Restless Legs at Night

[kim]

Deedee,

 

I'm sorry to hear that your Mom has PD. I hope it isn't causing her too many difficulties.

I'm wondering if you have ever done any research on Parkinson's? I'm looking at a couple of studies that suggest impaired detox capabilities again, which makes perfect sense to me, but I'm not sure what the latest research shows.

 

I can understand impaired detox in older people a lot easier than in all of these young children.

 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/kg6t175225302775/

 

They are in agreement with biochemical studies showing depletion of reduced glutathione in substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease, and indicate a significant loss of neuronal reduced glutathione in surviving nigral neurons in Parkinson's disease.

[kim]

oops..double post

[kim]

Deedee/All, (Hey Faith, your red wine connection may be here too)

 

I have long suspected a problem with sulfur metabolism with both of my boys. I have posted info from Dr. Amy Yasko here in the past that talks about undersulphated Gags in the GI tract following strep infections. It seems there almost has to be some connection here.

 

Again, I have to think about how much tylenol my kids were given during strep infections, and how my oldest son practically lived on tylenol with codeine after his tonsil removal. I also would give it to them prior to vaccination. (wheres the smiley where you're swatting yourself in the head)?

 

In addition to my above triple post, I'm wondering if you can take a look at this... (bolding and underlining mine).

 

PubMed Citation

Articles by Steventon, G. B.

Articles by Williams, A. C.

 

NEUROLOGY 1989;39:883

© 1989 American Academy of Neurology

 

Xenobiotic metabolism in Parkinson's disease

G. B. Steventon, PhD, M.T.E. Heafield, MB, MRCP, R. H. Waring, PhD, MRCPath and A. C. Williams, MD, FRCP

Department of Neurology, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, and Department of Biochemistry, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

 

We studied 68 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with probe drugs to determine whether a defect in metabolism might be an etiologic factor and found no difference between patients and controls in their ability to form the 4 hydroxy metabolite of debrisoquin. However, using S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine, 63.2% (43/68) of PD patients had reduced S-oxidation capacity, while 35.3% (24/68) produced no sulfoxides (controls, 35.2% and 2.5%). When we studied acetaminophen (paracetamol) metabolism, only 29.6% of PD patients excreted >,5% of the dose as the sulfate conjugate; the corresponding figure for controls was 83.9%. These results suggest a deficiency in detoxication pathways involving sulfur metabolism. PD patients may be unusually susceptible to exogenous or even endogenous toxins.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Williams, Department of Neurology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TH. UK.

 

Supported by both the Parkinson's Disease Society and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

 

Received September 2, 1988. Accepted for publication in final form March 27,1989

 

The majority of this article talks about this problem (or problems resulting from it). I just pulled a couple of excerpts

 

http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html

 

Thus, mercury, and any foodstuff that requires or uses up

sulfate ions during its metabolism, will make the situation worse.

These foodstuffs include foods that supply neurotransmitters, like

bananas (serotonin), chocolate (phenylethylamine), and cheese

(tyramine), apple juice (and one mother reports her child drank a

quart a day!), citrus fruit juices, and paracetamol (Tylenol™). For

instance, one or two minutes after a dose of Tylenol™, the entire

supply of sulfate in the liver is gone!

 

In fact, any chemicals with a high proportion of phenolic groupings

will have this effect, and will enhance the problems referred to

above. Many coloring materials, whether of natural or synthetic

origin, possess phenolic groupings. Phenol, an organic compound, has

other names such as hydroxybenzene. If the PST enzyme is deficient or

sulfoxidation is lacking in some 70% to 80% of autistic kids as some

say, it behooves mothers to seriously heed the information in this

section, and to carefully guard their children from certain obvious

sources of trouble.

