Friday, December 12, 2014

MCT Oil Resources

Medium Chain Triglycerides are a strange thing when it comes to fatty acid oxidation disorders.  For those with CPT2 deficiency, MCTs are fantastic -- they can be metabolized easily and quickly despite CPT2 issues.  For those with other fatty acid oxidation disorders (i.e. MCAD), they can be deadly.  One thing that both ends of the spectrum have in common is a need to understand MCTs -- where they are found and what they do.  I couldn't find a good list of MCT resources, so I'm going to use this post to gather some MCT resources.  I'll update it periodically.

http://mrvitaminsnews.com.au/weight-loss/how-to-get-more-mcts-those-amazing-fats-that-make-you-thin-and-other-fat-facts:  "In the vegetable kingdom there is one other oil with a similar saturated fat profile to coconut oil and that is palm kernel oil.  This too is high in MCTs....  [However], although from the same plant, palm oil has a very different composition to palm kernel oil and is high in polyunsaturated fats that are not good for your cholesterol levels."  They also identify the following as having high MCT content:  Sheep milk, yogurts and cheeses made from sheep's milk.

http://nutritionreview.org/2013/04/medium-chain-triglycerides-mcts/ :  A good article describing how MCTs are metabolized.  It provides pretty good detail (for example, MCTs have 8.3 calories per gram vs 9 calories per gram for LCTs, and that MCTs enjoy accelerated metabolic conversion).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_triglyceride:  Well, it's Wikipedia so I can't predict what the page will look like in the future.  It currently contains useful information ("MCTs lack the cholesterol raising Myristic and Palmitic Acids") as well as odd information ("The milk fats of horses contain large amounts of medium-chain fatty acids").

http://www.livestrong.com/article/316430-sources-of-medium-chain-triglycerides/:  Easily summarized:  MCTs are found in coconut oil and olive oil (note that other sources do not list olive oil as an MCT source, so it is unclear whether livestrong has this right).  They don't break down the ratio of MCT to other fats in either oil, however.

http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/mct-oil-vs-coconut-oil-the-truth-exposed/: I'm not sure about the value of this article vis-a-vis CPT2.  The article attempts to describe how coconut oil differs from artificially created MCT oil.

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10612.htm: This article was published at "coconutresearchcenter.org", so it may have pro-coconut bias, but it is still a fantastic resource.  It provides a lot of detailed information about the benefits of MCT in coconut oil.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/mct-fats-found-coconut-oil-boost-brain-function-only-one-dose: This article describes a study that purportedly shows that "MCTs ... almost immediately improved cognitive function in older adults with memory disorders."

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa23.htm:  This article looks at MCT oil from the bodybuilding perspective.

http://www.meltorganic.com/what-are-medium-chain-fatty-acids-and-why-are-they-important-to-your-health/:  General description of MCT oil.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-hew-askus25jun25-story.html: Expresses concern that long term use of coconut oil may have adverse cardiovascular effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874191/:  A scientific journal article that reports on a study of health impacts of MCT oil.  "Our results suggest that MCT oil can be incorporated into a weight loss program without fear of adversely affecting metabolic risk factors."  Very well sourced article with 32 footnotes.

https://louisville.edu/hsc/compliance/site-medschool-pediatrics/clinical/wcec/genetics/nutrition/about-mct/recipes/MCT%20Recipes.pdf/at_download/file: MCT oil cookbook

http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/mct-oil-vs-coconut-oil-the-truth-exposed/  Differences between MCT Oil and coconut oil.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

MCT Oil

I've been working hard to take control of how my diet interacts with my CPT2.  My brother has taken MCT oil regularly for years -- and he has also been less symptomatic than I am.  I had long assumed that this was because he is a good weight for his height, whereas I struggle with my weight.  I still think that this has something to do with it, but there is a bigger role for MCT oil than I thought.

Over the past month, I've been regularly adding MCT oil to my diet.  My muscles have behaved much better with added MCT oil.  I'm going to stick with this for several more months and reevaluate, but my current thinking is that it is going to end up being a permanent dietary change.

MCT oil apparently has a smoking point of 350 degrees, so it is a bit limited as to how it can be used.  An easy way to incorporate MCT oil is substituting it for regular oil in cookie and brownie recipes and boxed mixes.  If using boxed mixes, look for ones that have minimal fat already in the mix.  Pillsbury makes a brownie mix with less than 5% of calories from fat in the boxed ingredients.

