How Cells Should Work & Cellular Differences in People with Down Syndrome

          A simple analogy for understanding how cells should work is that our bodies need food to “go” and to go “right.”  If we have no food – we’ve got problems!  Not enough of the right foods or too much of the wrong foods – we’ve got problems!  Additionally, if we eat, right or wrong, and aren’t able to get rid of our waste products  – we’ve got really big problems!

          Cells are the same way.  They are little “bodies” that need “food.”   Their food consists of molecules, elements, chemicals, hormones, etc.  If they don’t get enough – that’s a problem!  If they get too much, or the wrong kind – that’s a problem.  If they “eat” and produce waste products but can’t get rid of them – that’s a really big problem!  Recent research shows that in people with Down Syndrome the processes cells use for getting rid of waste can be blocked by certain disturbances in metabolic pathways – (the “path” that the waste chemical would follow to leave the cells and be disposed of properly if things were working correctly.)  This damages cells and cell function.  Additionally, cells that do not get enough of the right “food” because the pathway that the food would follow to reach the cell is disturbed can also be damaged.

          This is highly simplistic, but a good example to see what metabolic disturbances can cause.  One complicating factor is that a lot of the “food” is actually manufactured by the cells, using chemical processes with even smaller “parts.”  If the parts don’t make it to the cell, either by omission or some blocking activity, the cell cannot make the necessary “food.”  Food is not the best analogy , but it’s close enough and within everyone’s common experience and understanding.  Most people don’t think of chemical reactions when they think of food and eating, but that is all it is.  The same is true when cells “eat”: they are just involved in multiple, necessary chemical reactions necessary in order to function.

So, how can Targeted Nutritional Intervention (TNI) help?              

1) TNI adds “food” or parts where they are lacking and/or  

2)  blocks whatever is blocking the production or waste pathways, so chemical reactions can occur and waste can go through its cycle and/or

3) destroys the waste itself.

For a more detailed explanation of cellular differences in people with Down Syndrome and how TNI can help, go to the BUDS website at budsonline.net and click onto Dr. Leichtman’s  link and read his paper titled Targeted Nutritional Intervention (TNI) in the Treatment of Children and Adults with Down Syndrome. Learn more about TNI by clicking the link at www.nutivene.com Read this information online and come to Dr. Leichtman’s lecture with your questions!   (No computer? BUDS has all of these articles in our library—call Janet at 778-3010)