Incredible Nitric Oxide, Dr. Louis Ignarro, 1998 Nobel Prize winner
Welcome to my Weekly Preventive Cancer and Nutrition BULLETIN, September 11, 2021
Nitric Oxide was first found in 1992. It was not long before it was called “the miracle molecule.” In 1998 Dr. Louis Ignarro and 2 other scientists, Dr. Furchgott, and Dr. Murad, won the Nobel prize for their discovery of where Nitric Oxide (NO) was produced in the body and its many functions. Their findings were overwhelming.
Dr. Ignarro was working on how to find blood vessels to dilate (vasodilation) or relax. He found that endothelial cells have to be present to produce nitric oxide. Endothelial cells are located in the LINING OF BLOOD VESSELS AND IN THE NASAL MUCOSAL lining.
For those reading this, if you have children and/or grandchildren, I would like to explain how in the United States, A man can be raised by a noneducated father and mother, yet go on to achieve the Nobel prize. This is why everyone would like to come to the U.S. It may not be as possible with the current way the U.S. is changing its education, its laws, and its constitution. But hard work, being curious, asking questions, and having a learning ethic got Louis a college degree, a research lab, and a Nobel Prize. Only in the United States would anyone get an opportunity like that.
Louis Ignarro was born in Italy. His parents moved to the U.S. when he was a child, in 1941. His dad was a carpenter and his mom was a housewife. They had no formal education and both had not gone through the first grade. Louis was a very curious child. He said that he drove everyone crazy by asking questions about everything.
At the age of ten, Louis had a goal to make an important contribution to help people. He didn’t know how at that time. He read everything that he could get his hands on. He was very curious and started working to help pay for his education. He was a very hard worker. He worked to pay his way through college and get an advanced degree In pharmacology, chemistry, and research. His goal by then was to do his best to contribute to science. He stated that only in America would a person be able to start from his kind of family and end up getting a Nobel prize. He said that up to now, about 80 percent of the worldwide research was done in the United States.
Dr. Ignarro went on to say that that new information is being subdued in the U.S.A. My thoughts are that new research is being crowded out by the liberal thinking of the politicians. It is getting harder and harder for an individual to create the great form of free enterprise, free speech, and individual research that has been needed to achieve great new scientific and innovative information This is needed to keep ahead of other countries that have said they want to control the world by 2050.
About NITRIC OXIDE (NO): Louis Ignarro started his research with two other men knowing that the NITRIC OXIDE MOLECULE WAS VERY UNSTABLE. His concern was that people may get confused over the NITROUS OXIDE (NO2, used in present dental offices. Nitric oxide is an entirely different molecule.
Nitric oxide (NO) was first found to be produced by lightning strikes. When lightning erupts, it combines oxygen in the air with nitrogen and forms nitric oxide. The three scientists found that in the body the key factor was that NO is produced by a group of enzymes that are called nitric oxide synthases. These enzymes convert arginine into citrulline producing NO in the process. Oxygen and a form of nitrogen are involved. When they found the enzyme arginine in the BLOOD VESSELS AND NASAL MUCOSA, combined with an enzyme, they found it produced nitric oxide in the lining of the blood vessels and mucosal lining of the nose. This discovery was HUGE.
Nitric oxide is a smooth muscle and blood vessel relaxing agent. It lets more air get into the lungs and brain. It is a reactive free radical and helps prevent infections. ONE OF THE FIRST SIGNS OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED), and Type II diabetes is low NITRIC OXIDE. Dr. Ignarro found that sixty percent of men who have erectile dysfunction have been found to have decreased NO. Also, people with type II diabetes make very little nitric oxide. Many erectile dysfunction supplements have been made to help both men and women have better sexual arousal and more libido.