Because the goal of adding MCT oil is to develop a tasty and well-tolerated MCT delivery system, I haven't cut the amount of MCT oil in the recipes.  That said, MCT oil appears to saturate the food far better than regular oil -- the food is far more moist than with normal oil.  It hasn't been an issue for me (kind of a plus), but there is a difference in texture.

Also, be sure to label your food as "MCT Oil".  Hypothetically, if my daughter's friend slept over, smelled freshly baked cookies, didn't know they had MCT Oil, ate a dozen of them (without asking!) and then destroyed the bathroom, that wouldn't be good.  MCT Oil is tough on the stomach.  So label, label, label.

Update 12/12/14:  Here is a mini-cookbook for MCT oil: https://louisville.edu/hsc/compliance/site-medschool-pediatrics/clinical/wcec/genetics/nutrition/about-mct/recipes/MCT%20Recipes.pdf/at_download/file  [UPDATE:  Looks like that link is dead now]

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

My belated response to the Invisible Illness Week list of questions

I was recently given a link to a page about invisible illnesses. http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/wpress/articles/written-by-christine/30_things/

CPT2 seems to qualify:  It is difficult to know somebody is experiencing an episode, and medical providers often have only the patient's self-reported description to go on. Given that, I thought it might be interesting to answer the 30 questions myself:



30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: CPT2 deficiency. 
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: I was diagnosed December 8, 1992. 
3. But I had symptoms since: I can remember having symptoms around kindergarten.  I actually can't remember a time before I had symptoms.  
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Practicing mindfulness about my physical status and limitations.
5. Most people assume: I'm fine.  Even those who know I have CPT2 have a hard time understanding that somebody can have a significant condition yet be perfectly fine almost all of the time.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: I have three daughters, and getting to see them first thing in the morning is always great.  Actually, I feel great most mornings -- being nearly motionless for eight hours isn't exactly a trigger for a muscle condition.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: Mystery Diagnosis.  CPT2 was featured on it twice.  At least I have something objective to point to to help people understand my condition.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: My brain.  Seriously, I love computers, hardware and software, but my brain -- my "wetware" -- is my favorite gadget.
9. The hardest part about nights are: Trying not to eat late at night.  If I eat late at night, I replenish my carbs for the morning, but 99% of nights, my carbs are already just fine.  I just have trouble telling when it is one of the 1% of nights that I actually need to eat. 
10. Each day I take: Bezafibrate (Bezlip) 400 SR in the morning.  There is some evidence that it up-regulates CPT2 production.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: Don't have a choice.  There are no actual, scientifically validated treatments (other than Bezafibrate, which is only partially effective).  There are so few people who have CPT2 that anecdotal evidence ("MCT oil works for me", or "Corn starch helps") carries a lot of weight.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: I have never known life without CPT2.  I love myself for who I am, flaws and all.  I do wish that I had been diagnosed earlier, I could have avoided a lot of pain.
13. Regarding working and career: I get distracted at work and don't remember to eat, which then causes me to have trouble working.  When work stresses me out, that can sometimes trigger an episode.
14. People would be surprised to know: How terrifying it was before the Affordable Care Act, when I lived in fear that I would lose my insurance and be unable to get new insurance (because of the preexisting condition I was born with).  I can't imagine being unable to afford to get medical help when I need it.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: Well, it isn't a new reality.  It is an evolving reality.  As I learn more about my condition (when I was diagnosed, there were fewer than 50 diagnosed cases -- now we're in the hundreds), I try to change my lifestyle to fit.  Old habits being hard to change and all.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: This question doesn't fit my experience.  People with CPT2 can do anything "normal" people can do, we just have to be very careful about how we do it.  I suppose if I ran a marathon without constantly taking in carb calories I would be in deep trouble, but my limits are always in combinations:  If I do X and Y happens, I have a problem.
17. The commercials about my illness: I wish there were commercials about my illness.  Too few people have it for it to be of even the most remote interest to the drug companies.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: Nothing.  I don't remember a time before I was aware that something was amiss, and by the time I had a formal diagnosis, I had already structured my life around my limits.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: Eating whatever combination of carbs/fat/protein I wanted.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: I think my diagnosis had a subconscious effect on my choice of hobbies.  Before my diagnosis I took up scuba diving, mountain biking, swimming, etc.  After my diagnosis I took up far less physical hobbies.  I never spotted that pattern before today.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: I'm lucky.  I have many days of feeling normal.  If I had one day when I didn't have to worry about CPT2, I'd go on a long hike (exercise = trigger) in the snow (cold = trigger), and I'd power it all by eating fat (high fat diet = trigger) and protein.
22. My illness has taught me: That it is hard to miss that which you never had.  I've always had CPT2, I've always lived with the symptoms, but I've never thought of myself as disabled.  There have absolutely been times when I couldn't walk from the bed to the bathroom, but my internal dialogue is not "oh, poor disabled me".
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "You got the right answer, but you got it the wrong way, so you're wrong."  I know, it has nothing to do with CPT2, but as an inventor, it makes me nuts when people say that.
24. But I love it when people: Open up about their own life experiences in response to my opening up about my condition.  As humans, we have so much in common -- but we find ways to pretend we don't.  Honestly discussing my own vulnerability gives people a safe place to talk about their own issues.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is:  I love myself.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: Research the disorder.  Track your own experiences and how your body responds.  Network with other people who have it. 
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: I've always lived with it.  So no surprises.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: Believe me.  This is a disorder that often involves no outward indicators that anything is wrong.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: Somebody sent me the link, and it resonated.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: Like I accomplished something.




