Has anyone used GABA to help with sleep? I am desperate, the insomnia and subsequent fatigue are having a major impact on my life right now.!
GABA: Has anyone used GABA to help with... - Cure Parkinson's
GABA
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Susie01
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My Dr. gave me 200mg sinemet. I take one at bed time and its like getting a intense drug "HIGH". My tremors decrease to the point that I can relax and fall asleep.
During the day I take 25mg of sinemet - three times a day.
It is a neurotransmitter that is sometimes missing in along with dopamine in the brains of people with PD. It can be bought inexpensively at healthfood stores and is advertised for anxiety and sleep.
There was a posting someone did a while back that noted that missing dopamine may be only part of the problem with PD and it possibly being the reason why dopamine based treatment only works for so long.
I asked a therapist I know who uses a lot of neutroceuticals in his practice, he says he recommends it all of the time for people with anxiety and sleep issues.
1111Irish, I take Azilect for my PD, Sinement is one of the highly contraindicated drugs with it...so much in contraindicated with Azilect...
This is the article that was posted on GABA
Challenging Parkinson's Dogma: Dopamine May Not Be the Only Key Player in This Tragic Neurodegenerative Disease
ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) — Scientists may have discovered why the standard treatment for Parkinson's disease is often effective for only a limited period of time. Their research could lead to a better understanding of many brain disorders, from drug addiction to depression, that share certain signaling molecules involved in modulating brain activity.
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A team led by Bernardo Sabatini, Takeda Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, used mouse models to study dopamine neurons in the striatum, a region of the brain involved in both movement and learning. In people, these neurons release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that allows us to walk, speak and even type on a keyboard. When those cells die, as they do in Parkinson's patients, so does the ability to easily initiate movement. Current Parkinson's drugs are precursors of dopamine that are then converted into dopamine by cells in the brain.
The flip side of dopamine dearth is dopamine hyperactivity. Heroin, cocaine and amphetamines rev up or mimic dopamine neurons, ultimately reinforcing the learned reward of drug-taking. Other conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome and even schizophrenia may also be related to the misregulation of dopamine.
In the October 11 issue of Nature, Sabatini and co-authors Nicolas Tritsch and Jun Ding reported that midbrain dopamine neurons release not only dopamine but also another neurotransmitter called GABA, which lowers neuronal activity. The previously unsuspected presence of GABA could explain why restoring only dopamine could cause initial improvements in Parkinson's patients to eventually wane. And if GABA is made by the same cells that produce other neurotransmitters, such as depression-linked serotonin, similar single-focus treatments could be less successful for the same reason.
"If what we found in the mouse applies to the human, then dopamine's only half the story," said Sabatini.
A detailed view of dopamine neurons.
The surprising GABA story began in the Sabatini lab with a series of experiments designed to see what happens when cells release dopamine. The scientists used optogenetics, a powerful technique that relies on genetic manipulation to selectively sensitize cells to light. In laboratory dishes, researchers tested brain tissue from mice engineered to show activity in dopamine neurons. Typically in such experiments, other neurotransmitters would be blocked in order to highlight dopamine, but Tritsch, a postdoctoral fellow in the Sabatini lab, decided instead to keep the cell in as natural a state as possible.
When Tritsch activated the dopamine neurons and examined their effects on striatal neurons, he naturally expected to observe the effects of dopamine release. Instead, he saw rapid inhibition of the striatal neurons, making it clear that another neurotransmitter -- which turned out to be the quick-acting GABA -- was at work. This was so unusual that the team launched a series of experiments to confirm that GABA was being released directly by these dopamine neurons.
A standard way to detect GABA is to look for vesicular GABA transporter, or VGAT, a protein that packages and carries GABA into neurotransmitter vesicles. The scientists silenced the gene that makes VGAT in mice and found that the dopamine neurons released GABA even in the absence of VGAT.
The researchers then tested other transporters, zeroing in on one that ferries dopamine and a variety of other neurotransmitters. For reasons they don't yet understand, this protein -- the vesicular monoamine transporter -- also shuttles GABA.
"What makes this important now is that every manipulation that has targeted dopamine by targeting the vesicular monoamine transporter has altered GABA as well. And nobody's paid any attention to it," said Sabatini. "Every Parkinsonian model that we have in which we've lost dopamine has actually lost GABA, too. So we really have to go back now and think: Which of these effects are due to loss of GABA and which are due to loss of dopamine?"
