World War II weapon used in new battle: Combating Parkinson's disease

[nkurilskaya]

Purdue University research shows the antidote can effectively remove acrolein, a neurotoxin produced in the body that is directly correlated with Parkinson’s disease.

purdue.edu/newsroom/release...

[park_bear]

The linked PR links to a study that did NOT involve PD:

"Furthermore, dimercaprol, when applied systemically through intraperitoneal injection, could significantly reduce acrolein contents in spinal cord tissue following a spinal cord contusion injury in rats, a condition known to have elevated acrolein concentration. Taken together, dimercaprol may be an effective acrolein scavenger and a viable candidate for acrolein detoxification. "

The actual study done by Doctor Shi regarding Parkinson's is here:

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

The substance he proposed to use was hydralazine, not dimercaprol. He has tested it in an animal model - it has yet to be tested for this purpose in humans. At least it has been FDA approved for other purposes.

From Wikipedia:

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Hydralazine is in the vasodilator family of medications and is believed to work by causing the dilation of blood vessels.[1] The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$2.78–9.11 per month.[6] In the United States treatment costs about $50–100 per month.[7]

Looks like it has some undesirable side effects:

Hydralazine is not used as a primary drug for treating hypertension because it elicits a reflex sympathetic stimulation of the heart (the baroreceptor reflex).[8] The sympathetic stimulation may increase heart rate and cardiac output, and in people with coronary artery disease may cause angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.[9] Hydralazine may also increase plasma renin concentration, resulting in fluid retention. To prevent these undesirable side effects, hydralazine is usually prescribed in combination with a β-blocker (e.g., propranolol) and a diuretic.[9]

So dimercaprol may be better. Not exactly a finished piece of work.

[Cons10s in reply to park_bear]

Parkbear, would Vinpocetine be in the vasodilator family since it increases blood flow to the brain? I’m really having good results with it.

[LAJ12345 in reply to Cons10s]

How long have you been taking it and at what dose please?

[Cons10s in reply to LAJ12345]

I’ve been taking Vinpocetine since November 2nd. I’ve been on B1 since April and Mucuna for a year. B1 had me feeling 94% of normal but adding Vinpocetine has upped me to 96% of normal since it positively affected my gait, which was the only symptom B1 hadn’t corrected to some degree.

I’m 56 going on 4 years PD.

Started B1 at 2000mg daily then reduced to 1000mg in November after 2 months of struggling to find the new lower dose. I follow the recommend dose as noted on the bottle of Vinpocetine, Source Naturals brand.

Since Stroke’s and arterial-sclerosis run in my family this supplement was of great interest to me. It or something has really positively affected my gait. My leg is lightweight most of my day. My stride is smooth and more normal than it has been in years, My tremor remains minor and intermittent.

Overall, to the untrained eye i think it would be difficult to tell I have PD.

Constance

[LAJ12345 in reply to Cons10s]

Thanks! My husband has trouble with heavy arms. Do you think it might help that? We can’t seem to find the the right B1 dose that makes a difference.

[park_bear in reply to Cons10s]

If stroke and arteriosclerosis are a concern I recommend these writings of mine:

Vitamins and Minerals for Bone Health and Reduced Risk of Cancer

tinyurl.com/hya5dwd

Vitamin K: Unsung and Essential

tinyurl.com/yd9l4j3q

Details of the vitamins and minerals that improve bone strength, reduce fracture risk, prevent hardening of the arteries, improve cardiovascular outcomes, and reduce cancer risk.

What You Need to Know to Reduce Risk of Hip Fracture and Cardiovascular Disease

tinyurl.com/y8o9jy8u

A review of the foregoing + calcium deposits on teeth as a sign of trouble.

[MBAnderson in reply to Cons10s]

Constance,

What brand are you using?

Marc

[Cons10s in reply to MBAnderson]

Marc, I’m using Source Naturals, but have not researched that supplier. I picked it up at my local well trusted vitamin shop.

Since It seems to be having profound effects from me, I’m wondering about the difference between vascular Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s but don’t know enough to comment.

Art, had suggested that Vinpositine could likely aid in positively affecting eyesight and hearing. I feel it has benefited my eyesight as well. I would occasionally get double vision, not being sure if it was age related eye sight deterioration or PD.

This supplement is a must for me! I hope more people here try it.

I didn’t ever hear from Linda, but did read on her Facebook website a comment suggesting PSP. Since it was publicly known that the Parkinson’s medications were not working for her, I wonder if her diagnosis changed.

[Hidden in reply to Cons10s]

If it is PSP in Linda Ronstadt's case, Dr. C has had some success with PSP, but at a higher dose and not as good results as he has seen in PWPs, but given the nature of PSP, that may be a rope worth grasping for!

Art

[park_bear in reply to Cons10s]

Yes. "Vinpocetine works to improve health in several ways. The one most cited is its ability to increase blood flow to the brain. This is done by inhibiting phosphodiesterase type-1, leading to higher levels of cGMP in your smooth muscles. The result of this reaction helps to relax the blood vessels that help transport blood to your brain. At the same time, this doesn’t have a significant impact on the blood pressure in other parts of your body. This increased blood flow is largely thought to be responsible for the cognitive enhancing benefits that vinpocetine provides."

neurohacker.com/top-benefit...

[Hidden in reply to park_bear]

It is worth mentioning that while vinpocetine is thought to increase blood flow to the brain, it likely increases blood flow to the head in general and as such is thought to be beneficial for eye health and ear health due at least to the increased blood/oxygen flow, but also because it is anti-inflammatory and possibly neuroprotective.

Art

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Vinpocetine is turning out to be a quite versatile supplement that is showing potential to be of use in multiple health issues as mentioned above, but aside from its ability to improve blood flow to the head area, being an effective anti-inflammatory and showing neuroprotective potential, as well as showing protective qualities for the eyes and ears it also shows antiatherosclerotic effects in humans and has protective qualities when it comes to post stroke treatment and recovery. Here are a couple of studies that tend to corroborate these latter claims.

mdpi.com/1420-3049/20/1/335...

These two articles is about Cavinton Forte which is also vinpocetine and its effective use in stroke patients.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/290...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/272...

This study discusses vinpocetine as a post stroke treatment.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/286...

mdpi.com/1420-3049/20/1/335

This abstract suggests that vinpocetine also has antioxidant / anti-radical activity.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/275...

This study discusses the antiatheroscerotic effects of vinpocetine.

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

When you consider the multiple methods of action of vinpocetine, it is mainly a matter of considering how these methods of action may be applied in multiple disease states and on this point, let your imagination go to work! Add in the excellent safety profile and you are likely only going to be limited by your imagination! Multiple studies have shown just 30 mg / day to be an effective dose in humans at ten mg, 3 times per day.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that vinpocetine is not well absorbed without help such as lypospheric formulations, but taking it with food as opposed to when fasting, can increase bioavailability by 60 ~ 100%.

Art

[Dragona]

Does anyone know if Vinpocetine is available. In the uk thank you

[MBAnderson in reply to Dragona]

I just read an article that said it's available by prescription.