Subclinical Episodes

One of the people on the CPT2 Google Group responded to my post about ADHD and CPT2 with some very thoughtful observations, including this one:  "There is a lot of room in between for sub-acute symptoms: muscle pain, fatigue, etc without full out rhabdo (I also am fortunate not to go into a full out rhabdo situation but somehow I now have near constant day to day issues)."

Wow.  That struck a chord with me.  I also have very frequent issues that are systematic, but easily mistaken for other things.  I am going to try to list the symptoms I experience during times short of full muscle breakdown.  Some of them are probably unrelated to CPT2, but I'm sure others are related.  I will be updating the list as I remember/experience more of them.

Low Grade Fever:  This is a new one for me.  On and off for the past half-decade, I've noticed I frequently get fever in the 98.7 to 99.9 range.  This usually lasts an hour and then is gone.  My wife pointed out that these fevers usually follow a CPT2 episode, sometimes by as much as a day.  That made me realize that the fevers also follow CPT2 triggers, even without a noticeable CPT2 episode (i.e. eating too few carbs, exercising, stress).

Nausea: I often get nausea if I eat too high a percentage of fat at a meal.  This is relatively new to me, and I wonder if it is related to the CPT2.  I know I'm not supposed to have much fat at all (a former nutritionist told me my calories should come from 70% carbs, 20% fat, 10% protein).  It is possible that this is my brain signaling me to eat the right amount of fat for my condition.

Fatigue: I'm sure that many people get fatigue when they exercise, are stressed, don't get enough sleep (um, tautology, anyone?), or don't eat enough.  That said, I notice that I'm tired for about 48 hours after a major episode -- and I have fatigue a lot of times following a triggering event even in the absence of an obvious CPT2 episode.

Indecisiveness: This goes back to the post about ADHD and CPT2 -- I have trouble making decisions when I am experiencing the build-up to an episode.

Impatience/Bad mood:  For years, I had a night-shirt with the Snow White "Grumpy" character on it.  It was my way of poking fun at how grumpy I was sometimes.  Since my hospitalization, I have kept an eye on the conditions that accompany my mood shifts.  I've long known that a "sugar crash" (i.e. eat a lot of simple sugar and after the body floods with insulin, a sugar-low happens) will trigger a mood shift, often mimicking symptoms of depression.  My recent observations are that I very rarely deviate from a great demeanor unless I am hungry, sick, stressed, have recently exercised, or have otherwise experienced a CPT2 trigger.

Binge-type eating:  This one is easy to explain.  As background, for me, the pain of a CPT2 attack is quite similar (often identical) to the muscle aches one gets from working out too intensely. In addition, the pain does not magically go away once I have had sugar and the muscle breakdown has stopped.  Instead, the pain goes away in about the same manner that muscle pain from over-exercise goes away -- slowly.   These factors both drive binge-eating (or, more precisely, a carbohydrate frenzy) under two circumstances. The first circumstance is when I experience muscle pain that feels like a CPT2 attack has happened.  I want to stop the attack effectively and quickly, but because the pain doesn't abate for hours (at least), I can never tell when I've eaten enough.  Fear of the attack worsening drives me to carbohydrate frenzy -- because I can never tell when the attack has stopped worsening.  The second circumstance is when I feel the beginning of muscle breakdown.  This can even be in a small muscle group, like the muscles in my hand after using a screw driver for too long.  My brain starts to scream at me "you're going to have a CPT2 attack if you don't eat".  That's all I need to hear to grab many carbs.  This second circumstance is less of a carb frenzy than the first because the absence of any major muscle breakdown means that the symptoms abate relatively quickly.

