Find out what antihypoxants are, what properties they have and how to choose the right drugs. One of the universal pathologies at the cellular level is hypoxic syndrome. In a clinical setting, in its pure form, this condition is quite rare and most often it complicates the course of the underlying ailment. The concept of hypoxia means a state of the body in which cellular structures cannot be supplied with oxygen in sufficient quantities.
This largely limits the energy supply to the body, which is unacceptable in sports. In this situation, not only the productivity of the training process decreases, but also tissue cell death is observed. Note that this process is irreversible and leads to disruption of various processes in mitochondria and cytoplasm, the concentration of free radicals increases, cell membranes are damaged, etc. Today we will get acquainted with a group of drugs to eliminate this condition and learn what antihypoxants are and why they are needed in sports?
Antihypoxants: what is it?
For the first time on the market, drugs of this group appeared in the sixties, and the first antihypoxant was gutimine. When it was created, the importance of sulfur in the fight against hypoxia was proven. The thing is that by replacing sulfur or selenium in the molecule of gutimine with oxygen, the disease was eliminated. As a result, scientists started looking for sulfur-containing substances, and soon an even more powerful antihypoxant, amtizol, appeared on the market.
When this drug was used for a quarter of an hour or a maximum of 20 minutes after severe blood loss, the oxygen debt rate dropped sharply. Thus, the importance of the rapid use of antihypoxants after severe blood loss became clear. In patients after the use of amtizol, blood flow improved, dyspnea with tachycardia decreased or even disappeared.
Also, after using the drug in patients who underwent surgery, no purulent complications were observed. Scientists explained this fact by the ability of the drug to limit the processes of the formation of post-traumatic immunosuppression, as well as to reduce the risks of developing complications of an infectious nature. Based on the results of clinical trials of antihypoxants, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- Drugs such as amtizol have a wide range of protective properties.
- They work not at the systemic level, but at the cellular level.
- It takes more time to determine all the positive properties of antihypoxants.
All drugs of this group, to one degree or another, have antioxidant properties and have a positive effect on the work of the body's defense system, the action of which is aimed at combating free radicals. Scientists identify two ways in which antihypoxants work in this direction: indirect and direct. Any drug in this group has an indirect antioxidant effect. And the already mentioned amtizol has an additional and direct antioxidant effect on the body.
If we analyze all that we have said above, then the work on the creation of new antihypoxants should be recognized as very promising. More recently, a new form of amtizol has appeared on the market. One of the most famous antihypoxants, trimetazidine, is able to provide high-quality protection of the body in case of ischemic heart muscle disease. From this point of view, it turned out to be even more effective in comparison with highly specialized substances, for example, nitrates and potassium antagonists.
Another popular drug, chaincytochrome, is capable of carrying electrons and interacting with mitochondria. Penetrating through damaged cell membranes, it stimulates the processes of obtaining energy. Today, another antihypoxant, ubiquinone, is increasingly used in medicine. Another promising antihypoxant, olifen, has recently appeared on the market but quickly gained popularity. However, from the point of view of safety, it is inferior to amtizol.
Some drugs of the group of energizing compounds have strong antihypoxic properties. The most famous among them is creatine phosphate, which is actively used by athletes. This substance is necessary for the resynthesis of ATP molecules. In the course of studies, it was found that drugs containing creatine phosphate in high dosages are very useful in ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, as well as serious heart rhythm disturbances.
All phosphorylated compounds, including ATP, have extremely weak antihypoxic activity. This is due to the fact that they enter the bloodstream in an energetically devalued state. Summing up the brief results of the conversation about what antihypoxants are and why they are needed in sports, we can conclude that they are highly effective. More and more drugs of this group appear on the market.
Antihypoxic properties of medicines
Scientists consider all tissue processes that require oxygen consumption as targets for antihypoxants. All modern methods of treatment and prevention of hypoxia are based on the use of drugs that accelerate the delivery of oxygen to tissues. At the same time, they make it possible to compensate for the negative metabolic changes that inevitably occur during oxygen starvation.
