Phosphytidylcholine WAS Re: liver suport / was Measles WAS Post #s and

[Guest guest]

Not Anita but here is what a mom posted on another board. The

information, unfortunately, is not hyperlinked. About the milk

thistle, it was one DANs opinion - and enough for me to stay off of

it - but I do know of a lot of people who use it. You might want to

check with your DAN and see what the opinion out there is. It might

be like one of those selenium issues that Boyd Haley mentioned - are

you better off taking it or not taking it? Dr. Green FWIW believes

in doing a supplement for a few days then going off of it, see what

happens. Then reintroduce and see what happens.

Gayatri

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a purified extract from lecithin and is

one of the components of bile (it is required for normal transport

of bile acids). Emulsifies and breaks down fat deposits in the body,

which make it helpful in the prevention of gallstones,

atherosclerosis, heart disease, and liver problems. Research has

shown that Phosphatidylcholine is beneficial in depression, memory

loss and neurological disorders. It is three times more potent than

Lecithin. Phosphatidylcholine is one of the most important support

nutrients for the liver.

PC is a phospholipid, a large biological molecule that is a universal

building block for cell membranes. A cell's membranes are its

essence: they regulate the vast majority of the activities that make

up life. Most liver metabolism occurs on cell membranes, which

occupy about 33,000 square meters in the human. More than 2 decades

of clinical trials indicate that PC protects the liver against

damage from alcoholism, pharmaceuticals, pollutant substances,

viruses, and other toxic influences, most of which operate by

damaging cell membranes. The human liver is confronted with tens

of thousands of exogenous substances. The metabolism of these

xenobiotics can result in the liver's detoxicative enzymes producing

reactive metabolites that attack the liver tissue. Dietary

supplementation with PC (a minimum 800 mg daily, with meals)

significantly speeds recovery of the liver. PC has also been shown

to be effective against alcohol's liver toxicity in well-controlled

studies on baboons. PC has other qualities that enhance its

usefulness as a dietary supplement. PC is safe, and is a safer

means for dietary choline repletion than choline itself. PC is fully

compatible with pharmaceuticals, and with other nutrients. PC is

also highly bioavailable (about 90% of the administered amount is

absorbed over 24 hours), and PC is an excellent emulsifier that

enhances the bioavailability of nutrients with which it is co-

administered. PC's diverse benefits and proven safety indicate that

it is a premier liver nutrient.

Lecithin is a nutrient compound which was first isolated from egg

yolk in 1850 by Maurice Bobley. Since that time, it has been shown

to be present in many foods. Soybeans and other legumes, grains,

wheat germ, brewers yeast, and fish, as well as egg yokes are all

good sources of lecithin. Biochemically speaking, lecithin belongs

to a group of nutrients known as lipids (fats, oils, waxes) and is a

phospholipid called phosphatidylcholine. It is important to note

that since what is commercially called lecithin is actually only one-

third true lecithin. The other two-thirds are made up of other

phospholipids.

Lowering serum cholesterol levels has been recommended as an

important factor in coronary health. Lecithin, specifically granular

lecithin with 98%+ phosphatidylcholine content, can be an valuable

component in that process. In 1958, that Dr. Lester M. on,

director of a research unit at Los Angeles County General Hospital,

first published (Geriatrics, January, 1958) his findings that

lecithin could be used to lower cholesterol levels. In fact, Dr.

on reported that " lecithin was found to be the most effective

cholesterol lowering agent tested. " He reported that 80% of

his patients suffering from high serum cholesterol levels showed an

average decrease of 41% in serum cholesterol after taking lecithin

for several weeks. Instead of " blocking " absorption of cholesterol

in the digestive tract as other cholesterol reducing agents did,

lecithin enhanced the metabolism of cholesterol in the digestive

system and aided in its transport through the circulatory system.

The lecithin acted as an emulsifier and broke down the fats and

cholesterol in the diet into tiny particles and held them in

suspension, preventing them from sticking to blood platelets or

arterial walls. It is when fats are not properly emulsified, that

they become " sticky " and this is the major cause of blood clots,

atherosclerosis, and coronary thrombosis. Interestingly enough,

researchers have since demonstrated that atherosclerosis (blockage

of the arteries) can be induced in the laboratory by either

increasing the cholesterol introduced into the body or by decreasing

lecithin intake.