Cloudy urine: I know, outside of a medical context, this is too much information.  That said, I notice that during periods when I'm at risk of a CPT2 attack or experiencing a mild one, my urine has, well, texture.  The closest thing to an analogy is that it is like I'm looking at the toilet water through a heat source like the area above a lit candle.  There is almost a shimmery aspect to it.  Super weird.

Forgetting to eat/Unable to decide to eat: This is probably a subset of the "indecisiveness", but it has an additional aspect that bears considering.  I have always had trouble controlling my weight, and I also know that some foods (carbs) will terminate a CPT2 episode, while others (fats, proteins) won't do a thing for me.  This ends up putting me in a choice spiral.  "Is this really a CPT2 attack?  If not, I'm going to get fatter."  "The only things on the menu all have too much fat or protein, that's too many extra, unhelpful calories -- should I eat elsewhere?"  If I get into the "I need to lose weight" mindset, it is common that the cloudy thinking that accompanies an impending CPT2 attack combines with the "lose weight" goal, and I just forget that I need to eat.

Hypochondria: CPT2 is a condition that pops up at almost random times.  It can cause all kinds of strange effects (mostly muscular).  This makes me very sensitive to my physical condition.  Whereas somebody with no fatty acid oxidation disorder might simply ignore a mild shoulder pain, I focus on it -- "is it an impending attack?"  Even if I'm sure it is unrelated to CPT2, the CPT2 has made me think about it.  Once I'm thinking about a physical condition, it is much easier to worry about it.

Messy/Forgetting to put things away (a/k/a brain cramp): A combination of the fuzzy thinking and an innate desire to minimize muscle use during an episode or during conditions where an episode may arise results in exactly what you would think it results in:  Minimizing muscle use.  I think probably 90% of the time, it is simply me being messy.  But I have caught myself expressly thinking things like "my legs hurt, no way I'm walking all the way to the garage to put this away".

Predicting illness: Finally!  A positive aspect of CPT2.  In the absence of other triggers, if I feel CPT2 symptoms coming on, it is very frequently an indicating that I have an infection (i.e. a cold) that is nearing the end of the incubation cycle.  In other words, CPT2 symptoms are often the first symptom of an illness.

Aphasia: I have not experienced this (at least, not that I've noticed), but there is anecdotal evidence that other CPT2 patient have experienced it.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

CPT2 and ADHD

Around 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD.  I spent about six years taking (time release) Ritalin for it, but the Ritalin didn't help much.  One pernicious aspect is that doctors increase your dose slowly, so any side effects aren't easily tied back to the Ritalin.  This gradual ramp-up also makes it very difficult to figure out if the Ritalin is helping at all.  The side effects were terrible, but subtle:  I was much more grumpy, hyper vigilant, and jumpy.

In 1989, I flew from California to Boston to attend law school.  The flight landed, I got to the dorm, unpacked, and headed to Harvard Square to get lunch (I don't recall specifically, but I'm pretty sure it was a red-eye flight).  I was hungry, but for some reason I couldn't figure out where to eat.  I didn't know the area and didn't yet have favorite restaurants.  After about 30 minutes of walking, my muscles started hurting.  Given my subsequent CPT2 diagnosis, I now know that I was undergoing rhabdomyolysis, but at the time I just thought that my muscles were doing that weird thing again.  I walked past restaurant after restaurant, each time thinking that I just wasn't sure if I wanted to eat there.  I wandered into various stores and looked around.  I was very hungry at this point, and my muscles were screaming at me to sit down (at minimum) and eat.  But I continued to wander about for around two hours.  Luckily, I walked past a falafel restaurant (later to become one of my regular lunch spots) and after a few minutes of indecision, walked in.

What does my two hour restaurant indecision have to do with Ritalin?  Everything.  Think about how CPT2 deficiency works:  My body burns through its carbohydrate energy sources and instead of supplementing that with fatty acid metabolism, sticks with carb-only metabolism until it runs out of carbs and switches to burning muscle.  Implicit in this even is that my body is depleted of carbohydrates -- i.e. I've become hypoglycemic.  One of the common side effects of hypoglycemia is cognitive impairment.  In my case, massive indecisiveness.  "Should I eat here?  Or shop for a bit?  Or eat there?  Or sit down?  Well, I don't want to decide between those...."

As a CPT2 patient, I'm exposed to many times when my body is carb-depleted.  For me, that state is associated with difficulty concentrating and difficulty making decisions.  No wonder the Ritalin didn't provide much help -- ADHD wasn't the culprit (or at least, not the sole culprit).  The primary problem was my brain didn't have the energy to work right.

