“We discovered that there is an accelerated transformation of the amino acid lysine in humans and animals with kidney disease. And the study shows that the intake of lysine protects the kidneys and prevents hypertensive kidney disease rather effectively, at least in animal models,” said Associate Professor Markus Rinschen from Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies and Department of Biomedicine.
Can we Start Using Amino Acid Lysine in Kidney Disease Treatment?
Up to 10% of adults have chronic kidney disease. However, it is frequently moderate and asymptomatic. Diabetes and hypertension are the most common causes of renal disease and kidney failure, which increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
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Markus Rinschen believes it will be at least five years before he can begin treating patients in the clinic. He emphasizes that it is too soon for people with renal disorders to rush out and buy lysine tablets.
“We don’t know the side effects or the underlying mechanisms yet, and human metabolism is much more complex than a rat’s metabolism. We need to conduct more research into animal models because we have not yet clarified the dominant mechanism behind the result. We found three different mechanisms, but we don’t know whether one, two or a combination of all three, is the decisive factor,” said Markus Rinschen.
The study findings are fascinating for long-term health researchers, medical professionals, nephrologists, physiologists, endocrinologists and nutritionists.
“It would be great if kidney patients could achieve results by changing their diet. We want to understand kidney metabolism, and this is a big step. Giving patients a substance, they already have in their bodies and creating clinical results would be a new and surprising discovery. The study shows how dynamic and unexplored our metabolism still is and that we need holistic approaches to understand it. Diet, metabolism, heart and cardiovascular system – many things contribute to the development of kidney disease,” said Markus Rinschen. He hopes the study can lead to a more general understanding of beneficial metabolites.
Source: Medindia
