There was a post on LivingwithAtaxia.org that got me looking at research being done by Dr. Susan Perlman as she is set to be the keynote speaker at the 2019 NAF Conference in Las Vegas this year, and someone asked about what topic might she be speaking. When I searched for her work I found this:
Safety and Efficacy of EPI-743 in Patients With Friedreich's Ataxia
clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...
EPI-743 (Vatiquinone)
friedreichsataxianews.com/f...
This drug is in multiple clinical trials for multiple neurological disorders, and the preliminary results showed some benefit in several different disorders. It is NOT a cure for any disorder as it simply works by improving cellular survival. It does NOT impact the underlying causes of any illness.
At first, I admit I was curious and encouraged, but the more I learned about this "drug" the more angry I became. Vatiquione is a man-made form of vitamin E. Vitamin E was found to be helpful in animal models of Friedreich's Ataxia, but the pharma industry can't patent vitamin E so they made a synthetic version. Did they test this version against "natural" vitamin E? No. Is this new drug going to be cheap? Of course, not. It's forecast to cost thousands per month for a pill of man-made vitamin E, and insurance companies will pay because the first illnesses they are treating are childhood disorders.
The self serving research with no regard for what's best for patients and the world makes me sick. The more time I spend researching and contacting researchers, the more cynical I become.
In the end though I have found a new supplement that I need to study. Vitamin E has been implicated in problems related to taking too much so I'm not running out and buying a bin of the stuff tomorrow, but for sure I have this weeks research topic. Standby for a post on vitamin E
Natural forms of vitamin E: metabolism, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and the role in disease prevention and therapy
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
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One final point I would make is that my alternative therapy relies on attacking neurological illness from as many angles as possible. One angle that I use are natural, proven anti-oxidants namely curcumin, blueberries, and green tea only I take them in supplement form namely Theracurmin, Pterostilbene, and EGCG. I would note that the first two are man made with the exact intention of doing what vatiquinone is shown to do namely act as a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant and vatiquinone appears to be helpful in MULTIPLE neurological disorders.
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Is it possible other potent anti-oxidants are equally or maybe even more beneficial?
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I, personally, believe the answer is yes.
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Joe in NY