Memory loss

[Frida12]

My husband increased his sinemet dose a month ago because he was having more noticeable off times. After that I noticed short term memory problems which are continuing to get worse. Is zandopa something to consider so he can lower the sinemet? This problem started very quickly and I am worried about this change.

[Hikoi]

Both sinemet and zandopa are Levadopa medications. If the problem is sinemet (levadopa carbidopa)I can't see how replacing one version of levadopa with another version will make a difference but having never tried Sandova I am interested in others experience.

[Coblrman]

One of the components Carbidopa completely deactivates vitamin B6 due to its (B6's) effect on levodopa. Apparently B6 will prevent levodopa from reaching the brain. The trick is to replenish B6 without messing up the levodopa. B6 deficiency has all kinds of possible symptoms (memory could be one).

I've been taking a B complex vitamin ONCE A WEEK. Beware there are some extremely high doses of B complexes out there and they could mess you up. I take Jarrow B-Right about 3 am in the morning when it is farthest from my medication (9 hours since last pill) along with a lot of protein (protein converts into the form that will last and apparently not interfere with levodopa).

I am by no means an authority on this subject. I suggest you talk with your neurologist first about this since it can mess your medicine up for days if not taken properly (which may be the reason neurologists don't bring it up) . You still may notice on the first day that your medicine has been effected negatively though. I take about ONCE A WEEK.

[Frida12 in reply to Coblrman]

Thanks for the info. about B6. He has tried to take it but doesn't like the effects on his medicine. Maybe once a week would be tolerable and taking it in the middle of the night is a good idea. Are you on a high protein diet? My husband is on a low protein diet during the day and eats a normal amount at dinner. Do you eat it throughout the day?

Thanks again.....

[Coblrman in reply to Frida12]

I have the same problem as your husband with the protein that's why once a week about four hours before your next meds seems to work. As I said you have to keep the B6 away from taking the your medicine or there would be no point. The medicine is designed to deactivate the B6 and taking more B6 than the carbidopa can deactivate creates other problems but taking the right amount when your med is low or absent and absorbing with the protein quickly seems to work. Supposedly the B6 once it is absorbed can last several weeks.

[Auddonz in reply to Coblrman]

Thank you for the information Coblrman. Copied what you posted and will discuss it with his neurologist.

[Rejuvem]

Ever since the introduction of carbidopa and related levodopa derivatives have been introduced, the Death Rate of PD patients has been on the rise. No explanation has been offered for this seemingly paradox situation.

Considering the fact that these substances permanantly bind to and deactivate, not only the active form of B6 in the body, but additionally a host of related enzymes, literally over 300 chemical processes in the body literally and permantly come to a halt (or at least as long as the drug is consumed) . That can't be good.

Homeopathic doctors have begun using Mucuna Pruriens in conjuntion with CoQ10. The Mucuna Pruriens doesn't have as high a level of Dopamine as the synthetic drugs, but the enzymes contained within seem to have a "booster" effect to where not as much dopamine is required. Best of all, it is absent of the toxic side effects of the Levodopa and it's derivatives, and doesn't bind to your B6. Considering that most doctors are not versed in homeopathic practices and prodecures, you may need to seek out a doctor who's had the required training.

The vast majority of doctores these days recieve almost zero trianing in Homeopathic, and natrual (unpatentable) Medications and instead recieve most of their training in synthetic medicaitons. It's not that they are not intelligent or anything like that, they just haven't been exposed to most of this information.

[Frida12 in reply to Rejuvem]

I've been interested in having my husband try mucuna pruriens before but haven't found a practitioner to advise him on the dose etc but now I will try again. That and b6 is what I will focus on now in the hopes of getting his memory to come back. Thanks for sharing that information....

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

Rejuvem,

Please can you give references to your claim "Ever since the introduction of carbidopa and related levodopa derivatives have been introduced, the Death Rate of PD patients has been on the rise. No explanation has been offered for this seemingly paradox ."

I believe that to be a completely erroneous.

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

Sorry if my wording is a little off, Carbidopa comes bundles with a bunch of different L-Dopa dirivatives. The L-Dopa itself is fine, but the Carbidopa Combination... well think of ANY nutracuetical that your body needs. If you were given a medication that blocked say, Calcium? How long before your bones crumble? B6 is ESSENTIAL for over 300 chemical processes in our bodies, do you REALLY think you can live very long without all those chemical processes?