Anatol Kreitzer, an assistant investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco, who was not involved in the research, called the findings remarkable.
"It was totally unexpected," said Kreitzer, who is also an assistant professor of physiology and neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. "At the molecular level, nobody really expected dopamine neurons to be releasing significant amounts of GABA. At the functional level, it's surprising that this major modulator of plasticity in the brain, which is so critical for Parkinson's, for learning and rewards, and for other psychiatric illnesses, can also release GABA. That raises a question as to what role GABA has."
GABA can very quickly change the electrical state of cells, inhibiting their activity by making them less excitable. Sabatini wonders if the loss of GABA in dopamine neurons could explain why hyperactivity is sometimes seen after chronic loss of these neurons.
The next challenge will be to explore whether other neurons that express the vesicular monoamine transporter also release GABA in addition to neurotransmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline.
"These findings highlight how little we actually know about the most basic features of cell identity in the brain," said Sabatini.
Tritsch said what started out as a straightforward project to understand dopamine quickly changed direction, with lots of starts and stops on the way to some exciting new findings.
"It can be nice to come up with a hypothesis, test it, verify it, and have everything fall into place," he said. "But biology rarely works that way."
This research was funded by a Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation postdoctoral fellowship and by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NS046579 and 4R00NS075136).
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard Medical School. The original article was written by Elizabeth Cooney.
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10 comments This is the article that was posted on GABA
Hello Susie01
I missed this excellant post from you a year ago. Thank you for the time you took in writing it. I sure hope that GABA has improved your situation, but if not, then surely you are a step nearer where you need to be!
Would you please consider giving us an update on your experience?
Wishing you an improved, healthy New Year.
Kind regards
Norton
Hello Norton,
Cannot say I had great results...I had a couple of sleep studies this fall and had significant sleep apnea. I have been using CPAP for a couple of months now along with 100-200 mg of Seroquel at bedtime. My sleep has improved with a combination of the above therapies. I still have some nights that I have difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep but it has improved overall.
After another night of shortened sleep, I searched for "Gaba Calm" by Source Naturals. its ingredients, too. Then I searched HUpd for gaba calm, and eight threads were presented. Susie01 posted about Gaba 5 years ago and called attention to a science daily article about some Harvard research.
sciencedaily.com/releases/2...
The study featured in that news item is available.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
The study has been cited 136 times. Food for thought for those of us who are insomniacs.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?lin...
Most are not so peachy keen but some seem relevant, examples:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/293...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/284...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/276...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/275...
Gaba Calm used to help me sleep (pre-PD years). I'll be trying it again soon.
This is the procedure I had 1 yr ago !
Brain injection improved patient's movement by 23 per cent and caused only mild side-effects
Relief: Scientists have discovered a gene to help Parkinson's sufferers (file)
Gene therapy could help thousands of Parkinson's disease sufferers, after a study found it significantly improved motor function in patients.
A trial found that injecting the glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) gene directly into the brain could help patients who had not responded to any other drug treatment.
The findings, published in medical journal The Lancet Neurology, show the potential of gene therapy to alleviate the symptoms of other brain disorders as well.
The GAD gene produces a brain chemical called GABA, which is responsible for coordinating movement and is severely reduced in Parkinson's patients.
In the treatment being tested, the gene is inserted into a part of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus with the aim of increasing GABA production and thus restoring motor function.
Significant improvements in motor function were observed in patients who underwent the gene therapy and who had been off their medication for 12 hours.
Six months after surgery, patients who had received gene therapy had an average 23.1 per cent improvement in motor function compared with 12.7 per cent in a group that had received placebos.
All patients survived the surgery and had only mild side-effects related to the treatment, such as headaches and nausea.
Patients given gene therapy also showed improvements in other clinical assessments of their main motor symptoms, especially those resistant to drug control in advanced Parkinson's disease.
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The scientists behind the randomised, double-blind gene therapy trial, Andrew Feigin and colleagues from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York, said: 'This study ... justifies the continued development of AAV2-GAD for treatment of Parkinson's disease ... and shows the promise of gene therapy for other neurological disorders.'
Parkinson's UK offered a cautious welcome to the findings.
