Print

Print


I am prepared to take Tami's word that she is genuine in her
wish to introduce PWPs to a (relatively) cheap supplier of
NADH.  And I am sure she is sincere in looking for a way to
alleviate her husbands PD.

I don't wish to get into the argument of who said what to
whom and why, but I would like to make some comments about
NADH.

1. The original paper by Dr. Birkmayer in 1993 shows that
his study was of only 17 PD sufferers, with no non-PD
controls.
2. He states in a later paper (1995) that FDA-approved
studies were to take place in the US.  He also states that
further studies were to take place in Europe.  To the best
of my knowledge, no such studies exist.
3. During the application of NADH by Dr. Birkmayer, the
patient's previous medication regimen, ie, l-dopa etc., was
*continued*.  In other words, there was no attempt to take
the sufferers off their prior medication, and test them on
NADH alone.
4. The greatest "improvement" was among those sufferers
youngest in age and had the shortest duration of PD.
5. When carbidopa was added to the treatment, the observed
effects were better and longer lasting, which suggests a
peripheral action of NADH, rather than direct stimulation.
6. There were no bio-chemical tests made of the sufferers,
but the results were calculated on the way that the
participants "felt", and how much better they "remembered
things".
7. A "placebo" effect has been postulated as the relevant
factor, given the lack of control subjects, and the lack of
"double-blind" testing.
8. On this slim evidence, several suppliers of
vitamin/mineral supplements etc. have prepared a range of
NADH-containing products, (usually highly-priced), and have
advertised extensively, including quoting each other's
"findings" as proof of the efficacy of NADH.
9. NADH is produced as a result of the reduction of
nicotinamide, one of the B vitamins.  One of the most
popular of the NADH-containing products also contains
pantothenic acid, another of the B vitamins, and adenosine
triphosphate, the "wonder" ATP, which is supposed, according
to the literature, to be produced by NADH!
10. NADH is closely related to niacin, another member of the
vitamin B family.
11. All members of the vitamin B complex are found in
abundance in meat, poultry, fish, etc.
11. Glucose, the "wonder cell food", is a
naturally-occurring food substance, sometimes seen as
dextrose, or corn syrup.

So it seems that one could perhaps achieve the same effects
with a dish of fried chicken and a plate of pancakes with
syrup.  I know that would certainly make me feel better.

I leave it up to other PWPs to make up their own minds.
However, I wouldn't go to www.nadh.com for information on
the subject.  I have rarely seen a greater mish-mash of
poorly-understood science, pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo,
unsupported "evidence" and general bulldust as this site
presents in an attempt to convince people to part with their
money.

And no, I am not a doctor, nor a pharmacist, nor do I make
any money in any way from prescription, or any other
medications.

And no, Don, I am not angry over all this, just saddened.

Jim 59/13
[log in to unmask]