Fast forward a few months from my arrival at law school, and I remember being unable to study for more than an hour or so without grabbing a candy bar.  I was self-medicating for the CPT2-mediated attention deficit by pumping up my glucose levels.

I'm no longer taking ADHD medication.  Instead, I'm carefully making sure that I have a constant flow of carbohydrates (drinking Gatoraide G2 during the day, eating raw cornstarch for slow release carbs, etc).  I still have lots of challenges staying on topic (perhaps one of the big reasons I've been a successful inventor), but the episodes of complete loss of attention are much less common.  Moreover, when I do find myself having trouble concentrating, more often than when I do an inventory of my day's meals and activities, I realize I am in carb deficit.

I have no idea if I actually have ADHD or not, but (apart from the taste) cornstarch has far fewer side effects than Ritalin, and for this CPT2 patient, works just as well (or better).

Monday, November 10, 2014

Another hospital trip -- is it all related?

On Wednesday, Oct. 29, I woke up a little after 6:00 am and had to go to the bathroom.  I remember feeling a dizzy.  I had been sick for a few days, and I woke up thirsty.  I walked to the bathroom and stood, leaning against the wall.  I remember perhaps two minutes from the rest of that day.  I'm told that my wife walked past as I was standing, and as she said "good morning", I slumped halfway to the ground and then fell over, hitting my head on the tile.

The first thing I remember after leaning against the wall is lying down on the floor in the bathroom, unable to stand up and with incredible difficulty focusing my eyes.  I remember my wife asking something (don't remember what) and then hearing her say "I'm going to call an ambulance".  I remember saying "I don't need an ambulance, please don't call an ambulance".  My oldest daughter (who I kind of remember being in there too by this point) tells me that it came out, slurred, as "don't call abulence".

I remember trying to get up, being unable to, and then asking my wife to please get help (of course, she had already told me she was calling an ambulance, but I didn't remember that at the time).

After what seemed like about a minute (I'm guessing it was longer), the bedroom was swarming with EMTs and firefighters.  They asked me my name, which I answered right.  Then they asked me what year it was.  Oh oh.  Unbelievably, I couldn't remember it.  More unbelievably, I could do the math necessary to figure it out.  I knew the elections were coming up, they were midterms, and that I'd worked on Obama's campaign in 2008.  He was re-elected 4 years later, and it was 2 years after that, so 2014.  It is the strangest feeling you can imagine to know that some brain functions are utterly impaired (part of my memory, eye control, muscle control) while others work perfectly (math and a different part of my memory).

Then the vomiting started.  Serious, projectile vomiting that lasted, well, I don't know how long but I know that they handed my a bag to vomit in and I was still holding it when we got to the hospital.  They loaded me onto a stretcher (I don't remember that, but I do remember being on the stretcher) and took me out to the ambulance.  I remember perhaps twenty seconds of my time in the ambulance -- just that there were some white boxes lining one wall.  I don't remember being taken out of the ambulance, but I do remember being in the emergency room.

In the meantime, my wife had calmed the kids down, called my mom, waited for my mom to arrive, then drove to the hospital.  A guard came in and asked me if it was ok to send my wife back.  Although it seemed to have happened immediately after being taken into the emergency room, clearly more time had passed than that.  Of course I had them send her back.  Luckily, she brought an iPad and a link to my blog about CPT2.  This gave the doctors the information they needed to understand my muscle disorder.

I don't remember having an IV, although my wife says I did.  I don't remember having blood drawn, although clearly it was drawn because there are blood test results.  I don't remember giving a urine sample (or getting a catheter?), but somehow they got urine since there are urine test results.  I do remember feeling panic set in when they said they were discharging me.  My brain still wasn't working right, so not only did I feel I shouldn't be going home yet, but I was unable to express it.  My wife took me out to the car (did I walk?  was somebody pushing me in a wheelchair?  I don't remember).  I'm guessing I spent the rest of the day in bed, but I don't remember.

I was diagnosed as having experienced vasovagal syncope -- basically your blood pressure and heart rate simultaneously drop and you faint, causing your head to drop to the same level as your heart, reducing the amount of blood pressure required to reach your brain and restoring consciousness.

My symptoms leading to the episode were:

(1) I was on about day 5 of a viral infection.  I was experiencing fever of around 100 degrees.
(2) I may have just contracted strep throat (as one of my daughters tested positive for that the next day).
(3) Fearful of taking medication with Advil (because it is a potential CPT2 trigger) or Tylenol (I worry about Tylenol being hard on the liver), the evening before I took Alka-Seltzer Plus Day/Night to keep my sinus congestion under control so I could sleep.
(4) CPT2:  One symptom I was unaware of at the time was that I was experiencing a mild CPT2 episode.  I nkow this because my CK (Creatine Kinase) was 396 IU/L (normal is between 4 and 161).

