FAQ
Why are mitochondria important to health and aging?
Mitochondria are the major source of cellular energy currency (ATP) and a signaling hub that orchestrates multiple cellular processes essential to cellular health. Damage to mitochondrial integrity and function is associated with many age-related diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiac diseases, and muscle weakness.
Why is early diagnosis and intervention so important?
Early diagnosis and intervention can help prevent or slow down the progression of mitochondrial diseases thereby improving the quality of life.
What are mitochondrial diseases?
Mitochondrial diseases are diseases that affect different organs of the body where the cells fail to make adequate energy due to a dysfunction of the mitochondria. Age is a major factor in the decline of mitochondrial quality and many mitochondrial diseases are age-related.
What are the primary risk factors for mitochondrial dysfunction?
Genetic alterations, aging and environmental factors are primary risk factors for mitochondrial dysfunction.
How do you diagnose Mitochondrial Disease?
Mitochondrial diseases can be diagnosed by screening for genetic mutations, mitochondrial function as well as the function of key regulatory proteins associated with mitochondrial health.
What is mitophagy?
Mitophagy is the cell’s quality control mechanism where it removes damaged mitochondria and generates healthy mitochondria. Mitophagy can be regulated by naturally occurring molecules as well as by synthetic compounds.
What is mitobiogenesis?
Mitobiogenesis is the process by which cells make new and healthy mitochondria. A complex network of gene transcription and protein synthesis coordinates the production of new mitochondria. Mitobiogenesis is also amenable to regulation by nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
How do mitophagy and mitobiogenesis interact with Mitochondrial Disease?
Failure to remove damaged mitochondria by mitophagy and impairment in mitobiogenesis leads to the development of mitochondrial diseases. A reduction in cellular energy level, accumulation of reactive oxygen species, damaged proteins, cell death inducing signals, aberrant inflammatory response all contributes to the disease pathology.
What are the products offered by Myto Health?
Myto Health is developing nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals for improving mitochondrial health to treat and or prevent age-related mitochondrial diseases. In addition, Myto Health is also offering blood-based diagnostic biomarkers for aging and neurodegeneration.
How does the Myto Health technology help patients?
Myto Health technology engine is driven by collection of tools to discover drugs and nutraceuticals and blood-based diagnostic biomarkers for aging and neurodegeneration by interrogating ubiquitin pathway enzymes such as ubiquitin ligases.
How does screening work? How are these tests conducted?
Myto Health has developed an AI-assisted algorithm to predict the structure and subsequent function of your proteins responsible for mitochondrial health. Our AI has been trained and refined by learning from thousands of genetic variants found in the human population. By simply sequencing your DNA we will be able to predict whether your mutations and variants of these key proteins put your health at risk.