Mitochondrial disease in man. Report of a probable case with successful therapy.

Probable mitochondrial damage in brain and possibly in other tissues of an elderly woman after open heart surgery was treated by therapy aimed at providing the cell with materials necessary to synthesize new mitochondria to replace those damaged by imperfect perfusion of body tissues with blood by the artificial heart-lung machine. Large quantities of B-complex vitamins for Krebs cycle enzyme cofactors, vitamin C for protein synthesis, and ribonucleic acid for templates for protein synthesis were provided. With this therapy started 5 days post-operatively, marked acceleration of clinical recovery from a previously static state of presumed mitochondrial damage occurred. On the basis of animal experiments, a diagnosis of mitochondrial damage is suggested to be reasonable in appropriate human patients. On the basis of the successful result reported here, specific mitochondrial therapy is suggested as feasible and probably beneficial for patients with a diagnosis of mitochondrial damage.