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Feeling a tad better tonight thanks to you all! Also pleased that maybe we've discovered why some, not many though, don't do well on glutathione/glutamine. Could this be a new cautionary statement we can use, based on your input...
Babesia symptoms can worsen if someone has an untreated infection and takes glutathione or glutamine because the parasites will multiply more rapidly and effectively.
Does that sound like a reasonable and accurate cautionary statement?
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