An approach based on the use of medications that change the rate of oxidative metabolism can be considered very promising. This makes it possible to take control and manage the reactions of oxygen utilization by the cellular structures of tissues. Antihypoxants such as azapomin and benzopomin do not have the ability to inhibit the mitochondrial phosphorylation systems.
Due to the inhibitory properties of the drugs under consideration on LPO processes of different nature, it is possible to predict the result of their work. Scientists do not exclude the fact that the antioxidant activity of drugs in this group is directly related to free radicals.
From the point of view of the protection of cell membranes during ischemia and hypoxia, the slowdown of LPO reactions is important. This is primarily due to the preservation of the antioxidant reserve in cellular structures. As a result, the high functionality of the mitochondrial apparatus is preserved. This is important not only for athletes, but also for ordinary people.
Antihypoxants help protect cell membranes from destruction, thereby creating favorable conditions for the diffuse outflow of oxygen. In animal studies of gutimine and benzomopine, the percentage of survivors increased by 50 and 30 percent, respectively. These drugs have a similar set of positive effects, but gutimine is somewhat less effective in many areas.
In the course of research, the presence of antihypoxic effects in benzodiazepine-type receptor agonists has been proven. Further research of these drugs confirmed their high effectiveness as antihypoxants. However, scientists have not yet succeeded in understanding the mechanism of the drugs. Among the medications with antihypoxic properties, the following groups can be distinguished:
- Phospholipase inhibitors.
- Cyclooxygenase inhibitors.
- Inhibitors of the production of tramboxanes.
- Prostaglandin synthesis activators RS-12.
Correction of hypoxic pathologies should be carried out in a complex with the obligatory use of antihypoxants capable of producing a positive effect on all links of disorders. With regard to athletes, it is extremely important to do this at an early stage of oxidative phosphorylation processes. This will normalize the reactions of resynthesis of ATP molecules.
According to scientists, the most important thing in the normalization of ATP production is the timely impact at the neuronal level. The reactions in which ATP takes part can be divided into the following sequential stages:
- Depolarization of cell membranes, during which sodium ions, K-ATP-ase are inactivated, as well as a local increase in the concentration of ATP.
- Synthesis of mediators, in which the consumption of ATP significantly increases.
- The use of ATP molecules and the launch of the processes of substance resynthesis.
As a result, a normal concentration of ATP is maintained, which has a positive effect on the energy balance of the body and athletes can demonstrate maximum performance in training or competition.
The best antihypoxants in sports
Instenon and Actovegin
Based on the foregoing, two drugs can be distinguished separately - instenon and actovegin. The antihypoxic activity of the second drug has been known for a long time. However, due to some circumstances, it has rarely been used as an antihypoxant. Recall that this medication is made on the basis of blood serum of young calves.
Actovegin is able to stimulate energy processes at the cellular level, regardless of the state of the body. This is possible due to the ability of Actovegin to accelerate the accumulation of glucose and oxygen in cellular structures. As a result, ATP metabolism is accelerated. Scientists have found that the drug is able to increase the number of ATP molecules at the exit by 18 times during the processes of substance resynthesis.
Probucol
To date, this drug is the most affordable among domestic antihypoxants. In addition to performing its main work, probucol is able to reduce the concentration of lipoprotein structures.
Melatonin
Several studies have proven that melatonin is a good protector of DNA molecules. However, the positive properties of the substance are not limited to this. Melatonin has a pronounced antioxidant activity. For a long time, scientists were convinced that vitamin E is the most effective lipid antioxidant.
However, there is evidence that melatonin is twice as potent in this role. Scientists have not yet established all the mechanisms of the antioxidant effect of a substance on the body. However, we can say with complete confidence that not only melatonin, but also its metabolite is capable of effectively fighting radicals. It is important to note that the substance exhibits this type of activity not in relation to a certain type of tissue, but to the entire body as a whole. All this gives reason to talk about melatonin as the most effective endogenous antioxidant.
Scientists managed to detect antihypoxic activity in a large number of substances, not only synthetic, but also natural. Scientists here give a special place to micronutrients.
