Nicotine Treatment – Negatives & Contraindications

I will use this post to gather information I’ve found about any negatives or possible contraindicators for ME, LC and V treatment using nicotine patches.

Liver

nicotine accumulates in the intestine and activates a specific protein called AMPK. This sets off a chain of events that produce ceramides, lipids that accumulate in the liver and can cause NAFLD progression

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-smoking-affect-your-liver

Rosacea

“Although smoking would seem to discourage flushing as it acts to constrict the blood vessels, recent studies have shown that nicotine, acting in receptors on the cells that line blood vessels, can cause new blood vessels to form in the skin. This is a process known as neo-vascularization, and can induce the networking of capillaries.”

In the study, researchers cultured blood vessel lining cells with and without nicotine and analyzed them with fluorescent imaging. The activation of nicotine receptors appeared to be associated with a significant increase in intracellular calcium, and also stimulated two major signaling proteins that may trigger a cascade of biochemical reactions associated with rosacea.

https://www.rosacea.org/rosacea-review/2008/summer/scientists-trace-rosacea-triggers-to-discover-sources-of-symptoms

Vasoconstriction

Vasoconstriction may be a positive or a negative for people with ME and LC

Nicotine causes your blood vessels to constrict or narrow, which limits the amount of blood that flows to your organs. Over time, the constant constriction results in blood vessels that are stiff and less elastic. Constricted blood vessels decrease the amount of oxygen and nutrients your cells receive.

https://www.abiomed.com/patients-and-caregivers/blog/how-tobacco-affects-the-heart-and-blood-vessels