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An image of the human heartPeptides are specific compounds in the body made up of a chain of amino acids. Their actions in the body encompass the functions of protein, hormone, or digestive aide. Peptide therapy continues as the focus of a great deal of research effort particularly as it shows promise in the care of heart conditions.

Much of the reason for this increased interest in peptides for use in medical applications comes because of their specificity (they only do what researchers or clinicians want them to do) and their safety profile. In addition, peptide therapy results in very few side effects or negative outcomes. Likewise, people appear to tolerate their use very well.

Heart or Cardiovascular Disease

A broad range of conditions can affect your heart. These include:

  • Coronary artery disease
  • Arrhythmias
  • Heart defects occurring from birth
  • Narrowed or blocked blood vessels that may lead to a heart attack or stroke
  • Cardiomyopathy or weak heart muscles

All of these conditions and others can lead to damage to heart muscle cells which can then affect the functioning of your heart.

One-quarter of all deaths in the U.S. comes as a result of heart disease. It is vital to find more effective ways to deal with it. Peptide therapy may be a more effective way to handle these heart conditions.

Stress, Adrenal Fatigue, and the NEM

AFS describes a condition resulting from an overload of demand on your adrenal glands due to chronic stress. When stress hits, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activates. Your adrenal glands produce more cortisol, the stress-fighting hormone, to deal with the effects of stress. As stress continues, this demand increases. At some point, your adrenals can no longer meet the demand and become fatigued. This begins adrenal fatigue.

The NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response describes another aspect of your bodyā€™s attempt to deal with stress. Comprised of six circuits containing three organs or organ systems each in an overlapping configuration, the NEM attempts to handle stress as it continues to grow. At some point, if the stress continues, the circuits in the NEM begin becoming dysfunctional. Symptoms of varying severity then begin.

Cardionomic Circuit Dysfunction

The part of the NEM stress response focused on in this article is the Cardionomic circuit. The three organs or systems making up this circuit include the cardiovascular system, the autonomic nervous system, and the adrenal glands.

Stimulation of the Cardionomic circuit begins when stress begins. Initially, the adrenal glands attempt to deal with the effects of stress. But as stress becomes severe and the adrenals become unable to produce sufficient cortisol, the autonomic nervous system and the cardiovascular system are pushed into imbalance.

If the stress continues and even grows more severe, a breakdown in the functioning of these two systems can occur. So once this happens, the entire circuit becomes dysfunctional and very significant symptoms begin.

Dysfunction in the cardiovascular system can lead to damaged cardiac nodes. These nodes operate like spark plugs to regulate heartbeats. Problems here can thus cause serious symptoms. Some of these symptoms may include PVCs, instability of blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and idiopathic supraventricular tachycardia.

An image of a doctor with a heart on his lab coatIrregular heartbeats and vascular dysregulation make up some of the cardiovascular systemā€™s response to stress. These consequences tend to occur late in the stress response cycle, but once they do show up, major disruptions to the cardionomic system follow.

Symptoms that drive people to visit their physicians stem from these disruptions to the cardiovascular system. These symptoms include unstable blood pressure, dizziness, and irregular heartbeat.

Specific Peptides and Their Role in Peptide Therapy

Currently, more than 60 peptides have attained approval from the Food and Drug Administration and are used in peptide therapy. In addition, 140 more continue to make their way through clinical trials to attain approval, and 500 more wait in pre-clinical development. From these numbers, you can see the increasing interest in peptides and peptide therapy.

These are some of the peptides most often used in peptide therapy.

Thymosin Beta 4 (Tb4) in Peptide Therapy

Tb4 exists as the most frequently found thymosin in your body. It plays an important role in the healing process and shows up in large amounts in wound tissue and some blood cells that aid in clotting. Once you sustain an injury of some kind, Tb4 increases quickly.

Research into ways to use Tb4 in peptide therapy shows it aids in creating new blood vessels in the area of wounds. These new vessels allow for the flow of more blood, nutrients, and substances that help repair the wound to reach the area.

Tb4 also has anti-inflammatory properties and decreases pro-inflammatory cytokines. Inflammation plays a part in many injuries as well as in multiple health conditions. The effects of Tb4 are extensive.

Tb4's effect on immune system regulation also makes it valuable for addressing numerous conditions. Most illnesses affected by inflammation become a target for the use of Tb4 in peptide therapy. Its cardioprotective and neuroprotective properties make it valuable for addressing heart attacks.

Research shows Tb4 aids in the growth of new blood vessels following a heart attack. Along with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), it protects heart cells and helps new ones grow. When linked with integrin-linked kinase (ILK), Tb4 activates survival kinase Akt. This latter kinase promotes the survival of heart muscle cells.

Tb4 also works as a signaling protein to attract progenitor cells to the site of damage to the heart. It also signals these progenitor cells to convert into endothelial and myocardial cells. This leads to the replacement of damaged cells by endothelial cells that can multiply.

Other Applications of Tb4

Other research indicates Tb4 plays a role in preventing some liver damage and fibrosis through fighting oxidative stress and inflammation. Tb4 also appears to reduce fibrosis in some types of lung disease. In addition, research shows Tb4 aids in reducing the formation of scar tissue and in inhibiting apoptosis as well as protecting cells from cytotoxic damage.

