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One clarification. Tryptophan is not a protein it is an amino acid. Amino acids are linked together to make up proteins. >Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 19:25:16 -0400 >From: Phil Tompkins <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: serotonin/tryptophan/Bcomplex/etc > >Mary Legan wrote: > >> I'm confused. Are the two excerpts quoted below saying the >> opposite of each other? > >Let me take a crack at it, although my knowledge is limited. > >The following says the less serotonin, the worse the PD: > >> "There is both experimental and clinical evidence to suggest a >> role for serotonin in Parkinson's disease. In patients with PD, the >> concentration of total serotonin in CSF had significant negative >> correlations with Hoehn & Yahr' stages, and the severity of >> rigidity, akinesia, and gait freezing > >The following says tryptophan [which gets converted to serotonin, but >before that happens] may interact with levodopa to make PD worse. I >wonder whether this is because tryptophan is a protein and protein >interferes with levodopa: > >> .......(also) tryptophan and papaverine, interacting with levadopa, >> may aggravate motor symptoms in a parkinsonian patient, but their >> capacity to induce parkinsonism by themselves is uncertain." >> This suggests to me that one who is taking levadopa should be >> careful of tryptophan. Do others have info about this >> effect?........" Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter, 78/7, >> Oxford,Ohio<<<<<<<< > >The following says to take your tryptophan in the evening [which is >when I've seen it recommended to ingest the largest part of one's >daily protein]: > >> "..........It is when the body's Serotonin levels drop that >> patients develop more serious akinetic symptoms... >> ................ It is for these reasons that physicians prescribe >> SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac, >> Paxil, and Zoloft. In addition to these medications, Dr. Iacono >> recommends that all his patients take a B-complex vitamin AT NIGHT >> along with a Banana. Banana's, turkey, and peanuts are foods rich >> in tryptophan, a precursor of Serotonin which requires B vitamins >> to produce Serotonin.........." [log in to unmask] > >Is this the correct reading? > >BTW, exercise is supposed to raise the serotonin level. > >Phil Tompkins >