The upshot is that I ended up with a concussion.  I felt intensely dizzy and nauseous for the days after the event, and nearly two weeks later, I'm still experiencing dizziness and nausea.  At the beginning I was constantly struggling for words and forgetting things.  I'm still noticing many more typos than normal and some struggling for words, but it seems to have improved somewhat.  I'm told that the post-concussion syndrome can last up to a month.  

I have been thinking that I've been having a really unlucky year on the health front, but I think it is all related.  I don't get sick without feeling it in my muscles.  The night after a CPT2 attack, I normally get low grade fever.  I have issues with triglycerides and cholesterol, both of which are lipids -- just as my muscles cannot burn most lipids due to CPT2.  And to bring it all together, it seems like the CPT2 episodes are becoming more frequent and more intense as I get older.

I don't know what the future holds.  I know my fellow patients have worried plenty about the intersection of major health events (such as removing a tumor surgically) and CPT2's effects (such as the predisposition for malignant hyperthermia under general anesthetic).  I refuse to live a life of worry, but perhaps it is wise to exercise a bit of caution.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

CPT2 Online Resources -- an incomplete list

Blogs:
http://cpt2kids.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi0QDhIWGD8sWYyuh6_Mdpw (video blog by a ten year old with LCHAD about low fat cooking).


***
Medical:

http://www.newbornscreening.info/Parents/fattyaciddisorders/CPT2.html

National Institutes for Health: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/carnitine-palmitoyltransferase-ii-deficiency

GeneReviews: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1253/

Does genetic testing for CPT2: http://www.genedx.com/test-catalog/disorders/carnitine-palmitoyltransferase-ii-cpt2-deficiency/

Article about dietary supplement and CPT2: http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/03/04/hmg.ddr089.full.pdf

Very long list of CPT2 research and resources:  https://www.idph.state.ia.us/genetics/common/pdf/cpt2_ref.pdf


List of Resources I found regarding triggers (also contain a lot of good information about CPT2):

Sources:
“FOD” (Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders support group) =https://www.fodsupport.org/cpt2.htm
“CPTDeficiency” (the CTP2 Deficiency Association) =http://www.cptdeficiency.org/inhoud/attack_triggers_inhoud.htm
“Connecticut” (State of Connecticut Genetics Newborn Screening Program):http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/family_health/newborn_screening/pdf/hpcptii.pdf
“Wikipedia” (Wikipedia page retrieved 9/2/2014): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnitine_palmitoyltransferase_II_deficiency
“NMD” (Neuromuscular Disorders Journal): http://www.nmd-journal.com/article/S0960-8966(01)00228-0/abstract
“CER” (Clin. Exp. Rheumatol.): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11579721
“Annals” (Annals of Internal Medicine): http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=691984
“Myopathies” (Myopathies, An Issue of Neurologic Clinics by Mazen Dimachkie, page 788):http://books.google.com/books?id=IiA4BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA788&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg (note that this source also identifies MCT oil and Bezafibrate as improving CPT2 symptoms)
“Muscle Disease” (Muscle Disease: Pathology and Genetics by Goebel, Sewry and Wells, page 266): http://books.google.com/books?id=hyC5UvC5cAAC&pg=PA266&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw (note that this source also identifies Bezafibrate as “shown to restore the capacity for normal fatty acid oxidation in muscle cells”, and recommends MCT oil)
“Lipobiology” (Lipobiology by G.J. van der Vusse, page 306):http://books.google.com/books?id=hyC5UvC5cAAC&pg=PA266&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw
"Washington Neuromuscular" (Washington University, St. Louis, MO Neuromuscular Disease Center): http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/msys/cardiac.html#cpt2 (note: Provides a detailed list of information about CPT2)
"Orphanet" (Orphanet, portal for rare diseases and orphan drugs): http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?Expert=157
"Iowa DPH" (Iowa State Department of Public Health): https://idph.state.ia.us/genetics/common/pdf/cpt2.pdf
"Bonnefont" (Carnitine palmitoyltransferases 1 and 2: biochemical, molecular and medical aspects by Bonnefont et al.): http://www.carnevalijunior.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cpt2001.pdf
Medlink (Medlink Neurology): http://www.medlink.com/medlinkcontent.asp
"Biomed Research" (Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Vol. 2010, Article ID 340849): http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2010/340849/ (also provides an easy to understand description of fatty acid metabolism during exercise)
"New England Journal" (New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 19, 2009 article by Bonnefont, et al.): http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc0806334
"Genetic Neuromuscular Disorders" (chapter 64):http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07500-6_64
"OMIM" (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man online gatalog of human genes and genetic disorders): http://omim.org/entry/255110
"Hippokratia" ("Rhabdomyolysis updated" article): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2658796/

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Symptomatic but no CPK elevation....

