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RTK.NET Mail 192673 Aug 9 23:46:11 1996 There is always a lot of discussion of alternative treatments as well as many of the standard treatments, such as Eldepryl. First, in this USANA claim, I would be extremely suspicious of any product for which a list of ingredients was not readily available. It seemed to me that Barbara was asking for this in her message, but not getting it. Second, even a documented improvement in symptoms for a significant number of patients does not mean that the treatment is slowing the progression. Take Eldepryl as an example: some neurologists believe it acts as a neuroprotective agent because of its action in reducing MPTP damage in animal studies combined with the promising results of human studies, others think Eldepryl primarily slows the breakdown of dopamine and helps a smaller amount of Sinemet work better and delays the need for Sinemet through this mechanism, and still others believe that Eldepryl does little in either of the preceding areas and primarily works because it provides symptomatic relief of PD symptoms. When you look at how much uncertainty there is about a well-studied medication because of the complexity of brain biochemistry and the variability of patient response, imagine how tremendous this becomes with a substance that has not been systematically and objectively studied. Third, the fact that something hasn't been tested doesn't mean it won't make you feel better. In fact, there is not clear evidence that antioxidant vitamins slow PD or AD progression, however, since it could be helpful and a doctor who knows what medications the patient is on can be pretty confidant that taking certain amounts of these vitamins will not hurt the patient, many doctors will suggest taking them just in case it could be of some help. On the other hand, many people with PD would feel better if they started taking Ibuprofen and prescription muscle relaxants each day, in fact, that's standard treatment for someone experiencing temporary muscle spasms and cramps. But over the long term, Ibuprofen is hard on the liver and stomach for many people, and muscle relaxants may cause other problems and often become addictive when used for a long time. Also, many treatments will feel good for a little while, but the results won't hold out over the long term. Determining whether a product you wish to try is not harmful and will be worth the cost over time is very tricky when little or no research has been done on it. With an accurate list of ingredients, however, your doctor may be able to theoretically evaluate whether the product is likely to hurt you. I don't mean to say that alternatives should never be tried, even when you can't get all the answers. But these are some things to keep in mind when someone urges you to buy an expensive product that they say has helped thousands of people. Sherri [log in to unmask]