This comes from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a Federal Government Research Center:

And I Quote:

"The administration of carbidopa and benserazide potentially induces a NUTRITIONAL CATASTROPHE. During the first 15 years of prescribing L-dopa, a decreasing Parkinson’s disease death rate was observed. Then, in 1976, 1 year after US Food and Drug Administration approved the original L-dopa/carbidopa combination drug, the Parkinson’s disease death rate started increasing. This trend has continued to the present"

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I can't remember where I read this, but PD is now one of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S. It's moving to the top of the charts and everyone is just chaulking it up to "Natural progression of the disease".

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

the National Center for Biotechnology Information, is an information centre like a library so articles there will have all sorts of different opinions just as in any library. I dont think it is a research centre.

[Hidden]

Hi!

Just to add more info on this issue.

dovepress.com/the-parkinson...

Abstract: The only indication for carbidopa and benserazide is the management of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa)-induced nausea. Both drugs irreversibly bind to and permanently deactivate pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B6, and PLP-dependent enzymes. PLP is required for the function of over 300 enzymes and proteins. Virtually every major system in the body is impacted directly or indirectly by PLP. The administration of carbidopa and benserazide potentially induces a nutritional catastrophe. During the first 15 years of prescribing L-dopa, a decreasing Parkinson's disease death rate was observed. Then, in 1976, 1 year after US Food and Drug Administration approved the original L-dopa/carbidopa combination drug, the Parkinson's disease death rate started increasing. This trend has continued to the present, for 38 years and counting. The previous literature documents this increasing death rate, but no hypothesis has been offered concerning this trend. Carbidopa is postulated to contribute to the increasing Parkinson's disease death rate and to the classification of Parkinson's as a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It may contribute to L-dopa tachyphylaxis.

[Coblrman]

The one statement I would disagree with from the paper referred to is Carbidopa's primary use is for handling nasea. Everything I've looked at indicate it is given for deactivating B6 intentionally to prevent B6 interference with levodopa entering the brain. The main thing I've personally noticed almost immediately from this large dose of B-complex is a dramatic change in sexual function. I can't say this was attributed to B6 or B3 (niacin) or both or other B vitamins. Bluntly it appears to work better than Viagra without the side-effects (if taken properly). If it is indeed the B6 then there is one example of a very negative consequence of its depletion.

[Rejuvem in reply to Coblrman]

According to Parkinsons.org, Levodopa has been administered since 1960 and I Quote:

"Levodopa is almost always given in combination with another medication called Carbidopa. Carbidopa is also a levodopa enhancer. When added, carbidopa enables a much lower dose of levodopa (80% less!) and helps reduce the side effects of nausea and vomiting."

parkinson.org/Parkinson-s-D...

[Hikoi]

none of these claims show any scientific backup in this post eg where are the increasing death rate statistics. I particularly wonder about this "During the first 15 years of prescribing L-dopa, a decreasing Parkinson's disease death rate was observed".

US approved C/L in 1976 so if I follow you correctly that from 1961 ie 15 years before levadopa alone was given? For most of that time it was still only used in trials.

the film awakenings shows the effect of l dopa without.carbidopa

The paper used is self published (ie no peer review) by Heinz and supports his treatment with his Heinz protocol, there are other threads here about that.

[Hikoi in reply to Hikoi]

I do however agree that we need to be aware of VitB6 and B12 and also Vit D. It's a very complicated condition!

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

1st, the NIH site that I cited in my post has all the statistics, that's why I included the link.

2nd, U.S. Approved Carbidopa in 1975, but Levodopa was approved in 1960 and was the ONLY treatment for Parkinsons for 14 years.

TimeLine:

1958–1975: The Parkinson’s disease death rate decreased from 2.9/100,000 to 1.6/100,000 and was attributed to L-dopa.

1967: The first four studies on the administration of a general decarboxylase inhibitor for the management of L-dopa-induced nausea were documented.

1975: The original brand of L-dopa with carbidopa (Sinemet®) was approved by the US FDA.62,86

1976–2011: The Parkinson’s disease death rate increased by 328.7%.

1977: The first paper demonstrating significant peripheral and central PLP depletion by carbidopa was submitted for publication.

1999: Pharmaceutical companies discontinued distributing the prescription form of L-dopa (a single-ingredient drug leaving L-dopa/carbidopa combinations the only prescription options).