I had a CPK test scheduled for yesterday to see if my numbers had come down to normal.  I was above the 20,000 maximum test limit on August 20.  By August 23, I was at 16,078.  I remained high seven days after my rhabdo, measuring 423 on August 27.

Yesterday morning I awoke with muscle pain.  It was in my lower legs and lower back, and it felt dead-on like the beginning of a CPT2 episode.  I had MCT oil, corn starch, Gatorade, carbs -- you know, the usual stuff I do when I feel a CPT2 episode coming on.  My muscles remained sore -- and I continued to feel like I was having an episode -- when I had my blood drawn at 1:38 p.m.  I tested at the high end of normal, 138.

This is a very interesting piece of information.  It means that there is a significant time window in between feeling markedly symptomatic and incurring enough rhabdomyolysis to elevate my CPK.  I doubt that intervention will stop the rhabdomyolysis every time.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't.  But knowing that an episode can start and end without triggering seriously elevated CPK feels like an important data point.

While I was hospitalized, I couldn't find a source for how fast CPK numbers come down.  I'm sure everybody's numbers drop at different rates, but here is my recent CPK history, in case somebody finds it helpful.

  • 138 IU/L

    Date
  • 423 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • 2561 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • 2705 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • 4925 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • 3476 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • 16078 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • > >20000 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • > >20000 IU/L

    Date
    High
  • > >20000 IU/L

    Date
    High

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

CPT2 Triggers

The literature is confusing as to what triggers CPT2 episodes.  This article is an attempt to list everything identified as a possible trigger, and to identify the sources that identify it.  Obviously, triggers identified by many different sources are the most likely to be strong triggers.

Additions/Corrections to this list are ongoing.

CPT2 Triggers

Inadequate food consumption
High fat diet
Dehydration
Frequently listed as important in recovery; not recognized in the literature as a trigger. Note: There is some anecdotal support for dehydration being a trigger.
Exercise
Failure to follow ER Protocol letter (including malpractice in handling a CPT2 patient in the ER)
Psychological stress/anxiety
Lack of sleep/inadequate sleep
Fever
Infection
--Viral Infection


Extremes in temperature
-- Cold temperature
Medications
--
--Valproic acid
--General anesthesia
--Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin)
--Diazapam in high doses
--Statins
--Ezetimibe
Trauma
Surgery
Alcohol

CPT2 Triggers based on anecdotal evidence:
Menstrual Period and/or ovulation
"increased pain and stiffness every month prior to period"; "My body gets so stiff before menstruation and I have total weakness during ovulation".
Prednisone
"I had to take it 5 years ago for pneumonia and found that I couldn’t as it increased my metabolism."
Gan Mao Ling
"I took it because it is supposed to reduce illness when taken at onset.  It caused severe cramping in my large leg muscles.  I thought it was a coincidence, and took it again a month later when I thought I was getting sick.  It again caused severe cramping.  I had my CK tested and it was elevated.  I do note that in both cases, my oncoming illness completely stopped right after taking Gan Mao Ling."
High Altitude/Low Oxygen
As CPT2 is a fatty acid oxidation disorder, availability of oxygen may be a factor.  Caution should be used in lower oxygen environments (aircraft, mountains, etc).
Air Travel
From a post on https://www.facebook.com/groups/CptType2 CPT2 episodes appear to be triggered by air travel. As flights are pressurized to around 2500 meters/8000 feet, slight hypoxia may be involved. The stress of air travel might also be a trigger.

