mitochondria.... generate more than 90% of cellular energy,” ... “Anything that generates that much energy can't be trivial.”
And yet mitochondria, for all the energy they contribute, have been largely overlooked in medicine. “All the clinical subspecialties are based primarily around anatomy, and so you have neurologists, ophthalmologists, cardiologists, nephrologists, dermatologists and so on, but that model doesn't take into account mitochondria,” says Wallace. “Since different organs rely on mitochondrial energy to different extents, partial mitochondrial defects result in organ-specific symptoms.”
That's now changing. Led by Wallace, scientists are now digger deeper into the role mitochondrial disease might play in many of our most pervasive diseases and even into aging itself. The idea is nothing short of a paradigm shift, viewing energy broadly rather than organs specifically. And if Wallace is right, that idea could change millions of lives for the better.
