9 Jul 2019 03:26 am
9 Jul 2019
Title
Not just ATP, but cholesterol too!
Body
Has anyone tried desipramine in combination with antibiotics? Desipramine is a functional inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase (FIASMA), an enzyme which facilitates cholesterol trafficking. The sinister nature of Cpn extends beyond the parasitism of ATP stores to include LDL cholesterol as well! Professor Jason Carlyon in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has been researching the inhibition of ASM as an alternate/adjunct therapy to antibiotics for the treatment of infections by intracellular bacteria. He has shown that de
Comments
9 Jul 2019 02:29 pm
Lipophilic Amines
In addition to desipramine, nearly all "lipophilic amines" are functional inhibitors of acid sphingomyelinase (FIASMAs). Lipophilic amines comprise one of the largest class of pharmaceutical agents - antidepressants, antihistamines, antitussives, antiarrhythmics, calcium channel blockers, antipsychotics, and anticholinergics. Here in Sweden, about 20% of the population pops antidepressant SSRIs every day (Fluoxetine/Prozac, Paroxetine/Paxil, Sertraline/Zoloft). The daily dose of these SSRIs is low, but lipophilic amines accumulate in cells, thus making the intracellular concentrations high enough to significantly inhibit acid sphingomyelinase. So, the bacterial load of Cpn for patients that are also taking SSRIs may be significantly reduced.
9 Jul 2019
cont'd
He has shown that desipramine reduces the C. pneumoniae load by 1.5 orders of magnitude in vitro. He cites that FIASMAs have a high likelihood for preventing bacterial resistance development since they do not target the bacterium directly. Here is a recent publication from Carlyon:
https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/2/2/e201800292