 

It is interesting to note Dr. Waring's statement that those with the

PST/low sulfation problem have central nervous system problems from

the toxic amines. For example migraine sufferers usually have low PST

activity, and are readily affected by dietary "triggers", especially

those with amines. Compounds such as flavonoids (red wine and citrus

fruits), aged cheese, beers, chocolate, and strong odors inhibit PST

leading to headache in the less resistant. Apple juice, citrus

fruits, chocolate, and paracetamol (Tylenol™) were precisely those

that were known to precipitate migraine attacks in susceptible

individuals. It should be noted that many multivitamin supplements,

grapeseed extract, Pycnogenol™, Quercetin, and other antioxidants

contain high amounts of flavonoids. Quercetin is found in 78% of the

foods. It is useful in hay fever (suppress the histamine release),

some forms of cardiovascular disease, and it chelates metals to

prevent oxidation. It decreases vascular fragility, but stimulates

adrenaline release (decreasing thymus weight), reduces general

metabolism (reduces temperature and oxygen consumption), suppresses

thyroid activity, inhibits p450 (Phase I) liver enzyme activity, and

it is linked with male impotence. From this list of negatives, one

can see it should not be used in quantity for long term.

 

and

 

"... dopamine sulphotransferase (ST) activity was inhibited strongly

by (+/-)-catechin, (+)-catechin, octyl gallate, tartrazine (yellow

#5), and vanillin (synthetic vanilla). Sulphation of the xenobiotic

steroid (foreign to the body) 17 alpha-ethinyloestradiol (EE2) was

inhibited by vanillin, erythrosin B, and octyl gallate [antioxidant

used in margarine]....Vanillin was found to inhibit 50% of liver EE2

ST activity ..."-Common Food Additives are Potent Inhibitors of Human

liver 17 Alpha-ethinyloestradiol and Dopamine Sulphotransferases.-

Bamforth KJ, Jones AL, Roberts RC, Coughtrie MW, Biochem Pharmacol

1993 Nov 17;46(10):1713-20.

 

There are a number of consequences attributable to PST/sulfate

deficiency including effects upon the impaired breakdown and

metabolism of classical neurotransmitters such as serotonin and

dopamine; impaired breakdown and metabolism of the bile pigments

bilirubin and biliverdin; impaired action of the hormone CCK on CCKA

receptors which would result in decreased secretion of pancreatic

enzymes and of bile from the gall bladder and biliary tract into the

intestines. This would result in low uptake of certain vitamins and

other nutrients from the intestines; reduced activity of gastrin (and

subsequent reduced secretion of stomach acid, mucus, and pepsin in

the stomach), and, probably, reduced production of secretin farther

downstream. Secretin (esp. at high concentrations) inhibits the

histamine releasing action of gastrin and pentagastrin reducing HCl

as the stomach empties.

[Dedee]

Wow Kim, I find this so interesting. My mother has so much trouble with most all medications. She always has the strangest reactions. Her health is really deteriorating lately and it seems that most is related to her PD. I can't wait to find the time to read the entire article. Thanks for the post.

 

Dedee

[faith]

thanks for this info, Kim, I'm reading, and of course getting a little confused on the technical words...

 

What do you make of the dopamine in regards to RLS and tics?

 

Also, the info re sulfation and the amines--I think I had read something about that in the enzymestuff.com.

 

Yes, certainly interesting stuff-- one thing I wish we could somehow draw a little conclusion at the end of some of these articles and info we post. So if anyone kind of draws something from it that could be summarized at the end, I think that would greatly help us. Mostly because after I've skimmed it over and over and try to draw a conclusion, I sort of forget what I got from it after a time... it would be great to have some notes at the bottom for future reference....Any takers? .....I'll let yuz know if I come up with anything.....Oh yea, so far I did get that at least I have a good excuse to start drinking more!

 

Faith

.....

[Calicat]

Super information, Kim! Thank you!

 

I agree with Faith that anyone who has the ability to summarize information that is so technical and thick, can feel welcome to do so! I know it is a struggle to understand some of those terms.

