This is the same meldonium, which was declared sports doping. Mildronate was once invented as a medicine that would protect a sick heart from lack of oxygen.
Mildronate reduces the amount of carnitine in cells. Remember carnitine? It can be found in a variety of sports drinks and supplements. Carnitine has been hypothesized to enhance physical performance. Athletes love him. But mildronate is at war with carnitine. And mildronate is also loved by athletes. Where is the logic?
Explain
Our muscles can eat not only glucose, but also fatty acids. We are already with you separately discussed this case. Muscle glucose stores are quickly depleted and the muscles begin to burn fat. Muscles can work on fatty acids for a very long time. But this business requires a lot of oxygen.
Energy production in muscles is controlled by mitochondria. They are like small stoves burn glucose and fatty acids in oxygen. And when athletes begin to burn fatty acids with their muscles, mitochondria have to open all reserve puffs in order to add oxygen and turn on the heat. Understandably, in such an emergency mode, some mitochondria can deteriorate, and the muscle cells themselves will be damaged.
But the athletes don't care. Athletes are used to having muscle soreness, and athletes have a lot of these muscles. That is, athletes can afford to sacrifice part of their muscle cells in order to properly heat up mitochondria and become champions. It's clear?
So it has long been known that carnitine can improve the flow of fatty acids into mitochondria. It turns out that with carnitine, athletes will throw more fuel into their furnace.
It was tempting, and carnitine became the # 1 sports supplement. But the effect of carnitine has not yet been proven.
Well, that is, research is being carried out, somewhere there is an effect, but somewhere it is not. A very vague thing. Even if carnitine does work, it's not good enough for athletes to swallow grams of supplements every day for several months in a row. They'll just vomit.
In short, athletes believe in carnitine.
And now Mildronate. Mildronate fights with carnitine and reduces its amount in the cell. Due to this, fewer fatty acids enter the mitochondria, and the mitochondria have no choice but to beg and burn the remnants of glucose in oxygen.
Mitochondria, like the last beggars, scrape off grains of glucose from the bottom of the barrel and gently burn it in oxygen.
It should be noted here that much less oxygen is required to burn glucose than to burn fatty acids. Therefore, mitochondria do not get tired, they are strong, but hungry. But nobody dies. No excess oxygen, stoves don't overheat, muscle cells don't die. Only the efficiency will be lower. Got it?
If the athletes gorge themselves on Mildronate, then after an hour of running they will burn glucose reserves, and they will not be able to burn fat.
The breath of athletes is powerful. They have a lot of oxygen, but there is nothing, dear ones, to burn in this oxygen. There are no fatty acids in mitochondria. There is only a little glucose, which quickly burns out, and the legs do not go further. Literally.
Athletes breathe well, muscles are not damaged, but there is no strength. Such athletes cannot become champions. So what did they find in this mildronate? I dont know.
Cores
Mildronate was invented for cores. If a person has coronary heart disease, then little oxygen reaches such a heart. It hurts my heart.
And so the developer of Mildronate came up with an interesting move. He decided that if the fatty acids that a diseased heart can feed on require a lot oxygen, and diseased coronary arteries cannot deliver this oxygen, then it is necessary to forbid the heart to burn fatty acid. Then he won't need a lot of oxygen to work. Brilliant! Truth?
The heart won't work very well, but it will keep its mitochondria and muscle cells from dying.
This is in theory. In fact, the manufacturer of mildronate did not bother with large scientific studies of the effectiveness of its drug, so that the entire medical world just clucks its tongue, anticipating a healing effect, but in their countries Mildronate has not yet allow.
Not only the manufacturer of Mildronate was smart. There is also my witty fellow countryman (intensive pediatrician), who adapted this mildronate in his own way ...