Dr Michelle Gardner, research development manager at the charity, said: 'This research shows the promise of gene therapy for neurological conditions like Parkinson's. But further research is still needed.
'We still don't know for how long the benefits of this treatment may last or whether there may be long-term problems due to introducing viruses into the brain.
'In addition, any new treatment must be shown to be more effective than those currently available for Parkinson's, which this treatment has not yet been shown to be.
'We are passionate about innovative new research to find a cure for Parkinson's.'
The main symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which predominantly affects older people, are slowness of movement, shaking and stiffness of muscles.
WHAT IS PARKINSON'S DISEASE?
Michael J Fox suffers from Parkinson's and has set up a research foundation
Parkinson's Disease is a chronic disorder of part of the brain. There are 120,000 sufferers in the UK.
It mainly affects the way the brain co-ordinates the movements of the muscles in different parts of the body.
The disease mainly develops in the over 50s. About 5 in 1,000 people in their 60s, and about 40 in 1,000 people in their 80s have the condition.
The main symptoms are slowness of movement, stiffness of muscles and shaking. These tend to slowly worsen with time although the rate varies from patient to patient.
The condition is diagnosed from the symptoms shown by the patient.
It also increases your risk of dementia. About half of people with PD develop dementia at some stage. Depression is also common among sufferers.
There is currently no cure. Drugs and physiotherapy can treat symptoms. There have also been recent promising trials using deep brain stimulation.
For more information on Parkinson's visit parkinsons.org.uk
Read more: dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...
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Thanks for the added information. I think I will try the systemic GABA from the nutrition store and see if I have improvement.
I've introduced GABA 4 days ago, I've been sleeping a little better and my energy level during the day is improved, I'll keep you posted. Thanks Anthony...
Thanks for the feedback, I will be interested to see what happens. I use an online nutroceutical company that is pretty reputable, I ordered mine the other day and am looking forward to seeing how it works.
Hello Susi01,
I do not have any experience of GABA re:sleep, but I do know about the neurotransmitter serotonin which is connected with sleep. Along with many other PwP I believe that parkinsons is a deficiency state of other neurotransmitters other than Dopamine. One of them, serotonin is connected with sleep. To boost this neurotransmitter you need to be eating a pure carbohydrate in your last meal of the day. Make sure you have no fat or protein mixed in with it or the benefits will be neutralised. Try this for four weeks before making up your mind whether it has worked or not. The benefits of serotonin are written in a book by Judy Wurtman of MIT. Do try the carbohydrate suggestion and let us know how you you get on.
Norton
Neurontin. Its real name is Gabapentin. It was prescribed to me for mood stabilization but can also be used for nerve pain. It's the most benign drug I take. I have atypical Parkinsons with alot of dystonia so I'm taking 3 other drugs with it. But when I first started it I was taking it with just Requip, and I also have has two DBS surgeries. Everyone is different, but try it. It is PID meaning you can take it as needed. Check with your Doc. You will sleep like a baby. I had insomnia at first but go out like a light now. Can't take Sinemet and it doesn't do anything for me. GOOD LUCK, let me know how you do!
I was not aware that Neurontin was the same as GABA. I took Neurontin when I had a severed nerve in my leg after a car accident and had horrific burning pain. It did not touch it nor help regenerate the nerve.
My sister had a really bad accident this summer with head and neck injuries. She says that the Neurontin is the only thing that helps her without making her cloudy and allows her to sleep for short peirods of time.
I take sinemet during the day, and Gabapentin 400 mg when I go to bed if I feel like I cannot sleep or if I have a lot of muscle pain. It is the one medication that always works well with virtually no side-effects.
See above comment, thanks for the input.
Sinemet is not contradicated with azilect, I take both and so do many other people. They work well together. Who told you they were contraindicated? I take melatonin to help me sleep and it does the trick. I believe agonists are the biggest culprit when it comes to sleep problems.
Trixidee,
I am not sure how I had it in my head that Sinemet was contraindicated. I thought I had read it on the Azilect site but just looked back and did not see it on the list. I know another person who takes both and remember wondering why the Dr. would give it to him if it was contraindicatied. There is also a helpful list on drugs.com of over 600 medications that are contraindicated.
There are some, like Mucinex that I have taken once in a while and did not have a problem, but would not want to risk taking it very often. I did monitor my blood pressure when I took it. Others on the list can cause side affects, but not neccesarily life threatening. Then there is always the fact that everyone can react differently to different medications.