Rhabdomyolysis Triggers (Since a primary risk of CPT2 deficiency is rhabdomyolysis, anything that triggers rhabdomyolysis in non-CPT2 patients is something CPT2 patients might want to avoid):
Alcohol  Abuse
Excessive physical exertion, especially in previously untrained individuals ("white-collar rhabdomyolysis")
High Temperature, temperature extremes
Humidity
Conditions of severe agitation, such as tonicclonic seizures
Direct muscle injury (particularly "crush injury syndrome"
Muscle ischemia (shock, CO poisoning, asthma, arterial thrombosis, vascular occlusion, air emboli, severe sickle cell crisis, prolonged immobilization)
Abuse drugs (cocaine, heroin, other opiates, amphetamines, club drugs like ecstasy, benzodiazepines)
Statins
"other drugs/toxins/venoms": Various drugs, such as corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, salicylates, fibrates, antibiotics, chemotherapeutic agents, antidepressants, antipsychotics and anesthetics have been associated with rhabdomyolysis, not only in toxic, but also in therapeutics doses.
Metabolic Endorine Disorders
Infection
There are many other events that can infrequently result in rhabdomyolysis


Sources:
“FOD” (Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders support group) = https://www.fodsupport.org/cpt2.htm
“CPTDeficiency” (the CTP2 Deficiency Association) = http://www.cptdeficiency.org/inhoud/attack_triggers_inhoud.htm
“Connecticut” (State of Connecticut Genetics Newborn Screening Program): http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/family_health/newborn_screening/pdf/hpcptii.pdf
“Wikipedia” (Wikipedia page retrieved 9/2/2014):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnitine_palmitoyltransferase_II_deficiency
“NMD” (Neuromuscular Disorders Journal): http://www.nmd-journal.com/article/S0960-8966(01)00228-0/abstract
“CER” (Clin. Exp. Rheumatol.): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11579721
“Annals” (Annals of Internal Medicine): http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=691984
“Myopathies” (Myopathies, An Issue of Neurologic Clinics by Mazen Dimachkie, page 788): http://books.google.com/books?id=IiA4BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA788&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg (note that this source also identifies MCT oil and Bezafibrate as improving CPT2 symptoms)
“Muscle Disease” (Muscle Disease: Pathology and Genetics by Goebel, Sewry and Wells, page 266): http://books.google.com/books?id=hyC5UvC5cAAC&pg=PA266&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw (note that this source also identifies Bezafibrate as “shown to restore the capacity for normal fatty acid oxidation in muscle cells”, and recommends MCT oil)
“Lipobiology” (Lipobiology by G.J. van der Vusse, page 306): http://books.google.com/books?id=hyC5UvC5cAAC&pg=PA266&dq=cpt2+triggers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t10GVNjkMte4ogSBkIL4Ag&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw
"Washington Neuromuscular" (Washington University, St. Louis, MO Neuromuscular Disease Center): http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/msys/cardiac.html#cpt2 (note: Provides a detailed list of information about CPT2)
"Orphanet" (Orphanet, portal for rare diseases and orphan drugs): http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?Expert=157
"Iowa DPH" (Iowa State Department of Public Health): https://idph.state.ia.us/genetics/common/pdf/cpt2.pdf
"Bonnefont" (Carnitine palmitoyltransferases 1 and 2: biochemical, molecular and medical aspects by Bonnefont et al.): http://www.carnevalijunior.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cpt2001.pdf
Medlink (Medlink Neurology): http://www.medlink.com/medlinkcontent.asp
"Biomed Research" (Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Vol. 2010, Article ID 340849): http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2010/340849/ (also provides an easy to understand description of fatty acid metabolism during exercise)
"New England Journal" (New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 19, 2009 article by Bonnefont, et al.): http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc0806334
"Genetic Neuromuscular Disorders" (chapter 64): http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07500-6_64
"OMIM" (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man online gatalog of human genes and genetic disorders): http://omim.org/entry/255110
"Hippokratia" ("Rhabdomyolysis updated" article): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2658796/
"Molecular mechanisms of statin intolerance": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4889699/
"Ezetimibe-associated myopathy in monotherapy and in combination with a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor": https://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(06)70253-7/fulltext
"Monotherapy with Ezetimibe Causing Myopathy": https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(05)00557-7/fulltext
"Worsening mypoathy associated with ezetimibe in a patient with McArdle Disease": https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/98/6/461/1548198
"Myopathy induced by statin-ezetimibe combination: Evaluation of potential risk factors": https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/98/6/461/1548198
"Product Monograph Sandoz Ezetimibe": https://www.sandoz.ca/sites/www.sandoz.ca/files/Ezetimibe%20Product%20Monograph.pdf


Other notes:

Treatment Protocol: “Glucose remains the mainstay therapy in the management of CPT II deficiency. Intravenous glucose infusions have been shown to be beneficial in improving exercise tolerance, whereas oral glucose has not” (Nature)

Interesting:  “Exercise tolerance is markedly improved by a glucose infusion in patients with CPT II deficiency, but because of lower glucose availability and higher insulin levels that inhibit muscle glycogenolysis, the patients cannot achieve this effect themselves by oral glucose ingestion.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12370460?dopt=Abstract&holding=npg