Other great uses of nitric oxide are One: it is a great booster of mental alertness and mental acuity Two: boosts energy and stamina. Three: it promotes healthy circulation. Four: it stimulates the release of certain hormones, such as insulin, dopamine, and human growth hormone. Five: it helps the brain in many ways. It increases the blood volume by 18 to 20 percent. It sharpens the thinking ability, helps memory recall, and helps keep a person mentally alert. Six: boosts the formation of bone. Seven: signals your immune system to help antioxidant effectiveness. Eight: most of all, they are finding that it helps in the treatment of covid-19 in that it helps open up the alveoli in the lungs. Nine: enhances blood flow to sex organs, allowing for better sexual arousal and pleasure. This arousal effect also is heightened in women. Ten: allows about 18 to 20 percent more air and oxygen to get into the blood vessels from the lungs. This is a great advantage for athletes and older people as well. Eleven: reduces cholesterol from collecting on the inside of arteries. Twelve: helps reduce high blood pressure. Thirteen: helps reduce strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots. Fourteen: Dr. Ignarri found that NO inhalation at birth relieves hypertension in babies. Fifteen: they have found that NO from breathing through the nose helps reduce cavities in young children. These are many of the reasons that nitric oxide is called “THE MIRACLE MOLECULE.” Sixteen: (alert) EXCESS SALT AND EXCESS SUGAR leads to a decrease in NO and constricts blood vessels.
DENTISTS have a very big role to play in the production and use of nitric oxide. The most important and critical function is to check young patients to find if they are breathing through the nose. The nasal mucosa is one of the more important places for the production of NO, and NASAL airways are crucial in producing NO. I know firsthand about the very large problems that occur when having a class III occlusal bite and not being able to breathe through the nose. I found that breathing through the mouth can cause internal resorption, dental decay, and a dry mouth. Dentists can perform a great service by checking every young patient and making sure that they are breathing thru the nose. It is critical for dentists to recognize Class III occlusions, mouth breathers, and the cause of mouth breathing. It is critical to check the airway, adenoids, tonsils, septum, polyps, and most of all, A CONSTRICTED MAXILLARY ARCH. It is essential to widen the maxillary arch on class III patients to open up the airways and increase the nasal mucosal area. This helps the nasal mucosa produce more NO, allows more oxygen and NO to get to the mouth, blood vessels, brain, and body cells. If the dentist cannot widen the maxillary arch, it is wise to refer the problem to an orthodontist. Be sure to tell them the reasons why and show x-rays when available.
Dr. Ignarro also says that it is not wise for dental patients and others to use too much mouthwash to rinse their mouths. He states that it reduces the amount of NO that gets to the teeth and decreases the enzymes that help produce nitric oxide.
An interesting note here is that viagra and several other ED enhancing products plus several brain enhancing supplements have been made from the results of Dr. Ignarro’s and his two friend’s accomplishments. The pharmaceutical and drug companies have made millions of dollars creating viagra, Cialis, Nugenix, Viril-X, Extense, etc, plus many brain-enhancing supplements (nootropics) that increase the blood flow to the brain. Some drug companies say that blood flow to the brain can be enhanced by more than 20 percent, making the brain more efficient, enhances brain waves, increases memory speed, and may create up to 41 percent increase in blood flow.
Some of the more used supplements are Beetroot powder, L-arginine, L-citrulline, L-theanine, Ginkgo biloba, Hawthorne berry, olive leaf, periwinkle, and hibiscus tea. Turmeric and Garlic are not nootropics but are also involved in lowering blood pressure, are bacteria scavengers, create energy, and are great antioxidants.
Dr. Ignorro’s great accomplishments have had a worldwide impact on millions of people. He should be one of the greatest examples of how to start from nothing and accomplish some of the greatest discoveries of our time. I hope that he can be an inspiration to all young children from 6 to 60 (no pun intended). If you have children and/or grandchildren, you might show them what can be possible in the United States.
If you have a friend, neighbor, or relative who would like to receive this BULLETIN, ask any questions, give comments, suggestions, have questions or ideas, please have them email me at DrMEL11@aol.com or merleloudon@gmail.com. My book, “Preventing Cancer,” contains some of the information written about today. It is a bargain for those who are interested in preventing cancer and in their personal health. My other book “Critical Non-Invasive Treatment to Help Cure Grade III and IV cancer,” also can be gotten at Amazon, eBay, or Barnes and Noble. Have a great week. . Dr. Merle Loudon