PD patients are found to have significantly decreased niacin levels compared to age-matched healthy controls [52]. This has been attributed to both the disease itself and the medication used to attenuate motor symptoms [58]. Sinemet, the most commonly used PD medication, includes carbidopa, which prevents the conversion from l-dopa to dopamine within the peripheral nervous system. This allows more dopamine to be taken up by the central nervous system and used where it is scarce after dopaminergic cell loss. Unfortunately, a consequence of carbidopa is reduced conversion of tryptophan to niacin. Sinemet dose and frequency are increased over time as PD symptoms worsen, but concurrently side-effects also worsen.
Some background:She has only been on Niacin Extened Release for two weeks. Gave her a slight flush, which panicked her the first time she took it. It was on an empty stomach. Now take it after breakfast, without any problems.
Symptom relief as of now: No longer sweats as much. The literature does not suggest this as one of the areas of relief. 🌺
Looking for some energy upswing as it is a key ATP co-factors ✨✌🏾✨
Using Butyrate compounds proved to be ineffective since the are absorbed before reaching our gut. Infact, Butyrate should be produced naturally by the gut bacteria . By providing good sources of probiotics like fermented unpasteurised vegetables and prebiotics to our gut ,bacterias would produce butyrate and protect the gut tight junctions and Intestinal permeability.
I highly recommend reading this book;
The Autoimmune Fix: How to Stop the Hidden Autoimmune Damage That Keeps You Sick, Fat, and Tired Before It Turns Into Disease
Thanks Kia17 , I am aware of the issues of butyrate delivery.
The manufacture of the product I intend to purchase promises that “an approach has been devised to tackle the challenge of butyrate delivery—coating with a vegetable fat, commonly cited as a medium-chain triglyceride. The rationale behind this is that a significant part of the butyrate will be released only when lipase is secreted in the duodenum.”
Reading this post 4 years later, a product called Tributyrin is available.... designed to be released once it reaches the large intestine/colon (or a long way along the small intestine), where butyrate /SCFA are supposed to be produced by beneficial bacteria.
I seem to remember reading in a book Grow Young With HGH by Dr. Klatz that 800 mg, slow release Niacin is associated with liver damage. You might want to look into that.
"Another alternative is inositol hexanicotinate, which your body converts to niacin. The conversion is slow enough that it doesn't cause a flush in most people."
Thanks much for the heads-up. Patrickk . Very much aware of the fact that therapeutic does of vitamins carries with it certain risk.
I believe your reference may be to a prescription formulation of extended-release niacin - Niaspan, available in three tablet strengths containing 500, 750, and 1000 mg Niacin.
Which is not to say that it may not apply to my non-prescription version
The niacin stated some time in November last year brought immediate - within three months - improvement in speed. She still slow by ordinary standards and somewhat stiff but she is not complaining and is quite happy with her improvement.
The butyrate is going to be a long haul project. Just started early February and trying to squeeze it into the 20 pills per day limit my wife has set. Need to decide what to take out so I can get to my dose requirements.
I have also pushed into this project pre-biotic powder. This is going fine.
That is good news, I have to be careful with niacin, esp with food and dose it suddenly lowered my blood pressure.....I take a supplement from Nordic Naturals that is a combination of vitamin c, fish oils, and curcumen that really helps me with morning stiffness.
The minimum dosage goal for Niacin, based on the research is 250mg per day.
As for Butyrate I use the supplier recommendations. It is a little tricky here as most of the research uses sodium butyrate which is not commercially available as a supplement. Additionally the studies I am aware of are animal studies 🌺
How did you do with the butyrate ? Horrid stuff ! I had to stop that among others temporarily due to drop in bp after taking 10-12 pills daily for almost a week. I am on my 5th day for a new go at it. So far no side effects.
There seems to be something, some significant association at least, in longevity. There have been discussions about Niacin here at HU before, including here in PD land. You might want to look around for them with a search term search.
The mechanism may not be all so clear on directly modifying PD, or maybe research is clearing up and identifying a mechanism lately, I don't know, but if the association eventually reveals a mechanism of some kind, then being about longevity generally that means across many conditions or maybe no conditions, in the case of individuals going to be one of long term practice, such as repairing chronic deficiency or disease-related problem that destroy immune systems or toxic conditions, reactive oxygen species damage, indirect things like that. For now it's included in B-Complex vitamins. Larger doses making a difference? Don't know, maybe others do. I sure take some, in my B-Complex.
I very much doubt that you would find Niacin in your B-Complex. What you would find is Niacinamide, another form of B3. (Niacin is not used because of the flush factor)
Niacin (not Niacinamide) acts on a specific molecular target that is involved in the inflammatory response.That target is the G protein GPR109A.
From one of the papers sited below:
“Our results suggest that these molecular actions of niacin are mediated via its receptor GPR109A (also known as HCAR2) by controlling the translocation of p-NF-κB to the nucleus. Overall, our findings suggest that niacin treatment may have potential in reducing inflammation by targeting GPR109A.”
You know I think I do remember that now. You have to get it as a separate supplement.
Inflammation would be a viable mechanism for protection and aging generally, assuming it creates its benefit beyond mere chronic deficiency, more I think is not proven.
However, reminds me of my other question on availability, the route. In humans, niacin supplement survives stomach does it, and acts beyond that of filling mere cases of niacin deficiency? Because it would seem to play a very general role not specifically something targeting PD alone.
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