I was saddened to learn of the death of independent researcher Rich Van Konynenburg PhD. last month.
Rich was a researcher into the causes and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome/ myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and his outstanding contribution was to grasp the importance of glutathione and the methylation cycle to this disease, then adapt the autism research of Dr Amy Yasko to suggest the concept of methylation cycle blocks and deficient antioxidant protection from glutathione as its characteristics.
There is a vicious cycle mechanism; glutathione protects B12 from the denaturing effects of, for example, mercury or peroxynitrite, and B12 is the co-enzyme that transfers methyl groups to homocysteine, creating SAMe (AdoMet).
This hypothesis struck me as obviously relevant to hepatitis C. Liver disease is produced experimentally by dietary deficiencies, i.e. a diet deficient in choline (a methyl donor) and/or methionine (the source of both SAMe, a methyl donor, and the cysteine moiety of glutathione). Deficiency of selenium will cause hepatic necrosis, and selenium is the co-factor for those enzymes that use glutathione to remove free radicals.
I contacted Rich Van Konynenburg by email and corresponded with him for some time. Re-reading my emails they are breathless and prolix, and there were too many of them, and Rich's replies are detailed and not at all dismissive. He corrects my mistakes gently and encourages my interest.
Rich was like the hedgehog in Isaiah Berlin's parable who knew one thing but knew it very well. He knew the methylation cycle and transsulfuration pathways (the parts of biochemistry concerned with the non-protein functions and metabolism of the essential amino acid methonine) intimately, the proteins and genes involved, the polymorphisms that influenced metabolism one way or another, and how this related to various diseases, especially CFS/ME, autism, and Lyme disease.
The methylation cycle and transsulfuration pathways are a good place to start if you are interested in biochemistry, because their simplicity belies their overall importance to health. There are only 3 vitamins required (folate, B12 and B6) and 3 minerals (magnesium, molybdenum, and selenium), yet the products of the system include many of the chemicals popular as energy supplements; carnitine, creatine, phospholipids, taurine; and of the neurotransmitters, besides the role of glutathione and taurine in bile production and of both methylation and glutathione in neutralizing toxins.
The methylation cycle and transsulfuration pathways are a good place to start if you are interested in biochemistry, because their simplicity belies their overall importance to health. There are only 3 vitamins required (folate, B12 and B6) and 3 minerals (magnesium, molybdenum, and selenium), yet the products of the system include many of the chemicals popular as energy supplements; carnitine, creatine, phospholipids, taurine; and of the neurotransmitters, besides the role of glutathione and taurine in bile production and of both methylation and glutathione in neutralizing toxins.
This site gives a link to Rich's many papers; and here is the wiki page on which the hypothesis was expounded and referenced in all its detail. Anyone familiar with the work of Chris Masterjohn at Weston A. Price will know about the importance of glutathione and choline in the diet - here is the repository of the technical and clinical data that underlines that importance.
Both Rich's help, and the example provided by his very existence as a respected independent health researcher, were of the utmost encouragement to me as I strove to educate myself. His scrupulous accuracy and honesty - exemplified by his case reports of adverse reactions to his suggested treatment protocol - set a high standard for others to aspire to. My regret is not being able to catch up with him again before his sudden death.
