Ervin:
    Thanks for sharing your experience with gluathione injection.
    You tell me glutathione did not work for you and so was sinemet.  What
are you taking now?
    I ran into apomorphine the other day as a substitute for l-dopa and I
posted an article from BMJ a couple of days ago.          However, I am told
that the effect of apomorphine doesn't last long and it is being used in
France to minimise the "off" effect of sinemet.

Another chain of thought:
    Are these observations trying to tell us something?
    1.  I understand that in addition to having se beneficial effect on PD
symptoms, apomorphine is also very effective in erectile disfunction
problems and it is coming out as a competitor for viagra with a different
trade name.
    2. This brings up some thing else.  If you remember last month or so,
Murray Charters(?) posted a web site for us to watch.   One of the articles
stated that taking 3-6 mg viagra every day (this is a far lower dose than
50 - 100 mg / use one takes for erectile disfunction) retarded the
progression of PD.  (I have to trace that article and read it again
carefully).
    3.  A week or so ago, the news release from NIH stated that in about 30%
(?) of male PD patients, when given testosterone to eliminate testosterone
deficiency, the symptoms of PD faded away. [I am sure testasterone is made
by the female body also; some how female patients were not included in the
test, if I remember right.]
     4.  I am taking glutathione orally for the past 10 days or so.  [I am
not yet convinced in the absence of any data that iv injection of Glutathine
is necesary.]  My energy level is very high and am very active.  I can work
on the computer for several hours everyday with out suffering any pain in my
right shoulder, as I use to.  My stiffness and pain in the calf musle is
highly reduced, but not eliminated. Glutathione is an anti-aging
antioxident.
    I am wondering if all these agents work via similar or related
mechanisms.

        Raj
    [log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ervin McCarthy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 8:10 PM
Subject: Re: Raj/glutathione


> Raj:
> Being you mentioned Dr. Perlmutter, I was a patient of his during the
winter
> months that I spent in Florida.  He seemed to be very knowledgeable Dr.
> three months ago I started on Glutathione here in Michigan.  I took the
> intravenous injections twice a week for six weeks without a positive
effect.
> I guess I'm one of the unfortunate ones.
> It sounds like your taking good care of yourself, by your regimen.  Keep
up
> the good work.
>
> Ervin McCarthy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brightline" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 4:33 PM
> Subject: Raj/glutathione
>
>
> > Hi! Ervin & Rayilyn:
> >     I have never tried Sinemet, eventhough I have a prescrition for it.
I
> > am sure it will be of help, based on the nearly 30 years of experience
> with
> > levodopa.  However, I am still reluctant to try it due to its mile long
> list
> > of side effects, (however low freqnuency of occurrence they might be)
and
> am
> > keeping it handy as a last resort.  I may not be surprised if for some
> > people it does not work.  Even in the NPF info it states that L-dopa has
> > been shown to be harmful to dopamine producing cells in vitro and in
vivio
> > in animal studies.  It states that L-dopa may or may not be beneficial!
> > But, both Dr. AH Rajput and Dr. Jancovics believe, however, it is not
> > harmful to humans.  This is supported by the fact that since the
> > introduction of L-dopa or sinemet, people with PD have been living
longer.
> >     In the article by Dr. Perlmuter, it says that both dopmine and
> > glutathione are low in PD patients.  For some reason L-dopa application
> has
> > caught up and the fate of glutatione deficiency has been left hanging in
> the
> > air.  I have been taking glutathione - reduced for the last week or so.
I
> > definitely feel some improvement in my condition, good enough to
postpone
> > taking sinement.  I do not know how to quantitate my results. I am not
> sure
> > how long this beneficial effect will last.  I would like to know your
> > experience with Glutathione.  One should not expect miracles, since
> whatever
> > is lost is lost for ever.  I only hope this will slow down the
prgression
> of
> > PD, as evidencd by decrease in and not total elimnation of the symptoms
of
> > PD.
> >
> >     First thing in the morning I take a cup of greentea with a
tablespoon
> of
> > honey with  no milk or sugar.   Some times I include about 25-50 mg of
> > caffeine pill along with my tea.
> >     I am taking glutathione along with phosphatydilserine, B6, B12,
> Folate,
> > Vitamin E and about 1/3 pill of multivitamain (senior edition with less
> > amount of iron) every day in the morning just before breakfast.
> >     My breakfast consists of bran flakes, about  12 fresh almonds, a
pinch
> > of peeled pumpkin seeds (for my prostate problems), and a spoon full of
> > powdered flax seed; this also includes one cup of a fruit juice cocktail
> > (1:1 mix of orange and tomato juices with a small amount of blue berry
> > juice).
> >     (I am a little bit uncertain about the benefit of blue berry or bb
> juice
> > for PD patients, since aluminum sulfate is used as a fertlizer for blue
> > berry plants.  Aluminum has been implicated in PD and in Alzheimer's.
> Does
> > anybody know the aluminum content of blue berries? So do I with regard
to
> > commercial yogurts.  In 1960s and 70s,  the preservative in commercial
> > yogurt called MSG or monosodium glutamate [also earlier used in  Chinese
> > cooking] has been a contentious issue since in animal studies this
caused
> > serious nervous system disorders.  Some yogurt products still state 1-2%
> MG
> > on their stickers.  I often wonder is MG is the same as MSG!)  Sorry for
> > being paranoid.  It is better to be careful, than feeling sorry later.
> >
> >     For lunch and supper, I take pretty much anything, except that I
make
> > sure to take a good dose of fresh vegetables and fruits.
> >     Of course, I also include at least 20-30 min of exercise every
> morning.
> >
> >     There is no guarantee that what might seem to work for me may work
for
> > everybody, since as you well know, PD is a personalized disease, often
> with
> > comomn symptoms that show up at variable rate and similarly, the resonse
> to
> > any drug is also variable between individals.  YOU SHOULD DEFINIELY
> CONSULT
> > WITH YOR DOCTOR ON ANYTHING YOU TAKE OR DO FOR YOUR PD.
> >
> > QUESTION:
> >     If both dopamine and glutathione are low in PD patients, I would ask
> > myself if it would make sense to take glutathione in addition to
sinemet.
> >     BUT, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER FOR THIS QUESTION.  SO PLEASE DO NOT
TRY.
> > SOME TIMES, THERE COULD BE UNFORSEEN HARMFUL EFFECTS IF TWO DRUGS ARE
> > COMBINED.
> >     GOOD EXAMPLE:  A CLINICAL TRIAL WAS STOPPED HALFWAY IN ENGLAND
> RECENTLY
> > SINCE IT INCREASED MORTALITY RATE AMONG THE GROUP OF PD PATIENTS THAT
WERE
> > GIVEN L-DOPA (SINEMET?) AND SELGELINE!
> >
> >
> >     Raj
> > [log in to unmask]
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ervin McCarthy" <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 9:33 PM
> > Subject: Re: Raj/glutathione
> >
> >
> > > Rayilyn, I have gotten the same results from Sinemet on three
occasions.
> > I
> > > was curious if anyone else had the same results.  Now I know.  Thank
> you.
> > > Ervin McCarthy
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Rayilyn Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 9:39 PM
> > > Subject: Re: Raj/glutathione
> > >
> > >
> > > > Raj,  Thanks for the info on glutathione...that it is a small
> molecule.
> > > I'm
> > > > going to try the oral glutathione first, before intravenous.
Sinemet
> > > never
> > > > helped me much and after a year made dystonia in my feet unbearable.
> > > I''ve
> > > > tried it again 3 times with same result. Rayilyn
> > > >
> > >
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