丁香园AV

DAVE CLARKE, LEFT, AND JACK ZHAO FROM THE CLARKE LABORATORY FOR QUANTITATIVE EXERCISE BIOLOGY.

For Nadeau, the disease presented as Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis (MSL).

鈥淚 developed multiple large fatty masses around my upper back.  After menopause they grew quickly and at that point,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hey began to interfere with my sleep and my breathing.鈥�

Nadeau's only treatment option was to undergo debulking surgery that would temporarily remove the growth. The surgery removed three kilograms of fatty tissue but precipitated a severe metabolic crisis for Nadeau.

She says, 鈥淚 was housebound. I couldn鈥檛 walk without extreme fatigue鈥擨 could not make my bed in the morning. Ordering groceries online was exhausting, but at least I could do it in my pajamas. I had no energy to wash my hair or to even make a cup of tea.鈥�

She was placed on long-term disability.

Dissatisfied with her quality of life and the prospect of future surgeries, Nadeau began researching alternatives outside the current standard of care.

She eventually embarked on a strict low-carbohydrate diet, timed the intake of nutrients and improved her sleep, stress and exercise levels鈥攁ll of which she meticulously documented and reported to her care team.

To ensure the integrity of the exercise portion, Nadeau was referred to Dave Clarke who oversees the Laboratory for Quantitative Exercise Biology at 丁香园AV. Clarke collaborated with Nadeau to examine the science of exercise programming that has been shown to be safe and effective for patients with mitochondrial disease. He enlisted the help of his student at the time, Jack Zhao, to oversee a personalized program for her.

Nadeau says that input from Clarke and Zhao was critical to her recovery.

鈥淒ave taught me the science and oversaw the process of writing and submitting a scientific paper, while Jack designed a progressive exercise program for me that we continue to use today,鈥� she says. 鈥淛ack tells me I am now an intermediate power lifter!鈥�

The paper, written by Nadeau and her care team, was published in Mitochondrion this month. The paper documents Nadeau's progress and reports that, after two years, she has reduced the size of her residual post-surgical lipomas, has markedly enhanced exercise tolerance, and has shown sustained improvement in all subjective and objective health biomarkers. She has also returned to fulltime work.

It is still unclear how Nadeau鈥檚 unexpected success may apply to other patients with mitochondrial disease. Now that her case has been presented at medical conferences and reported in a scientific journal, it鈥檚 possible her case could motivate the medical community to re-examine treatment protocols for those dealing with mitochondrial conditions.

鈥淓lizabeth鈥檚 remarkable story demonstrates the tremendous potential of exercise, nutrition and lifestyle choices for managing and treating chronic diseases, even genetic diseases for which there are no cures,鈥� says Clarke.

鈥淓lizabeth鈥檚 initiative, determination and meticulousness inspires us all.鈥