I tried melatonin long ago and it did not help me and was pretty expensive.
From: bellaireneurology.com/seizu...
Neurontin® or Gabapentin is the second of the newer anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) to come to market in the United States but the first of the newer agents to gain widespread use. It is available in tablets or capsules of various sizes and in an oral suspension. It is now generically available as well.
Neurontin® was designed to look like the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Interestingly, the medication does not work by directly binding to the GABA receptors in the brain. Rather, the medication appears to work by raising GABA levels by some effect on a GABA transporter protein. It also decreases the activity of voltage-gated calcium channels via binding to a secondary protein. This effect occurs in only some of the neurons depending on additional co-factors being present (mechanism not clearly understood). It is therefore possible that this medication in some way targets abnormally acting neurons and not the normal neurons.
in reply to shetawk
From what I have read, GABA is a neurotransmitter. And a deficiency of GABA
causes Parkinson's Disease. GABA is available at any health food store and at online vitamin stores. GABA is a SuperFood according to the recent study I read. I bought some in capsule form from an online vitamin website. I take 780 mg, but I read that up to 2000 mg was fine to take a day. Of course you would need to research the dosage for yourself online. GABA is Not a medication, it is a Food, a Super Food, available at any health food
store or online. I can research any food or vitamin online and then buy it online.
Thank you for posting, very interesting to know a little more about how it works. When I took Neurontin for my severed nerve it was before I was diagnosed with PD. It did not work for my nerve pain, but hopefully will help with the PD issues.
Susie did the GABA from the health food store work? I have horrible insomnia too.
in reply to Bitbit
I am not Susie, but GABA from the Health Food Store works! I take one at bedtime, 780 mg and if I wake up in the middle of the night then I take another One.
I ordered it online and with Veteran's day holiday it still has not come in...I am anxiously awaiting it...
HI Susie, I do not have Parkinsons, but my mom does. I have been taking Twin Lab's Gaba plus inositol for a couple of years. It works great to calm my racing mind at bedtime and allows me to sleep. I hope it works for you too! Sarah
Thanks for the feedback, I have taken in three nights, so far not a big difference. What strength do you take?
in reply to Susie01
I take 780mg per capsule at bedtime, it says it takes about 30 minutes to work.
Then I have taken it when I wake up in the middle of the night to go back to sleep.
I like it.
Have you discussed this with your neuro/MDS? Adding meds without thier knowledge can cause a lot of problems. They would also know more about the proper dose to be taking.
in reply to wifeofparky
GABA is NOT a Med. It is a FOOD and is available in capsule form from
any healthfood store or online. By researching GABA online you will learn more
about what I have just learned. I use GABA and find it to be an excellent Super Food.
wifeofparky in reply to
sorry, I though you were referring to gabapentin, a drug
webmd.com/vitamins-and-supp...
The above is what I found on Web MD. All supplements should be reported to your MD even if you consider to be food.
trying to decide if my brother-in-law will benefit from GABA, he has early
Parkinson's and is on meds that makes him too dim and nauseated. GABA helped me with anxiety attacks ... helped like some kind of miracle !!! helps me sleep and makes a huge difference in my quality of life... still studying to see if it might help with his PD ... hate to ask him to try another new 'thing' ... any success stories anyone might share ??
in reply to Janice557799
I found online a new study that states that Parkensons Disease is a GABA deficiency! The study stated that GABA is a Food, so it is available in heath food stores and online. I bought some in capsule form from an online vitamin website. I take 780 mg, but I read that up to 2000 mg was fine to take a day. Of course you would need to research the dosage for yourself online.
I have used GABA for insomnia, 780 mg that I purchased from a vitamin place online.
It works Great! I really like it! I take one at bedtime and another if I need it during the night. GABA's mainly corrects the GABA deficiency in a persons brain. According to a recent study, Parkinson's Disease is caused by a GABA deficiency. Also, GABA is great for insomnia!
Thank you Susie01.. I am still getting great results with GABA ... I get it from a product called "True Calm" by NOW. Most health food stores carry NOW products and I can also buy it through Ebay. So far so good.. been using GABA via True Calm for about 6 years. !
Best of good fortune to all who give GABA a try.
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