Re: serotonin/tryptophan/Bcomplex/etc

[Phil Tompkins <tompkins@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mary Legan wrote:

> I'm confused.  Are the two excerpts quoted below saying the
> opposite of each other?

Let me take a crack at it, although my knowledge is limited.

The following says the less serotonin, the worse the PD:

> "There is both experimental and clinical evidence to suggest a
> role for serotonin in Parkinson's disease. In patients with PD, the
> concentration of total serotonin in CSF had significant negative
> correlations with Hoehn & Yahr' stages, and the severity of
> rigidity, akinesia, and gait freezing

The following says tryptophan [which gets converted to serotonin, but
before that happens] may interact with levodopa to make PD worse. I
wonder whether this is because tryptophan is a protein and protein
interferes with levodopa:

> .......(also) tryptophan and papaverine, interacting with levadopa,
> may aggravate motor symptoms in a parkinsonian patient, but their
> capacity to induce parkinsonism by themselves is uncertain."
> This suggests to me that one who is taking levadopa should be
> careful of tryptophan.  Do others have info about this
> effect?........" Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter, 78/7,
> Oxford,Ohio<<<<<<<<

The following says to take your tryptophan in the evening [which is
when I've seen it recommended to ingest the largest part of one's
daily protein]:

> "..........It is when the body's Serotonin levels drop that
> patients develop more serious akinetic symptoms...
> ................ It is for these reasons that physicians prescribe
> SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac,
> Paxil, and Zoloft. In addition to these medications, Dr. Iacono
> recommends that all his patients take a B-complex vitamin AT NIGHT
> along with a Banana. Banana's, turkey, and peanuts are foods rich
> in tryptophan, a precursor of Serotonin which requires B vitamins
> to produce Serotonin.........." webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Is this the correct reading?

BTW, exercise is supposed to raise the serotonin level.

Phil Tompkins