Couple of thoughts.
Have you tried to let your liver produce your dopamine needs by taking
tyrosine and milk thistle?
The natural production of GSH by the body is a little more complicated but
following is article from my archives that helps explain.
WHY GSH
Oxidative stress appears to play an important role in degeneration of
dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) associated with
Parkinson's disease (PD). The SN of early PD patients have dramatically
decreased levels of the thiol tripeptide glutathione (GSH). GSH plays
multiple roles in the nervous system both as an antioxidant and a redox
modulator. We have generated dopaminergic PC12 cell lines in which levels of
GSH can be inducibly down-regulated via doxycycline induction of antisense
messages against both the heavy and light subunits of
gamma-glutamyl-cysteine synthetase, the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione
synthesis. Down-regulation of glutamyl-cysteine synthetase results in
reduction in mitochondrial GSH levels, increased oxidative stress, and
decreased mitochondrial function. Interestingly, decreases in mitochondrial
activities in GSH-depleted PC12 cells appears to be because of a selective
inhibition of complex I activity as a result of thiol oxidation. These
results suggest that the early observed GSH losses in the SN may be directly
responsible for the noted decreases in complex I activity and the subsequent
mitochondrial dysfunction, which ultimately leads to dopaminergic cell death
associated with PD.
WHY GLUTAMINE
Glutamine is an important mitochondrial substrate implicated in the
protection of cells from oxidant injury. Human pulmonary epithelial-like
(A549) cells were exposed to 95% O(2) for 4 days in the absence and presence
of glutamine. Cell proliferation in normoxia was dependent on glutamine, and
glutamine deprivation markedly accelerated cell death in hyperoxia.
Glutamine significantly increased cellular ATP levels in normoxia and
prevented the loss of ATP in hyperoxia seen in glutamine-deprived cells.
Mitochondrial membrane potential as assessed by flow cytometry with
chloromethyltetramethylrosamine was increased by glutamine in
hyperoxia-exposed A549 cells, and a glutamine dose-dependent increase in
mitochondrial membrane potential was detected. Glutamine-supplemented,
hyperoxia-exposed cells had a HIGHER O(2) consumption rate and GSH content.
Electron and fluorescence microscopy revealed that, in hyperoxia, glutamine
protected cellular structures, especially mitochondria, from damage. In
hyperoxia, activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme
alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase was partially protected by its indirect
substrate, glutamine, indicating a mechanism of mitochondrial protection.
THEREFORE: I take L-Glutamine and DHEA to increase the level of GSH in the
body naturally to further thwart the symptoms and destruction of P.D. along
with my other vitamin/mineral protocol which exclude PD drugs. As a note. I
never tried the Amantadine. My doctors forced me early to look elsewhere for
help since they couldnt due to lack of knowledge or incentive. Not sure
which but I'm alot healthier for switching to a no drug protocol.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ernesto Divo" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: Question re Amantadine use
> Hi John,
>
> I'm 56 and was diagnosed with PD in 2000, I've been taking Azilect and
> Requip (Ropinirole) the nausea form the Requip is unbearable. I have
> introduced to my regimen for the past 5 months or so, 'MaxGXL', a
supplement
> developed here in the US, by a US scientist and sold by a US
> company. It raises thet levels of GSH in your cells naturally. It took the
> GXL about a week to work on my sleeping pattern, I was waking up 2-3 times
> during the night, now I sleep straight thru the night, and it took about
> three weeks to work on my cognitive process but it was so subtle I barely
> thought it was the GXL. I wasn't having problems looking for words to
finish
> a sentence, my memory is back, I don't lose things around the house, I
have
> more energy and I feel good and my wife is happier. It is strange, when I
> asked my doctor about it he said Gluta what? it seems the medical
community
> is keeping the use of Glutathione (GSH) under wraps, they don't want
> competition... I order mine from www.maxgxl.com/133282 I suggest getting
> as much info as possible of GSH, I went to www.youtube.com and searched
for
> 'The mother of all antioxidants', there is this doctor Mark Hyman who
> explains in details about GSH; excellent video.
>
> Good luck to you.
>
> Ernesto,
> Miami, FL
>
> On Sat, May 2, 2009 at 11:46 AM, john emrys <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
> > Hey John
> >
> > I've been on Amantadine since being diagnosed in October of last year;
> > dosage has remained constant and titrated from 100mg to 300mg per day,
over
> > an initial period of 3 weeks.
> >
> > I space the dosing about 5-ish hours apart; I've found if the final dose
of
> > 100mg is taken later than 8PM, I have trouble sleeping through the
night.
> >
> > It does give me an energy boost and some minor relief from muscle
> > tightness, but does nothing to improve gait or reduce tremor. It's sort
of
> > just a little bit of "gas" for your "engine."
> >
> > On the other hand, I find it causes auditory hallucinations, drowsiness,
> > occasional vertigo, foggy thought processing and swelling around the
knees.
> >
> > I find much better results on GSH and mucuna bean, which I started about
6
> > months ago (the mucuna has been a very recent thing, so it's been too
early
> > to tell – but so far, I'm definitely impressed). My neuro practically
lit
> > his own hair on fire when I told him, but he couldn't deny the results
of
> > the GSH.
> >
> > The goal is to be able to cut the amantadine by 35 - 50% within 6
months.
> > My view is the longer I stay away from starting the agonists, the
better.
> >
> > Hope that helps.
> >
> >
> >
> > Joh
> >
> >
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> >
>
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