Medical researchers are claiming a major breakthrough using simple vitamin treatments to delay the progression of a genetic muscular disease with no previously-known cure or therapeutic treatment. An international team of scientists led by Professor Anu Suomalainen-Wartiovaara of the University of Helsinki has been working on the development of a treatment for mitochondrial myopathy for years but now, finally, they may have made significant progress. Their not-so-secret weapon? Vitamin B3, also known as niacin.
Mitochondria convert the food we eat into the energy we need to survive, so any disorders or mutations in their DNA can have significant, degenerative and often fatal consequences. Patients with mitochondrial myopathy can often experience cognitive impairment, dementia, nausea, fatigue and frequent strokes, as well as both hearing and significant weight loss.