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Roxanna, did you ever pursue the home page of Dr. Malkmus? http://www.hacres.com I have been using his carrot juice regimen for the past six months and find it very beneficial. How is the Sinemet working? I have backed off of it temporarily. Best Wishes ----- Original Message ----- From: Roxanna Nakamura <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 8:44 PM Subject: Re: Levodopa toxicity a myth? > Hi Ervin, > Just to clarify, I think that the authors of the > articles do *not* believe that levodopa makes Parkinson's > worse, but they disagree on whether levodopa likely causes > problems like motor fluctuations. I think they use the term > "toxic" in several different ways, and that can be a bit > confusing. But for me, a key phrase was Weiner's "Currently > there is no evidence that levodopa use irreversibly damages, > destroys, or harms dopaminergic cells in patients with > Parkinson disease." > These articles don't challenge the recommendation to > "start low, go slow" with levodopa though, to avoid side > effects and in case research does prove that the drug > eventually stops working for people and/or causes > irreversible problems. As Shulman's article explains, > dopamine agonists and COMT inhibitors can be used to cut > down on levodopa use -- even without definitive research > results -- on the theory that it probably will help and > probably won't hurt. Have you talked with your doctor about > these other drugs? I don't think my father's neurologist has > ever suggested anything like that, and I wonder why not. > I don't take anything for my tremor, but my father is > taking Sinemet and he is worried about what it might be > doing to him. He tries to skip one of his three 25/100 > Sinemet doses when he's having a low-tremor day, despite his > neurologist's disapproval. (Is this OK? I don't know.) He > read somewhere that Sinemet destroys brain cells, so these > articles should at least relieve that worry. > Hope this is helpful. I am interested in > non-pharmaceutical measures too. Who is Dr. Malkmus? Best > wishes. > Roxanna > > On Sat, 18 Mar 2000 Ervin McCarthy <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > >Roxanna, I read your references to toxicity of levodopa and > > >more confused than ever. As a new participant to levodopa > it is > >noteworthy that they suggest the possibility of earlier > progression of the >disease when using levodopa. Are you > using it and what strength? >Always looking to learn. I > have been pursuing natural therapies like Dr. > >Whitaker and Dr. Malkmus. Best wishes. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Roxanna Nakamura <roxynEARTHLINK.NET@> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 1:25 PM > Subject: Levodopa toxicity a myth? > > > I just came across these interesting new articles in the > > AMA's Archives of Neurology: > > > > "Is Levodopa toxic?" by William J. Weiner, M.D. > >http://archneur.ama-assn.org/issues/current/full/ncn8639.html > > > > > "Levodopa toxicity in Parkinson Disease: Reality or Myth?" > by Lisa M. Shulman, M.D. > >http://archneur.ama-assn.org/issues/current/full/ncn8638.html > > > > > "Levodopa toxicity" by Vladimir Hachinski, M.D. > >http://archneur.ama-assn.org/issues/current/full/ncn8640.html > > > > > Despite the titles, these articles are encouraging. > > Apparently, research does *not* support the theory that > > levodopa hastens disease progression or cell death. On the > > > contrary, levodopa extends life and decreases disability. > > The real "toxicity" concern, the authors say, is > whether/how > > levodopa really is related to motor fluctuations and > > dyskinesia.