mom2lillian
New member
Tonya-so great to hear it! Nice name btw (it's my mom's name <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">).
Anyway wanted to say that just because your clinic said they want to do one or the other dont let them make that choice. You have the right. If your son is not productive now it seems that tryign both at least for a while to see the results would be a good idea. Hopefully he gets a very rpoductive cough going. My doctors are also one of the "HTS is the same as pulmozyme but cheaper" theorists and I completely disagree and when I feel I am ready for it I will be getting HTS in addition to pulmozyme.
One additional thing I wanted to throw out there is this study, it is very interesting. The loose 'interpretation' in parenthesis is my own that I did for someone else, I believe dramamama originally posted this interesting study.
Role of magnesium in the failure of rhDNase therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Sanders NN,
Franckx H,
De Boeck K,
Haustraete J,
De Smedt SC,
Demeester J.
Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ghent University, Harelbekestraat 72, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. niek.sanders@ugent.be
BACKGROUND: In the management of cystic fibrosis (CF), rhDNase-I inhalation is widely used to facilitate the removal of the highly viscous and elastic mucus often called sputum) from the lungs (this is referring to pulmozyme use). However, an important group of CF patients does not benefit from rhDNase-I treatment(some people never have a good result with pulmozyme or even have problems with it). A study was undertaken to elucidate the reason for the failure of rhDNase-I in these patients and to evaluate strategies to overcome this. METHODS: The biochemical properties, physical properties, and degradation by rhDNase-I of sputum obtained from clinical responders and non-responders to rhDNase-I were compared, and the ability of magnesium to reactivate rhDNase-I in DNA solutions and in sputum was investigated. The effect of oral magnesium supplements on magnesium levels in the sputum of patients with CF was also examined (they compared the levels of magnesium in the coughed up sputum in people for whom pulmozyme does work compared to those for whom it does not work and compared who is on supplemental magnesium compared to who is not). RESULTS: Sputum from clinical responders was extensively degraded in vitro on incubation with rhDNase-I, while sputum from clinical non-responders was not degraded: the median decrease in sputum elasticity in the two groups was 32% and 5%, respectively(sputum was thinned by a 1/3 for those who pulmozyme does work for compared to only a 5% thinning for those it does not work for). Sputum from clinical responders contained significantly higher concentrations of magnesium than sputum from non-responders (2.0 mM v 1.3 mM; p = 0.020). Sputum that could not be degraded by rhDNase-I became degradable after preincubation with magnesium (the sputum that did get thinner with pulmozyme had hgiiher levels of magnesium in it and for the sputum that did not respond to pulmozyme it did respond once it was put into a magnesium environment). The effect of magnesium on rhDNase-I activity was mediated through actin. Oral intake of magnesium enhanced the magnesium concentration in the sputum of CF patients. CONCLUSION: Increasing the magnesium concentration in sputum by, for example, oral magnesium supplements may be a promising new strategy to overcome the failure of rhDNase-I in patients with CF. (taking a supplemental magnesium vitamin may help people so that pulmozyme will work for them)
PMID: 17071834 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
This is VERY interesting to me because I am vitamin sufficient for the ADEK so you can infer I am probably vitamin sufficient for most things--again this doesnt mean I am at optimal levels just clinically sufficient. anyway pulmozyme workst great for me and I am always surporised to hear peopel say it does nto work for them.I did a bit of research for one of my classes and pulmozyme is very itneresting to me. For those who dont know how it works: it is an enzyme that basically breaks apart the DNA that holds together the sputum. our sputum is so thick because it is laden with bacteria that have died in our lungs. You can think of it like a village of bacteria and all the dead ones get 'buried' in your mucous which makes it very crowded and hence thick and hard to get up. The pulmozyme breaks up all the dead bacteria's DNA -- i.e cremation?? so that it is all thinned out. Morbid comarison but best I coudl think of.
Anyway wanted to say that just because your clinic said they want to do one or the other dont let them make that choice. You have the right. If your son is not productive now it seems that tryign both at least for a while to see the results would be a good idea. Hopefully he gets a very rpoductive cough going. My doctors are also one of the "HTS is the same as pulmozyme but cheaper" theorists and I completely disagree and when I feel I am ready for it I will be getting HTS in addition to pulmozyme.
One additional thing I wanted to throw out there is this study, it is very interesting. The loose 'interpretation' in parenthesis is my own that I did for someone else, I believe dramamama originally posted this interesting study.
Role of magnesium in the failure of rhDNase therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Sanders NN,
Franckx H,
De Boeck K,
Haustraete J,
De Smedt SC,
Demeester J.
Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ghent University, Harelbekestraat 72, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. niek.sanders@ugent.be
BACKGROUND: In the management of cystic fibrosis (CF), rhDNase-I inhalation is widely used to facilitate the removal of the highly viscous and elastic mucus often called sputum) from the lungs (this is referring to pulmozyme use). However, an important group of CF patients does not benefit from rhDNase-I treatment(some people never have a good result with pulmozyme or even have problems with it). A study was undertaken to elucidate the reason for the failure of rhDNase-I in these patients and to evaluate strategies to overcome this. METHODS: The biochemical properties, physical properties, and degradation by rhDNase-I of sputum obtained from clinical responders and non-responders to rhDNase-I were compared, and the ability of magnesium to reactivate rhDNase-I in DNA solutions and in sputum was investigated. The effect of oral magnesium supplements on magnesium levels in the sputum of patients with CF was also examined (they compared the levels of magnesium in the coughed up sputum in people for whom pulmozyme does work compared to those for whom it does not work and compared who is on supplemental magnesium compared to who is not). RESULTS: Sputum from clinical responders was extensively degraded in vitro on incubation with rhDNase-I, while sputum from clinical non-responders was not degraded: the median decrease in sputum elasticity in the two groups was 32% and 5%, respectively(sputum was thinned by a 1/3 for those who pulmozyme does work for compared to only a 5% thinning for those it does not work for). Sputum from clinical responders contained significantly higher concentrations of magnesium than sputum from non-responders (2.0 mM v 1.3 mM; p = 0.020). Sputum that could not be degraded by rhDNase-I became degradable after preincubation with magnesium (the sputum that did get thinner with pulmozyme had hgiiher levels of magnesium in it and for the sputum that did not respond to pulmozyme it did respond once it was put into a magnesium environment). The effect of magnesium on rhDNase-I activity was mediated through actin. Oral intake of magnesium enhanced the magnesium concentration in the sputum of CF patients. CONCLUSION: Increasing the magnesium concentration in sputum by, for example, oral magnesium supplements may be a promising new strategy to overcome the failure of rhDNase-I in patients with CF. (taking a supplemental magnesium vitamin may help people so that pulmozyme will work for them)
PMID: 17071834 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
This is VERY interesting to me because I am vitamin sufficient for the ADEK so you can infer I am probably vitamin sufficient for most things--again this doesnt mean I am at optimal levels just clinically sufficient. anyway pulmozyme workst great for me and I am always surporised to hear peopel say it does nto work for them.I did a bit of research for one of my classes and pulmozyme is very itneresting to me. For those who dont know how it works: it is an enzyme that basically breaks apart the DNA that holds together the sputum. our sputum is so thick because it is laden with bacteria that have died in our lungs. You can think of it like a village of bacteria and all the dead ones get 'buried' in your mucous which makes it very crowded and hence thick and hard to get up. The pulmozyme breaks up all the dead bacteria's DNA -- i.e cremation?? so that it is all thinned out. Morbid comarison but best I coudl think of.