Posted by Elizabeth on October 26, 1999, at 19:07:32
In reply to Re: Vinpocetine, Huperzine and other novel app..., posted by Brandon on October 26, 1999, at 11:45:21
> Vinpocetine is officially listed as a cerebral oxygenator and activator. It is a lot like ginko except more effective. It increases blood flow to the brain without decreasing bloodflow to other areas of the body.
A friend recommended this to me, actually.
> Huperzine A is a natural acetylcolinestearase inhibitor...it basically acts like the synthetic drugs tacrine and cognex to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine.
*Reversible* AChE inhibitor. (The irreversible ones are neurotoxins!) I'd be worried about potential exacerbation of depression from this sort of drug, though it definitely could be expected to act as a cognitive enhancer.
I wonder if a cholinesterase inhibitor would help with anticholinergic side effects from tricyclic antidepressants? Anyone tried this?
> Epilepsy and Parkinsons are diseases with a direct biological cause...I guess what I mean to say is that there is no debate on whether there is any psychology involved with the diseases and their causes. Depression on the other hand is seems to be a bit shady with no strong evidence to support it's cause.
I think this is because the present diagnostic criteria for major depression cover so many different syndromes that probably have different causes. Anyway, "psychological" factors can contribute to diseases of all types. And diseases like epilepsy, Alzheimer's, etc. don't have clear-cut *causes*, although their pathophysiology (what is going wrong, regardless of what set it off/caused it to go wrong) is better understood.
> Reading Dreyfus's book I like you was intrigued by the idea that depression is similar to an electrical storm in the brain and dilantin helped to regulate it.
Out of curiosity, what sort of signs & symptoms did Dreyfus describe in himself? (As noted, "depression" could mean a lot of things.)
> I can tell you from personal experience that so far it has helped a lot. I am definitely a much calmer relaxed person and most pessimistic thoughts are gone.
Cool. Whatever works for you is "right." :-)
poster:Elizabeth
thread:13070
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991016/msgs/13948.html