Tag: health

Ubiquinol vs. N-acetylcystein (NAC)

Ubiquinol is the antioxidant form of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). NAC is a precursor for glutathione, the body’s antioxidant.

How and where ubiquinol is made:
Even when a supplement label says “Made in the USA,” the active ingredient is usually imported from Japan, primarily from Kaneka Corporation, and U.S. companies typically handle the encapsulation and packaging.
Ubiquinol is produced through microbial fermentation using specialized yeast strains. These microbes generate CoQ10, which is then extracted and purified from the culture broth. After purification, the CoQ10 (usually in the ubiquinone form) must be reduced to ubiquinol in a tightly controlled, oxygen-free environment. Because ubiquinol oxidizes easily, it is then encapsulated with stabilizers to protect it and maintain potency.

How and where NAC is made:
L-cystein is produced by formation using bacteria or derived from plant sources, and reacted with acetic anhydride, adding an acetyl group. The US does not make large amounts of raw NAC, mostly imported from China, India, Italy and Japan.

If you should choose one between ubiqunol and NAC for your supplements. Which is yours?
It depends on your purpose, but we could think:
CoQ10/Ubiqunol supports cellular energy production (mitochondria) and protects membranes from oxidative damage.
Best for people with heart issue, statin therapy (could reduce CoQ10), aging-related energy decline.
Ubiqunol is more easily absorbed than regular CoQ10, especially in older adults, because it is active form.

NAC is a precursor to glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant. It helps detoxification and supports liver and lung health.
Aging people may use ubiqunol, and people exposed to environmental toxins, heavy excercise, or heavy duty could take NAC.

Let’s move further questions about the direct injection method of NAC or Ubiqunol, and to the brain for brain health? You might be interested in it.
You may already know the oral medication is really limited to the cellular delivery.
CoQ10|ubiquinol is lipid-soluble, and reach brain tissue, although very hard to reach the heart or liver. NAC is a water-soluble small molecule, and although it is still hard to pass BBB, but NAC reaches better into the brain, heart and liver than ubiqunol.

Which choice could be better economically?
Comparing daily doses and prices between NAC (600-12,00mg/day, cost ~$0.10-$0.30 per day) and Ubiquinol (100-200 mg/day, ~$1.00-$2.00 per day) indicates, NAC could be an economic choice. NAC has no patents, and low raw material cost, and easy to synthesized.

Taking NAC chronically is generally considered safe for most people, but you may check with your doctor.

May you hear about injectable NAC as well?
Who/where injectable NAC is Manufactured?

  • Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc (Tenesseee, USA)
  • Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (NC, USA)
  • Fresenius Kabi USA LLC
  • Exela Pharma Science LLC
  • Sagent Pharmaceuticals Inc
  • Eugenia Pharma
  • Somerset Therapeutics LLC
  • Zambon
  • Taj Pharmaceuticals, India
  • Hanwha Pharma, Korea
  • GC Welbeing, Korea
  • Myungin Pharma, Korea
  • Aju Pharm, Korea


Who is currently Receiving injectable NAC or studied for it?
acetaminophen overdose as you know,
Acute liver failure – non-acetaminophen
Alcoholic hepatitis
Contrast-induced nephropathy
In Korea, injectable acetylcysteine is used for acute bronchitis as well as acetaminophen overdose.
The packing sizes are different from the package in the USA and other countries for it.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Gaucher diseases and Multiple sclerosis are under the clinical trials currently.
Dendrimer-NAC is also under clinical trial in aged macular degeneration.

Foods to increase serotonin in our body

Some people (Depression, Insomnia, Fibromyalgia, Migraine and other headaches, severe premenstrual syndrome etc) take tryptophan supplements but maybe intake foods to increase serotonin in our body!!!

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that's important for mood, sleep regulation, and appetite

Foods that contain tryptophan, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate can help body produce serotonin: 
Tryptophan-rich foods 
Chicken, turkey, fish, beef, pork, nuts, seeds, tofu, cheese, eggs, oats, beans, lentils, spinach, dates, bananas, and dark chocolate 
How much tryptophan per day?Tryptophan is found in both plant and animal proteins, although animal proteins tend to have more and it's easier for your body to break it down and use it. Animal-based proteins like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and yogurt are called complete proteins because they have all nine of the essential amino acids, including tryptophan. Some plant-based proteins like quinoa, soy, and buckwheat (groats) are also complete proteins that have tryptophan.Only small amounts are necessary for healthy nutrition in most people. In the U.S., the average person takes in about 826 milligrams a day of tryptophan, while the estimated average requirement (EAR) for most adults is 4-5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 70-kilogram (154-pound) adult, that's about 280-350 milligrams a day. The EAR for infants and children up to about 2 years old is 13-17 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day.