It seems clear that Tb4 can benefit those suffering from AFS, especially if the Cardionomic circuit becomes dysfunctional. Preventing cell death, stimulating progenitor cells to convert into other cells as needed, and helping new cells grow in damaged areas all will help in recovery from AFS.

BPC 157 in Peptide Therapy

This peptide consists of 15 amino acids found in gastric juice. Originally found helpful in wound healing and addressing inflammatory bowel disease, BPC157 has also been helpful in preventing gut damage from the use of NSAIDs.

An image of amino acid chainsResearch also shows benefit from BPC157 for kidney problems due to too-high levels of potassium in the blood. These too-high levels of potassium can bring on heart arrhythmias, weakness, fatigue, and even death. Interacting with the nitric oxide (NO) system, this peptide stimulates the growth of new blood vessels and may reduce the damage done by excessive potassium.

The cytoprotective properties of BPC157 help improve cell resistance to oxidative stress and to harmful substances. This allows it to help in healing damage to the walls of the intestines and to organs.

Leaky gut is common in people who suffer from AFS, and BPC157 may prove useful in healing that complication. This would also help reduce autoimmunity.

Research indicates that BPC157 may also help arrhythmias. In animal research, this peptide completely stopped the heart arrhythmias in the subject animals. Once again, this may prove beneficial to sufferers from AFS with cardiac involvement.

Other research shows this peptide effective in countering toxicity from several sources. For example, animal research using Bupivacaine, an agent used for local anesthesia, showed BPC157 countered the effects of an accidental overdose of this agent.

GHRH in Peptide Therapy

This class of peptides all serve to stimulate growth hormone activity. However, each of them varies slightly in structure and mechanism of action. The desired outcome and the overall state of a personā€™s health may indicate which peptide to use.

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth hormone into the bloodstream. This growth hormone activates insulin-like growth hormone 1 in the liver and other body organs to influence metabolism.

Potential problems can arise with excessive growth hormone over a long time period. Significant health issues may result such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. This makes close monitoring of the use of this class of peptides essential.

CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin in Peptide Therapy

These two peptides often find use in conjunction with one another in peptide therapy. CJC 1295 lasts for a long time in the body due to its ability to bind to albumin in the blood. Ipamorelin stimulates the release of growth hormone. So the combination of these two peptides leads to increased growth hormone and to more cells releasing growth hormone.

Neither peptide shows negative side effects. However, this powerful combination could increase the level of growth hormone too much and bring on the negative effects of growth hormone, so caution and close monitoring from a physician are advised.

A broad range of benefits come with this combination of peptides. Positive effects have been shown in chronic fatigue, aging, diabetes, fibromyalgia, inflammation, chronic infections, heart disease, and other conditions.

Hexarelin in Peptide Therapy

Research suggests this peptide to positively affect cardiovascular conditions. Its cardioprotective properties appear to include helping deal with ischemic heart disease, cardiac fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and cardiac dysfunction. These properties all may benefit those who suffer from AFS.

Ghrelin in Peptide Therapy

This naturally-occurring peptide appears relatively unstable compared with the other peptides in this group. This factor limits its clinical usefulness to a degree.

Research with animal models indicates benefits to the cardiovascular system. It improves cardiac function in rats and humans with chronic heart failure. In laboratory animals undergoing acute myocardial infarction, this peptide prevents malignant arrhythmias and decreases the mortality rate. It appears that this property could prove beneficial to those suffering from AFS.

Receptors for ghrelin occur in the heart and aorta. These appear to increase in the presence of atherosclerosis. This indicates this peptide to have significant cardiac properties.

It has been shown in research to increase energy levels, act directly on cardiomyocytes, and to help control the autonomic nervous system. These factors all indicate benefits in people who have cardiac issues. Also included in research results are reductions in cell death and increased cell survival in ischemic situations.

Overall, ghrelin appears well-tolerated due to its existing endogenously. Research shows therapeutic doses do not significantly affect blood pressure or heart rate.

However, long-term use of ghrelin appears to promote weight gain and decrease glucose tolerance. So this may make it questionable for use in obese individuals and for those with diabetes mellitus.

Conclusion

An image of a vial with C-peptide test written on the labelPeptide therapy makes up the latest frontier in medical research. These small proteins contain a chain of amino acids and work as signaling molecules. Currently, a fair number of them enjoy FDA acceptance with a larger number undergoing testing to gain that acceptance.

If you suffer from dysfunction of the Cardionomic circuit of the NEM stress response, the use of these peptides may prove beneficial. However, the use of peptide therapy should only come with the guidance of a trained medical professional. Even though these peptides bring very few side effects with them, monitoring of therapy is necessary. Do not attempt to inject these yourself.

If you would like to know more about or need assistance with peptide therapy, the team at Dr. Lam Coaching can help. We offer a free**, no-obligation phone consultation at +1 (626) 571-1234 where we will privately discuss your symptoms and various options. You can also send us a question through our Ask The Doctor system by clicking here.

Ā© Copyright 2021 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Lam's Key Question

Peptide therapy is a new way of addressing many conditions. For those with heart issues, it shows promise in preventing cell death, increasing survival of cells, lowering blood pressure, and preventing inflammation which is very detrimental to conditions affecting the heart.

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