Posted by Larry Hoover on December 4, 2005, at 13:51:45
In reply to Re: Question about 5-htp / Tryptophan, posted by linkadge on December 4, 2005, at 13:07:04
> But I am wondering why the dopamine precursor would cause the disease to worsen.
It doesn't. It changes the course of the disease in such a way that the symptoms that do later present are not themselves generally part of the Parkinson's progression. I can't say it better than these abstracts:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11978145&query_hl=27
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12375059&query_hl=27
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14646609&query_hl=23> Is there evidence that high level dopa administration could compramise the dopaminergic system in healthy persons ?
I suppose there is a toxic threshold in acute exposure, but the issue in respect of Parkinson's is long-term exposure. Moreover, L-DOPA also promotes NE formation, so it's not just a dopamine effect. I know of no long-term study of L-DOPA exposure in healthy people.
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> And, in your oppinion, since we have many different serotonergic methods of treating depression, lithium, uptake inihibitors, MAOI's,
> precursors, ECT, etc, what exactly is wrong with the system, if not atrophy?
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> LinkadgeIf I knew, I'd be rich.
Atrophy? I hope not.
A piano can go out of tune, without a single part missing. Atrophy is not a pre-requisite for the loss of utility of a complex system. I do prefer to think of depression as disharmony rather than atrophy.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:585341
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20051025/msgs/585384.html