Legumes and tofu
Tofu, 1/2 cup, 296 milligrams
Soybeans, 1 cup, 270 milligrams
Fish and seafood
Tilapia, 3 ounces, 231 milligrams
Tuna (canned white), 3 ounces, 252 milligrams
Snapper, 3 ounces, 250 milligrams
Salmon (farmed, Atlantic), 3 ounces, 211 milligrams
Lobster, 3 ounces, 248 milligrams
Crab (blue), 3 ounces, 192 milligrams
Oysters (Pacific), 3 ounces, 90 milligrams
Meat and poultry
Pork roast, 3 ounces, 238 milligrams
Turkey (light meat), 3 ounces, 214 milligrams
Beef roast, 3 ounces, 229 milligrams
Chicken breast, 3 ounces, 77 milligrams
Dairy and eggs
2% milk, 1 cup, 120 milligrams
Mozzarella, 1 ounce, 146 milligrams
Whole milk, 1 cup, 107 milligrams
Cheddar cheese, 1 ounce, 90 milligrams
Yogurt (low fat), 8 ounce, 68 milligrams
Egg (whole), 1 large, 83 milligrams
Grains
Quinoa, 1 cup, 284 milligrams
Oats, 1 cup, 147 milligrams
Buckwheat (groats), 1 cup, 82 milligrams
Bread (wheat), 1 slice, 19 milligrams
Bread (white), 1 slice, 22 milligrams
Nuts and seeds
Black walnuts, 1 ounce, 90 milligrams
Cashews, 1 ounce, 81 milligrams
Pistachios, 1 ounce, 71 milligrams
Peanuts, 1 ounce,  65 milligrams
Almonds, 1 ounce, 60 milligrams
Pumpkin seeds, 1 ounce, 163 milligrams
Chia seeds, 1 ounce, 124 milligrams
Flax seeds, 1 tablespoon, 31 milligrams
Vegetables and fruits
Potatoes (white), 4 ounces, 29 milligrams
String beans, 3 ounces, 17 milligrams
Prunes, 1/4 cup, 12 milligrams
Banana, 1 medium, 11 milligrams
Apple, 1 medium, 2 milligrams
Sweets
Semisweet chocolate, 1 ounce, 18 milligrams
Sweet chocolate, 1 ounce, 16 milligrams
Vitamin B6-rich foods


Chicken, fish, pork, eggs, bananas, non-citrus fruits, and starchy vegetables 

Complex carbohydrates


Fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread and pasta, legumes, oatmeal, and quinoa 

Other foods that can help increase serotonin include 
Warm milk: Contains tryptophan, which may help with sleep 



Cashews and walnuts: Contain tryptophan, fiber, healthy fats, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6 



Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, and chia seeds: Contain omega 3 and tryptophan 



Dark chocolate: Contains magnesium, which can help with stress 



Salmon: Contains tryptophan, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids 



Sweet potatoes: Contain vitamin C and vitamin B6 


Special Issue Guest Editer, Life, MDPI

I have served as a guest editor at Life (ISSN 2075-1729) since my workplace shut down and I lost my job. My workplace, USA Research and Development Center of Neurophth Therapeutics Inc., had decided to close our team when they started aggressively the clinical trial and just before obtaining the Series-C investment. I believe that our early development team actively studied and supported the company’s Business portfolio until our center closed. We, our team built up one center, and we observed as well their closing. Building something up took more time than shutting it down. The closing was quite quicker than I expected.

