Re: deprenyl for your dog

[Guest guest]

GTS,

I used to be a member of longevity, but regretfully discontined. I miss the

information, but couldn't handle the volume.

The sliding scale for deprenyl is a general recommendation that has been

found effective for most people. Lesser or greater doses may be more

appropriate for many people. Doses of 5-10 mg in the morning, and another 5

mg around noon are often used in Parkinson's disease.

At doses in excess of 20 mg, Deprenyl supposedly loses its selectivity for

MAO-B. However, Professor ph Knoll (the scientist who first reported

the life-extending aphrodisiac properties of Deprenyl) said that deprenyl's

main mechanism of action was to restore sensitivity of dopaminergic

receptors in the brain--which it does at every dose. I agree with Prof

Knoll that Deprenyl's receptor-sensitizing effects may be even more

important than it's MAO-B inhibiting properties. Prof. Knoll has recently

described a new drug, l-BPAP, which he believes is even more effective in

this regard than deprenyl.

I also agree with you that deprenyl is pretty non-toxic stuff, and can be

taken in doses up to about 20 mg daily without adverse effects by many

people, although most folks would probably find this dose excessively

stimulating. Also, it gets pretty expensive at that dose. Fortunately,

most of us do well with much lower doses. I'm 58, and take about 6 mg

daily.

There has been some concern that deprenyl should not be combined with SSRI's

(allegedly, a death reported due to a combination of deprenyl and prozac),

although I've known many people who have combined these substances without

adverse effects.

I think you can safely advance the dosage to what works best for you.

Ward Dean, M.D.

deprenyl for your dog

> Deprenyl, (selegiline hydrochloride), is an FDA approved treatment for

> Parkinson's Disease. It is not approved for treating cognitive problems in

> humans. However as many of us know, studies have shown that selegiline can

> extend life-span in mice, and possibly also humans, while also acting as a

> cognitive enhancer.

>

> Veterinarians prescribe selegiline for the purpose of enhancing cognitive

> function in dogs. The trade name for the drug is Anipryl. Veterinarians

> prescribe Anipryl for treatment of " Canine Cognitive Dysfunction

Syndrome " .

>

> See http://www.anipryl.com

>

> To Dr. Ward Dean,

>

> I believe you are still subscribed to the longevity discussion group, yes?

I

> consider you an authority on the subject of selegiline for use as a

> life-extension drug and smart-drug in humans.

>

> I note that the literature warns about taking doses in excess of 5 or 10

mg

> per day. I believe it is you in fact who recommends a sliding dosage

scale,

> ranging from about 1 mg/day for middle aged people like me up to about 5

> mg/day for elderly people. I am curious about the considerations and

> concerns you and others have about doses higher than 5 mg/day.

>

> I know one reason for concern about high doses is that selegiline loses

its

> selectivity as a MAO-B inhibitor at higher doses. At high doses it

inhibits

> both MAO-A and MAO-B, increasing risk of a hypertensive crisis if taken in

> combination with foods rich in tyramine ( " the cheese effect " common to all

> MAO-A inhibitors). However is this is the only substantiated reason to be

> concerned about higher doses in the 10-50 mg range?

>

> I note there were studies a few years back that caused concern about

> decreased life expectancy with higher doses. Reduced life-expectancy was

> found in some PD patients who took high doses of selegiline in combination

> with L-Dopa. However I believe a recent meta-study discounted that

potential

> problem. If this high-dose/decreased-life-expectancy problem is a reason

> higher doses are contraindicated for general life-extension purposes then

> the warnings about higher doses would have less meaning in light of this

> meta-study. In that case one might take higher doses in the 10-20mg/day

> range without much worry, especially if one also followed a low tyramine

> diet. Am I right about this? Or is there some other known reason to be

> concerned about higher doses?

>

> I note also that some psychiatrists recommend doses as high as 50mg/day

for

> treatment of depression, often in combination with L-phenylalanine or

> DL-phenylalanine. As you may know, the amino acid phenylalanine is a

> precursor to phenylethylamine (PEA). PEA is a natural stimulant found in

the

> brain. Under normal circumstances PEA is metabolized quickly by MAO-B. PEA

> levels can be enhanced significantly by supplementing with both selegiline

> to inhibit MAO-B and phenylalanine to support synthesis of PEA. This

> increase in PEA and the enhancement of dopaminergic activity are thought

to

> be the means by which selegiline acts as an antidepressant.

>

> According to the prescribing information for the veterinary drug Anipryl

> (selegiline HCL), doses up to 2 mg/kg/day were found to be safe in dogs.

> This would compare to a massive daily dose of 182 mg for a 200 lb human

like

> myself. Of course I would never consider taking such a high dose on a

daily

> basis, and what is safe for dogs is not necessarily safe for humans, but

the

> comparison does suggest a wide margin of safety for this drug in both

humans

> and dogs. I would be very interested in your thoughts on this subject.

>

> The studies on dogs certainly do show that dogs get cognitive benefits

from

> deprenyl in doses much higher than that used in healthy humans. As for me,

I

> don't feel my best unless I take at least 1 mg per day of deprenyl. I

often

> take 5 mg and I would consider taking more if I thought it was safe. It

> seems to make my mind sharper. I notice that it helps me better appreciate

> the subtleties of music. It improves my libido and my mood, and it helps

me

> to remember where I buried my bones.

>

> -gts

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