Miroslav Šašinka, Katarína Furková
Mitochondria’s are cellular organelles with own mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), they are inherited only from mother. Mitochondrial diseases are in children mostly multisystem, in humans we know more than 200 mtDNA mutations. Disorders of the mitochondrial functions is in many diseases (mitochondrial medicine): Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, malignancy, heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, Huntington chorea, obesity and others. Mitochondrial respiratory chain is source of the cellular energy and is constructed from complexes I – V with many functions, mainly in oxide-reduction and energetic metabolism. Clinical symptoms is characterized with large variability and therefor is diagnostics very claim. Most important mitochondrial nephropathies are tubulopathies and tubulointerstitial mitochondrial nephropathies, glomerular mitochondrial nephropathies (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis), mitochondrial nephropathies
caused with gene tRNALEU mutations and disorders of the coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis (steroidresistant nephrotic syndrome, damage of central neural system). In mitochondrial nephropathies therapy is recommended genetic therapy, use of the small molecules directly hitting on mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic manipulation, diet and exercise. An encouraging results are so far only in biosynthesis coenzyme Q10 disorders.