Hi:
Well, just out of curiosity I picked up a copy of "Smart Drugs & Nutrients."
I was curious because it describes a lot of the "folklore" drugs used to
treat PD. I thought that some of you might be interested in seeing the
glossary entry for dopamine:
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"A neurotransmitter critical to fine motor coordination, immune function,
motivation, insulin regulation, physical energy, thinking, short term
memory, emotions such as sexual desire, and autonomic nervous system balance."
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Wow! If I had known this, I would have taken better care of my substantia
nigra.
I've been watching this listserver for about a year and doing a lot of
informal research and am somewhat surprised by some of these items such as
"immune function", "motivation" and "insulin regualtion". I wonder what the
source is for their definition.
Incidentally, the book has an appendix devoted to the laws concerning
importation of "orphan drugs" (i.e., drugs approved for use by regulatory
agencies in other countries but not in the USA." Most of these smart drugs
are orphan drugs because their developers could not prove that they are
effective against any specific medical malady.
Ron Reiner
