Methylate for life, pain and sanity

Body Electric

  Your doctor will tell you that homocysteine is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The newest scientific evidence indicates that there is no safe normal range for this toxic amino acid. But there's more.

  A National Institute on Aging-funded study of participants enrolled in the longterm Framingham Study, published in the February 12 2002 New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that individuals with high levels of homocysteine have almost double the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared to those with low levels. Previous studies had established a link between high homocysteine and dementia, but it was unknown whether these levels preceded the onset of dementia or resulted from nutritional deficiencies associated with dementia.
 
  The level of B12 is known to decrease every year with age. Age-related deficiency is associated with hearing loss, memory impairment and psychiatric disorders, along with heart disease and stroke. Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients have less B12 in their spinal fluid than people without the disease. They also have less SAMe -- the substance required to methylate cyanocobalamin (B12) to methylcobalamin, the active form. 

  Methylation is a common reaction in the body. For example, to convert toxic homocysteine back into beneficial methionine you may know that you methylate by taking vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid. But there's way more to the benefits of doing so; in fact, methylation can actually reverse some of the damage already caused. 

  High doses of methylcobalamin have been used to treat degenerative neurological diseases in rodents and humans. People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) took 25 mg a day of methylcobalamin for a month. In this disease, the neurons that control muscle movements deteriorate. The double-blind, controlled study showed that methylcobalamin improved muscle response after a month of treatment. Methylcobalamin has been given to mice with the mouse version of muscular dystrophy. A remarkable reversal of degenerating nerves occurred. Methylcobalamin did not stop the disease, but it slowed it down. 

  Other forms of neural damage have also been improved through methylation. A study titled "Methylcobalamin treatment of Bell's Palsy" by Jalaludin MA, Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol (1995 Oct) 17(8):539-44, says "The improvement of concomitant symptoms was better in the methylcobalamin treated groups than the group treated with steroid alone". In "Ultra-high Dose Methylcobalamin Promotes Nerve Regeneration in Experimental Acrylamide Neuropathy" by Watanabe T Kaji R Oka N Bara W Kimura J, J Neurol Sci (1994 Apr) 122(2):140-3,  we read, "Symptoms in the legs, such as paresthesia, burning pains, and heaviness, dramatically improved. The effect appeared within a few hours to one week and lasted from several months to four years. These findings suggest that a high concentration of methylcobalamin in spinal fluid is highly effective and safe for treating the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy". 

   From these studies and others it's becoming clear that methylation can allow the regrowth of neural sheaths but it requires far more B12 than reducing homocysteine does. It couldn't hurt to try this safe, non-toxic nutritional therapy on multiple sclerosis and olivoponticerebellar atropathy, Freidrich's Ataxia and others. 

  The following supplements have demonstrated effectiveness in lowering homocysteine levels either alone or in combination: 1. Folic acid, 800 to 5000 mcg per day 2. Vitamin B12, 1000 to 3000 mcg per day 3. Vitamin B6, 100 to 600 mcg per day 4. Zinc, 30 to 90 mg per day 5. Choline, 500 to 5000 mg per day 6. Trimethylglycine, 500 to 9000 mg per day 7. SAMe, 200 to 800 mg per day 8. Inositol, 250 to 1000 mg per day. 

  Methylcobalamin is a form of B12 that is sold as a drug in Japan. It is the methylcobalamin form of B12 that has been used in most European and Japanese studies showing efficacy against neurological disease. The liver converts only about 1% of ingested cyanocobalamin into methylcobalamin. Because methylcobalamin is already methylated, it doesn't require SAMe. People with degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, should take very high doses of B12 in the range of 3000-4000 mg, supplemented with SAMe. There is also the option of taking methylcobalamin, which is the neurologically active form of B12, at 25-60 mg. The potential age-reversing benefits are well-worth the modest price. 

  To address the fact that methylating alone does not stop the disease, bear in mind that these are oxidative stress diseases and you need to stop the oxidation as well as promote healing. If you missed all my whey and glutathione articles, call me and I'll tell you how to arrest the oxidative stress. Hint: HMS-90.