Hi folks:
Recently, while waiting for a prescription to be filled at a drugstore, I
was browsing a paperback book on healthcare. As usual, I thumbed through
the book until I landed on the section devoted to Parkinson's. It was full
of the usual crapola. It did, however, have a new twist. It stated that
recent research at Columbia indicated that taking vitamins C and E in the
early stages of PD delayed the need for the medication aimed at severe PD by
an average of 2.5 years. There was no more detail than this.
While trying to research this on the web, I came across the following
(somewhat related) Medline abstract which is probably old news for most of
us. I thought that I would pass it along, so that I didn't feel like I
wasted my time entirely. This way, I get to waste your time too :-)
Ron Reiner (49/2)
ps: This is highly technical. I suggest jumping to the last sentence or two.
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Title
Antiparkinsonian therapies and brain mitochondrial complex I activity.
Author
Przedborski_S; Jackson-Lewis_V; Fahn_S
Address
Department of Neurology, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia
University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Source
Mov Disord, 1995 May, 10:3, 312-7
Abstract
Alterations in complex I activity, one of the enzymatic units of the
mitochondrial respiratory chain, have been demonstrated in different
tissues from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Subsequently, we
showed that the chronic administration of levodopa can cause
alterations in mitochondrial respiratory chain activity in rats, which
suggests that the observed deficit in complex I activity in PD might
be, at least in part, related to chronic levodopa therapy. Our study
assessed the in vitro effects of different antiparkinsonian agents on
complex I activity in rat brain. As previously reported, both levodopa
and dopamine inhibit complex I activity in a dose-dependent manner. In
contrast, the two major metabolites of dopamine, homovanillic acid and
3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid as well as 3-O-methyl-dopa, had little
or no effect on complex I activities. Bromocriptine, pergolide,
trihexyphenidyl, molindone, and clozapine were all without significant
inhibitory effects on mitochondrial function. Although vitamin C and
deprenyl did not alter complex I activity, they did prevent the
inhibitory effect of both levodopa and dopamine on complex I activity.
This work indicates that among the different and usual
antiparkinsonian agents, only levodopa and dopamine induced reductions
in complex I activity. It also indicates that vitamin C and deprenyl
are both effective in preventing the levodopa-induced complex I
inhibition. This latter finding provides further support to the use of
antioxidants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors as therapeutic
strategies in attempts to slow the progression of PD.
Language of Publication
English
Unique Identifier
95379879