2003: The CDC added Parkinson’s disease to the top 15 causes of death; it entered at number 14.6

2012: Paper that asserts that carbidopa irreversibly binds to PLP and PLP-dependent enzyme molecules was published. Prior to this, carbidopa depletion of PLP was viewed as a side event, not the mechanism of action.

NIH Chart showing 328.7% Increased Death Rate:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

Thanks I see These are all US statistics and so not necessarily relevant elsewhere.

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

A lot of countries don't keep these kinds of statistics, so it's hard to compare. However, it is known that certain areas like India and Japan have much lower prevalences of PD than the U.S., which leads me to believe that the disease is primarily the result of nutritional deficiencies stemming from our overly processed diet.

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

Yes I agree it is difficult and such different collection methods. Here is one site that has tried to gather this info. According to this info The highest rates are places that don't have overly processed diets.

viartis.net/parkinsons.dise...

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

Well, Albania & Egypt are the only countries where the overall prevalence is actually higher than the U.S. and both countries have severe Iodine and Vitamin A deficiencies. I'm not going to go into Vitamin A, because it's rather complicated, but Iodine is simple. Iodine is required to make T3 and T4, if the body doesn't have enough of these thyroid hormones then the hypothalamus secretes TRH (Thyrotropin-releasing hormone)which releases TSH (Thyroid-stimulating hormone) and prolactin Prolactin is antagonistic to dopamine. The TSH that is released from the anterior pituitary gland further lowers dopamine. If the thyroid doesn't create T3 and T4 the TSH levels keep climbing, and dopamine will keep dropping. I also noticed that the 9 countries with the lowest prevalence, also have the shortest lifespan of most of the countries on the list, so it may be that it has more to do with them not living to ripe old ages than anything else.

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

Confused, Are you now linking PD to low iodine and low VitA as cause?

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

Not Vitamin A, that was just an observation, but Iodine yes. About 10 years ago I read how in Okinawa Japan, the prevalence of PD was less than half of Mainland Japan, even though both have very similar diets. The biggest difference in their diets was the level of Iodine intake. From what I remember, Mainland Japan's intake was around 2mg a day, while the Okinawan's intake was closer to 13.5mg a day. (as a comparison, the U.S. intake is about half a mg a day) Though in all honesty, it could also be the fact that the water supply in Okinawa contains trace amount of Lithium. Experiments with Lithium Orotate have been shown to actually GROW fresh Gray Matter in the brain.

I like to take a Holistic view of things. You can't have good health without good balance and the truth is that deficiencies in just about anything could cause all sorts of illnesses. The biggest problem with Health Care overall is that everyone looks for a Magic Bullet, the ONE thing that can cure. To me nothing works this way.

When I turned 40, I was falling apart. Doctors were telling me I had practically every disease in the book, but none were offering any real solutions. Mostly just pain killers. I decided to change everything. My routines, my eating habits, my drinking habits... I started exercising, taking vitamins and most of all, a LOT less TV. I now spend much more time on my feet and less on my butt. Now at 48, I feel better than I did at 30 and it wasn't just one thing that did it. It was a collection of things, along with a change in my thinking.

[Hikoi in reply to Rejuvem]

Yes that's good and as it should be. We are responsible for our own wellbeing. You don't have Parkinson's do you?

[Rejuvem in reply to Hikoi]

I had a doctor diagnose me with Parkinsons at one point, but after a second opinion was told that I just just in poor health. That's when I decided to change everything. However both my Dad and my Father in Law have PD

[Frida12]

Sounds like the carbidopa damage is irreversible. With that in mind is it a good idea to try mucuna pruriens as a substitute for some of the sinemet doses? Also what does PLP stand for?

[Rejuvem in reply to Frida12]

PLP or Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is the PLP, the metabolically active form of vitamin B6, is involved in about 300 chemical processes in your body, including macronutrient metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis, histamine synthesis, hemoglobin synthesis and function, and gene expression. PLP also serves as a coenzyme for a lot of different reactions including decarboxylation, transamination, racemization, elimination, replacement, and beta-group interconversion.

Doctors are basically making a "Tradeoff" of sorts, without fully explaining the impact of the decision to use this medication. The tradeoff being that you won't get Nausea, but your body won't use B6 anymore!

None of the Pharmaceuticals even make Levodopa without Carbidopa anymore so we no longer even have a choice of NOT making the tradeoff.

[Rejuvem in reply to Frida12]

Also, in regards to the Chromosomal Damage being irreversible, I would like to think it's not, but realistically it's never been studied, so there's no way to answer that.