I met MDPI when I published a review paper, Twenty Years of Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growh Factor Therapeutics in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment at the journal of International Journal of Molecular Sciences. I started studying age-related macular degeneration in 2011, when I examined the retina of an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) knockout. Maybe any molecules in our body will have two sides of the balance– good and bad. Even vitamins and minerals are toxic when they are deficient and plenty. Especially, AhR was very interesting because it is one of important molecules for the balance of the immune system. I studied immunology for my master’s, because I thought that all diseases including brain and retina, had no exception from the immune system, after working as a BS research associate at the section of Neurodegenerative diseases, Korea National Institutes of Health, During mater degree program, I especially studied about NKT and non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule in the autoimmune diseases using molecular genetic engineering, animal and cell experiments. After that, I studied several adhesion molecules during brain development during my Ph.D program. My first publication of the first author was spatiotemporal expression patterns of non-clusteted protocadherin family members in the developing rat brain. I studied brain anatomy as well as brain primary neuronal culture with this project. When I came into the USA, I started basic research and translational studies using cells, engineered chemicals, nano-packed small molecules, peptides, antibodies, exosomes, and adeno-associated viruses in retina degenerating animal moldels. Sometimes, I developed new animal models and new analysis methods to test the candidate drugs. Some of them have been published. Many of them have not be published because some did not exhibit good enough efficiency, and some did show too good efficiency to be published ^.^. Actually, good efficiency is a really small piece and small step for the development in the view of company. Sometimes candidate drugs had enough good efficiency but the manufacturing was a hurdle, and some expected fancy drugs had toxicity, killing disease model animals. Synthetic nucleotide engineering was facinating to me, because somehow synthetic nucleotide engineering easily generates antibodies, antibody fragments, AAVs, fusion proteins, and any proteins, and nucleotide sequences could be all changed, and optimized to increase the yields of the proteins and still reduce the immune activation, which nobody knows the detailed profiles before testing them. Research and Development is a really initial step for drug development, but the tiny, tiny things of the early stage development could cause dramatic misfortune and a tragedy in patients’ safety.

To me, taking a role as a guest editor is an honor, and a chance to continue reading and following the field and learn a little other countries — China, Europe, and Eastern Asia, as well as Korea, where I was born, and the USA, where I’m. All the research situations were not the same, really based on the grant money, medical insurance, and the community acceptance based on different countries. While serving Life special edition as a guest editor, what I have learned so far is that we science communities should encourage us to share what we are studying in different countries, giving chances to collaborate and know and understand each other’s scientific environment and situation, and further science should give benefit, fun, hope, and new knowledge to the public.

One thing I have worried in the current science communities is…..

We, even our kids, like Youtube channels, and they check the number of their followers. This kind of behavior could be harmful to the basic scientific world. We scientists pursue grant trends, and check journal impact factors for their survival, but we scientists should remember their own questions, purpose, and fun. We adults, the senior old generation, should allow and help our young generation to pursue their own scientific questions and have trials and errors in our educational system, not only increasing publication records. I worry about our severely competitive academic world where the young generation has no chance for them to pursue their own questions, and not allow enough failure and early lost academic fun in pursuing their own questions.

In the end, I believe, that journals could or should help our science communities to make meaningful research, and promote sharing.

I accepted my role of a guest editor, Life, when I read the Aim and Scope of Life. At least I felt that Life is trying to serve a broad science and public communities, and communities’ questions, and scientific funs. However, I wondered why they decided on a similar journal name to elife: T.T.

If you want to visit Life, click here

If you want to vist the special issue of Retinal Diseases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutics, click here.

Thank you for reading!!

Vital signs

Today, April 24 2024 for the first time in my life,

I observed vital signs out of normal range: 158/90 mmHg, SpO2 83%.

So, I checked once more the normal ranges of vital signs.

Temperature97.6-99.6 °F
Pulse60-100 beats per minute
Respiration12-20 breaths per minute
Blood Pressure120/80 mmHg; Systolic 90-140, diastolic 60-90
Oxygen level95% to 100%
Normal Ranges for Adult Vital Signs (from CNA book)

I also checked blood oxygen levels by age using a pulse oximetry chart

Blood Oxygen Levels by Age using Pulse Oximetry Chart

ConditionsBy AgeSpO2
NormalAdults & Children95% to 100%
Normal>70 years oldabout 95%
Brain is affectedAdults & Children80% to 85%
CyanosisAdults & ChildrenBelow 67%
from MedicineNet

Body Temperature

Near death

Long ago, in the 1980s, when we visited community pediatric centers, the first thing for a nurse to do was to put a thermometer under armpit (axillary). Also, sometimes, nurses measured my body temperature from under my tongue. I do not know exactly when we started using forehead scanners at home, but when my first daughter was born, I obtained a scanner type thermometer, and we are still using it. In Korea, we use the measure unit °C, instead of °F in the USA. The average normal body temperature is 36 °C. When the temporal forehead scanner indicates over 38 °C, I use acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (usually Motrin) at over 8-hour intervals. My family members respond well to Tylenol, but we use two different medicines alternately because the liver might need more time to recover. I also like watery handkerchiefs and cooling sheets (hydrogel patches, easy to get in Korea) for my kids.