 

I was interested to read that all sulfate in the liver can be gone within a minute or two. I remember posting a long time ago with a question regarding mealtime tics... why did they come on SOOO quickly when a meal started? Maybe this is part of it? Also, my daughter gets nightmares/night terrors every time she eats chocolate. It really has a strong effect on her. Some food colours or flavours (hard to tell which ones) also made her behaviour change very quickly. It might be subtle to someone else, but I have always been able to walk in, observe her for a minute, and say, "OK, now who gave her candy, because I know SOMEONE did!!" She also complains of stomach aches regularily, and so did I as a kid, and I notice that section about secretin etc., and wonder about the link. Strong smells, mainly of a chemical nature such as perfumes and room "fresheners", can give me an instant headache... not pain exactly, but a heavy, throbbing dizziness. And the article said that strong odors can inhibit PST. Curious about that. I consider my chemical sensitivity to have gotten much worse in recent years. Oh, how I wish there was a simple way to measure this stuff in ourselves and our kids, and start getting some real answers! I'd love to be able to say to someone, "I'm sorry, she can't have that junk because it inhibits her PST, which is very serious for her," rather than, "Uhh, um... no she's not exactly allergic... what then? Yes, um... just not good for her."

 

If there is a PST/sulfate impairment/deficiency in my kid, that might explain why she seems to need to take a multi-enzyme each day (when I stopped it a while back, tics came back, but I couldn't figure out why, because she hadn't been taking them with every meal anyway, but didn't seem to have a problem.) Maybe the enzyme is required for vitamin uptake? She does always take it at the same time as her other vits. She is pretty stable again now, with only the odd vocal here and there on some days, and maybe a wink once in a blue moon.

 

Whaddya say we all pitch in some money and build ourselves a research lab and start testing out our theories!! A group of dedicated moms and dads can change the world!

Calicat

[kim]

One thing that may be helpful is to read some basic info on the feingold diet. I'm sure no expert there, but you want to get a little familiar with ammines, phenoyls and salycilates. Sheez, don't know how to spell any of those!

 

http://www.feingold.org/pg-overview.html

 

Faith, I don't think you want to up the consumption of that wine just yet! It sure appears to me, that if it causes an increase in RLS, you want to avoid it.

I wanted to ask any of you RLS mom's, do you have actual movement or just sensations? I never had any movements during pregnancy, just felt like an small electrical shocks.

 

Calicat,

 

"I'm sorry, she can't have that junk because it inhibits her PST, which is very serious for her," rather than, "Uhh, um... no she's not exactly allergic... what then? Yes, um... just not good for her."

Cracked me up! Just go for it. No one likes to look like an idiot, I bet they wouldn't question you a bit. I bet most of the MD's wouldn't question it too far. That's the point that they start talking about a referral. Just make sure you use the whole phrase, instead of initials. A lot of these words look really scary, but broken down, they're not that tough.

[kim]

In addition to above post, wanted to include this here too.

 

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?d...st_uids=1795312

RA

 

Bradley H, Waring RH, Emery P.

School of Biochemistry, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

 

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a reduced capacity for S-oxidation and formation of drug sulfate conjugates. We investigated S-methylation catalyzed by thiol methyl transferase (TMT) (E.C. 2.1.1.9) as an alternative pathway for metabolism of aliphatic compounds. TMT activity was measured in vitro using red blood cell membrane preparations from 120 patients with RA and 35 controls. Mean values for controls were 10.1 +/- 3 units/mg protein and for RA 3.7 +/- 3 units/mg protein (p less than 0.05). TMT activity was not related to the acute phase response or to drug administration. However, patients with RA with higher TMT activity tended to have higher rheumatoid factor levels. This evidence is consistent with a generalized disturbance of sulfur metabolism in rheumatoid disease.

[kim]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=A...fc17b781730a1de

 

 

The causes of Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, are still largely unknown. Current thinking is that major gene mutations cause only a small proportion of all cases and that in most cases, non-genetic factors play a part, probably in interaction with susceptibility genes