By Dr Stephen Levine PhD.
This issue of FOCUS has special meaning for me. It reaches back in time to the incredible excitement generated in the early 1970’s by the stunning discoveries of Singer and Nicolson. These two scientists deciphered the actual biochemical structure of the cellular membrane. They called it the Lipid Bi-Layer Fluid Mosaic Model. I was a graduate student in genetics at UC Berkeley. Their model was talked about in laboratories, over lunch tables, and in classrooms. It was a truly exciting time.
Today, nearly forty years later, this discovery has come full circle. With four decades of research on this model of the cell membrane, all of which has not only proven to be true, but has been further refined in its implications, we are at a breakthrough crossroads. We now know how the membrane functions. We know what it is made of. We know how it is designed. We understand its remarkable ability to remain in flux and motion. Above all, we have the technology to actually optimise cell function by replacing damaged parts of the membrane. We can make vast improvements in our health.
For you see, understanding the structure and function of the cell membrane has enormous implications for understanding the very lifespan of a cell. The cell membrane is not just an envelope around the cell. It is where the action occurs. Every part of the cell—its outer membrane, the membrane of the mitochondria, the golgi apparatus, the lysosomal membrane, the nuclear membrane—all of them have the same lipid bi-layer structure and are made of the same components. Thus the findings of Singer and Nicolson have incredible impact.
As you will discover in this issue, in a piece by Dr. Nicolson himself, the cell membrane is made of a very special blend of lipids, in a very unique composition and structure. And these lipids can be replaced when damaged. That’s what a healthy cell does all the time. But in modern life, as we age, face environmental insults, or suffer from chronic infections, toxins and illnesses, we need a bit of help. That comes in the form of Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®)—offering the body pristine, undamaged lipids in the same ratio and composition that the cell membrane has.
Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®) affects all the cells of the body. Cells get much more than a new skin. They actually get a total reconstitution of every membranous structure from the actual cell itself down into its very heart, its mitochondria. And as you will discover in this issue, the mitochondria determines the fate of the cell. If the mitochondrial membrane becomes damaged, the cell itself may die. Optimal, unoxidised membranes will improve so many aspects of cell function. Healthy cell membranes will support the many enzymatic reactions that occur along their surfaces. Nutrients will be deftly absorbed. Waste will be expeditiously ferried out. Cell to cell communication will be vastly improved. Hormone sensitivity and utilisation will increase, for there are receptors for hormones on the membrane. The vitality of the cell is actually measurable in membrane charge differential—which is the voltage across the cell membrane. The cell is literally charged with life. ATP generation and cellular energy will improve.
The first and most important way this change will be experienced is in greater energy. That energy can be measured by a validated scale called the Piper Fatigue Scale, which was first created to measure cancer fatigue. It can also be measured by redox active dye assays of the actual mitochondrial membrane function. There are actual, highly dramatic increases in mitochondrial function with proper lipid replacement therapy.
Energy, in the form of ATP and other high energy compounds, determines our health. Energy is the currency which turns on and operates cellular function. By optimising cellular energy we establish a stage for true health regeneration to occur.
Two years ago Dr. Ba Hoang, MD, PhD, and I published a paper in Medical Hypotheses on the voltage across ion channels and the bioenergtic causes of cancer. I must admit a bias toward viewing phenonmenon based upon potential underlying energetic mechanisms. If someone is low on energy, they can’t perform. If they have energy, the charge, the voltage, the very life potential, action can manifest.
Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®) particularly interests me for its ability to improve the global gut issues we see today. Gut endothelial cells divide and reproduce daily. Because of their rapid turnover, there is a tremendous demand for healthy lipids in building healthy cell membranes. An improvement in gastrointestinal function is probably going to appear as an early indicator of response to membrane rejuvenation via Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®).
The great promise from Lipid Replacement Therapy(LRT®) is demonstrated in the very strong anti-fatigue effects seen in the published articles we cite in this issue, along with the experiences of doctors on the frontline and in the trenches dealing with the chronically ill daily.
How many health problems could be improved or reversed if we focused first and foremost on restoring the lipid membrane of the cells?
We now have the technology to optimise cell function by replacing damaged parts of the cell and mitochondrial membrane. We can make vast improvements in our health.
The great promise from Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®) is demonstrated in the very strong anti-fatigue effects seen in the published articles we cite in this issue, along with the experiences of doctors on the frontline and in the trenches dealing with the chronically ill daily.
As many of you know, free radical damage and antioxidants are my life passion, from the time long ago when I coauthored with Parris Kidd the textbook Antioxidant Adaptation: Its Role in Free Radical Pathology. If pristine lipids restore the cell membrane, the next step should be potent antioxidant therapy to protect the lipids from oxidative damage once they’ve been absorbed. Over 25 years ago I speculated that literally all forms of stress can be mediated into cellular damage via oxidative stress. Time has generated much support for my initial notion. Antioxidants are critical to protect against oxidative damage at the double bond site and thereby prevent the initial oxidation, subsequent peroxidation, and oxidative chain reactions that characterise most of membrane damage. Once membranes are seriously damaged they need help via lipid replacement therapy. The great beauty of (LRT®) therapy is that it is both necessary and sufficient. It works.
I’ve been utilising Lipid Replacement Therapy (LRT®) myself for six weeks. I had stopped running for a while, which I deeply missed. For decades, running has been my joy along with meditating. Now I have begun to run again. I do not believe that is a coincidence.
