Mitochondrial damage caused by drugs, toxins, and nutrients deficiencies is an expanding issue and something that everyone needs to be aware of. The list of drugs inhibiting and damaging mitochondria function continues to expand. Many age-related and seemingly unrelated disorders occur because of cumulative damage to mitochondria. This is often attributed to aging or stress, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Recognizing the causes and effects of mitochondrial damage and then doing something about it puts you in the driver’s seat to keep your mitochondria healthy and help healthy aging.

Acquired Mitochondrial Disorders

Mitochondria are the power producers of your body. Trillions exist throughout the body, with each cell, other than red blood cells, having many. As these power producers become less efficient or fail, you lose the ability to produce efficient energy and this leads to many health issues.

Mitochondrial difficulties can happen due to a primary problem like a genetic defect or an inherited condition. These genetic disorders frequently appear during infancy or childhood, but may manifest into early adulthood and often cause severe disability or even threaten life. There is another more common type of mitochondrial disorder, acquired mitochondrial disorders, which has recently received increased understanding and recognition. Acquired mitochondrial disorders occur more commonly during adulthood due to insufficient nutrients, drug-induced toxicity, high levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, environmental toxins like mercury and arsenic, and poorly managed blood sugar.

Many symptoms are related to diminished mitochondria function. These symptoms often seem unrelated and can occur throughout the body. In addition, symptoms may wax and wane, based on levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, and the total stress burden on the body.

Symptoms Associated with Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Muscles: muscle weakness, cramping, muscle pain, poor muscle tone, eye lid drooping, double vision or trouble focusing due to eye muscle weakness.

Brain: developmental delay, mental retardation, autism, dementia, seizures, anxiety, depression, and other neuropsychiatric disorders, atypical cerebral palsy, atypical migraines, stroke, learning disabilities, and stroke-like events.

Nerves: neuropathy (burning, pains, pins and needles), acute and chronic inflammatory demyelinating disorders affecting multiple nerves, loss of reflexes, neurologically induced digestive problems like GERD, constipation, and pseudo-bowel obstruction, absent or excessive sweating, and difficulty with body temperature regulation.

Gastrointestinal: vomiting, constipation, irritable bowel, trouble swallowing foods or liquids.

Kidneys: loss of protein/amino acids, magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, and other electrolytes, proximal renal tubular dysfunction.

Heart: cardiomyopathy, heart failure, rhythm problems.

Liver: low blood sugar, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and difficulties with blood sugar regulation, liver failure.

Lungs: apnea

Eyes: visual loss and blindness, eye lid drooping, acquired strabismus/eye misalignment, optic neuropathy, and retinitis pigmentosa.

Ears: certain types of hearing loss, aminoglycoside sensitivity.

Endocrine: diabetes and exocrine pancreatic failure/pancreatic insufficiency, parathyroid failure, adrenal insufficiency, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism

Systemic: fatigue, failure to gain weight, poor growth, respiratory problems. Fatigue is unrelieved by rest. Exercise intolerance may occur. This may be seen as diminished endurance, lack of energy, mental and/or physical tiredness, with increased recovery time after physical activity.

Acquired conditions related to mitochondria dysfunction

• Diabetes
• Huntington’s disease
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Aging
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Myofascial Pain
• Cardiovascular disease including atherosclerosis, elevated lipids, and coronary artery disease
• Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass)
• Migraine headaches
• Strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)
• Hepatitis C
• Primary biliary cirrhosis

Mitochondrial Damaging Medications

Medications are known as a major cause of mitochondrial damage. Take a look at the medications that you or your loved ones use and compare to the long list below. Be on the lookout and address any mitochondrial concerns. It may just save you from problematic and even deadly adverse effects induced by these medications.

• Alcoholism medications – Antabuse

• Anti-inflammatory and pain medications – aspirin, acetaminophen/Tylenol, diclofenac, fenoprofen, indomethacin, and Naproxen

• Anesthetics and steroids – bupivacaine, lidocaine, and propofol

• Angina and Heart Rhythm – amiodarone (Cordarone), perhexiline, and DEAEH

• Antibiotics – Fluoroquinolones (Levaquin, Cipro), tetracycline, minocycline, chloramphenicol, and aminoglycosides, and antimycin A

• Antidepressants - amitriptyline (Elavil), fluoxetine (Prozac, etc) and citralopram (Cipramil)

• Antipsychotics/Mood Stabilizers - Chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, haloperidol, risperidone, quetiapine, clozapine, olanzapine, and lithium

• Antianxiety – Alprazolam, Xanax, diazepam, and valium

• Barbiturates – mobarbital (Amytal), aprobarbital, butabarbital, butalbital (Fiorinal, hexobarbital (Sombulex), methylphenobarbital (Mebaral), pentobarbital (Nembutal), phenobarbital (Luminal), primidone, propofol, secobarbital (Seconal), Talbutal), and thiobarbital

• Cholesterol medications – statins, bile acid lowering – cholestyramine (Questran), clofibrate, ciprofibrate, colestipol, colesevelam, and ciprofibrate

• Cancer/Chemotherapy – Tamoxifen, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cis-platinum

• Dementia – Tagnex (Cognex), Galantamine (Reminyl)

• Diabetes – Metformin, buformin, troglitazone, and rosiglitazone

• HIV/AIDs drugs

• Epilepsy/Seizure – valproic acid/Depakote

• Parkinson’s – Tolcapone

The commonly prescribed antibiotic group, fluoroquinolones (Cipro/Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin/Levofloxacin, and others) are so toxic, that the black box warning on fluoroquinolones needed to be updated. The first black box is because of sudden onset of tendon ruptures that may occur weeks and even months after the drug is discontinued. The updated 2015 revision advises of the toxic effects to the nervous system and mitochondria as it has led to sudden onset of severe disability by various individuals who have used the drug.

In addition to the medications directly impairing mitochondrial function, drugs can rob the body of several different nutrients. If you are taking a drug that depletes any of the essential nutrients required for mitochondrial function, this adds to the burden of damage and increases the need for supplementation.