Maybe you know that a high fever could damage our organs. Maybe you hear that someone becomes deaf after a high fever, or even death. One of my friends lost his voice with fever. I had been sick with high fevers (over 38 °C) when I was in the first grade of elementary school, maybe for a whole winter break. I recovered a week (or three days) before the second grade started from my deadly fever. What I remember now is that I was hospitalized for one month. I used a very big personal room with two beds. I used one bed and another bed, which mom usually occupied. I got a lot of presents from relatives and friends. I had IV injections all the time that they called Ringel. I do not know exactly what Ringel is. I thought that IV was Ringel, but maybe not really. I just guess now that Ringer IV was just helping with anti-dehydration and/or anti-inflammation agents. I also sometimes got nutrient IV because I could not eat normal foods and I could not have normal bowel movement. Fever made me eat and poop like a baby or less than an infant. I liked Cerelac (baby food power) more than any other Korean Juk (porridge). Nurses really wanted to check my poops all the time. Fever really made me hard to poop. I remember poop was like rabbit poops, maybe due to dehydration. However, my memory is not bad. Maybe I was too young to know about death. I was too busy to think of death and sickness. I enjoyed my hospitalization because I had a lot of new toys and I met a friend (a daughter from the hospital owner or related persons??, maybe a doctor’s daughter, I guess). I do not know her well except that she was a similar aged girl, because I never met her again after my release. I even missed her and the hospital because I hoped to see her again. She showed me here and there – the complexity of hospital, a long hallway, shortcuts – and even led me to the hospital rooftop (the top of four-story building). She once took some fancy bandages and syringes, and we played doctor and patient. I do not know which diseases I had. I heard doctors did not know what I had.

One day, my fever seemed to be going up, because I heard that a nurse who visited me in the morning, yelled, “Alcohol pad, high fever.” Suddenly, all the nurses and doctors came to me, and mom and dad were there together. At the moment, I could not speak out, but when an alcohol pad (a very big and orange rubber bag, if my memory is right) rubbed me, I bad-mouthed in my thought, “Who said that nurses are White Angels, They are not good”. The alcohol pad was really freezing and a pain in itself to me.

Suddenly, I felt my room whirling to me like water in a funnel, and all sounds in my room overwhelmed me, and I saw a bright light (maybe my brain works something ??); light is not a single object, just the room was full with Brightness. and I heard me shouting a Buddha’s name, “Gwansembosal”. I do not know why I shouted. Actually, shouting was a shame to me, and I was surprised with my shouting, and they (doctors and nurses) were also surprised of my shouting “Gwansembosal”. Google translator is saying that “Gwansembosal” in Korean is “Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva”. In Korea, Gwansembosal is the best of the Buddhas that I heard from my grandma. I was a kid who loved Buddha Kid story books published by Buddha temples. After my shouting or seeing Light, like a lie, my fever had gone, and 3 days later, I was released from a hospital (the hospital name was Chunchon Jail Hospital). I thought that I was unLuck because I should return to school without any absence, because I was recovered just on time. I remember when I had the first shower at home, it was a big deal to whole family members. They were all concerned and checked the bath temperature and the air temperature. When I recovered, I missed my baby food, so I teased mom and got a new baby food can, but when I got them, it was not yummy any more, even yucky. So I know that our body knows what we need sometimes automatically based on our conditions. I heard that I was lucky because my high fever did not damage any part of my body and even my mind. This might be my first Near-Death story when I was in the first grade of elementary school.

What I wanted to tell was not my fever story,…is the below!!

Measurement methodNormal temperature range
Temporal (forehead)36.6°C to 37.8°C (97.9°F to 100.1°F );
Tympanic (ear)35.8°C to 38°C (96.4°F to 100.4°F );
35.7°C to 37.8°C (96.3°F to 100°F );
Oral35.5°C to 37.5°C (95.9°F to 99.5°F )
Axillary (armpit)34.7°C to 37.3°C (94.5°F to 99.1°F )
Rectal36.6°C to 38°C (97.9°F to 100.4°F )
reference: Corpus ID: 3071933, Leduc et al., 2023, Medicine; baptis-health.com

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