L-Citrulline Dose Finding Safety Study in MELAS

The human body is made of many cells and each cell contains many mitochondria. Mitochondria are called the powerhouses of the cell, because they produce the energy needed for a cell to be healthy and function the way it is meant to.

Diseases of the mitochondria affect the way the tissues and cells of the body make and use energy, and can affect almost all the different organs of the body like the brain and the muscles.

MELAS syndrome is one of the mitochondrial diseases; patients with this disease have different complications including stroke like episodes, headache, muscle weakness, fatigue, and hearing loss. One of the factors contributing to complications seen in patients with MELAS syndrome, in particular the stroke like episodes, is decreased amount of an element called nitric oxide. This element is made in the bodies from an amino acid called arginine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins make the muscles in the bodies, and they are present in meat, chicken and fish.

In this study, the highest acceptable dose of an amino acid called citrulline will be established in participants who have a mitochondrial disorder. Previous research conducted by several groups including Baylor College of Medicine has determined that there is a deficiency of a compound called nitric oxide in patients affected with MELAS.

The lack of nitric oxide could cause constriction of blood vessels in the brain making it easier for these patients to have a metabolic stroke. The amino acid citrulline is a foundation for nitric oxide. In earlier studies, the investigator has found that there is more production of nitric oxide in the body when participants affected with MELAS take L-citrulline.