Researchers and have also shown that lecithin from a

vegetable source (soybeans) is more effective than lecithin from an

animal source (eggs) in accelerating re-absorption of cholesterol

back into the blood stream that has adhered to the walls of blood

vessels and caused blockage. This difference is attributed to the

fact that lecithin from animal sources contains high amounts of

saturated fatty acids, while lecithin from vegetable sources are

about 80% unsaturated fatty acids.

Perhaps the most interesting new findings on lecithin concern its

connection with the functioning of the brain and nervous system.

The main source of energy for the brain comes from a combination of

oxygen and glucose (sugar). For brain cells to function normally

they must receive a constant supply of these nutrients. As areas of

the brain become more active blood flow into and out of these areas

increase. In addition to oxygen and glucose, the brain uses

chemical compounds known as phospholipids. These phosopholipids

make up the covering of nerve cells that assist in the transfer of

information from cell to cell. Without phospholipids brain cell

activity may become abnormal and cause problems in the nervous

system.

Certain diseases like Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors can

affect blood flow to the brain and change the way the brain

metabolizes phopholipids. In addition to diseases, changes in the

brain occur with normal healthy aging. Besides being an important

factor in controlling cholesterol levels and aiding coronary health,

lecithin is involved in a myriad of body functions. Every cell of

your body contains lecithin. Lecithin is responsible for

maintaining the surface tension of the cell membrane. It therefore

controls what goes in and out of each cell, allowing nutrients in,

or wastes out. Without enough lecithin, the cell wall hardens, thus

not allowing enough nutrients in or wastes out. This means

premature aging of cells. The surface tension of the cell

maintained by lecithin is also responsible for transmitting nerve

impulses and messages through or from the cell. A key factor in

proper brain and nerve transmissions is the presence of cellular

substance called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine deficiencies are

linked with the neurological disorders tardive dyskinesia

(involuntary facial grimaces and body jerking), Huntington's chorea,

Friedrich's ataxia (speech impairment, irregular movements, and

paralysis), olivaponto-cerebellasatrophy (wasting away of the

brain), Alzhemer's disease (a mind destroying disease that starts

with memory difficulties), and myasthenia gravis (progressive

paralysis). Until recently, medical researchers were using choline

chloride to help their patients who suffered from these insidious

brain disorders to produce more acetylcholine in their bodies.

However, in 1977, Dr. Wurtinan and his colleagues at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that lecithin (which

contains phosphatidylcholine) increased serum choline levels more

than three times as much as the previously used choline chloride and

kept those levels raised more than three times as long. This meant

that researchers had found a way to significantly raise

acetylcholine levels in their patients since acetylcholine

production in the brain was dependent on serum choline levels.

An unexpected discovery by researchers at The National Institutes of

Health (NIH) may help to explain how Alzheimer's disease causes

memory loss. The research shows that beta amyloid, a common protein

in the brain, can make cell membranes leak choline, and thus reduce

production of acetylcholine in cells. Choline, an essential

ingredient in acetylcholine, has been known for many years to help

store and retrieve memories. Two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease

are accumulation in the brain of beta amyloid and reduction of the

concentration of acetylcholine. In Alzheimer's disease, as well as

in older subjects with Down syndrome, the brain cells which produce

acetylcholine are known to die. The research is reported in the May

23rd issue of Brain Research by investigators at the National

Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Neurological

Disorders (NINDS). According to Dr. Stanley Rapoport, Chief of the

NIA's Laboratory of Neurosciences, " We think that increased leakage

of choline through the nerve cell membranes, due to prolonged

exposure to excess concentrations of beta amyloid, may make these

cells more vulnerable. This could contribute to the symptoms of

Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome dementia. "

Studies on the effect of phosphatidylcholine administration on

memory are limited. We administered egg phosphatidylcholine to mice

with dementia and to normal mice and compared the differences in

memory and serum choline concentration, and choline and

acetylcholine concentrations and choline acetyltransferase

activities of three forebrain regions (cortex, hippocampus

and the remaining forebrain). Mice with dementia were produced by

mating sibling mice who had impaired memory for > 20 generations.

These mice had poor memory and low brain acetylcholine

concentration. We administered 100 mg of egg phosphatidylcholine

(phosphatidylcholine group) or water (control group) by gavage to

each mouse daily for about 45 d. Control mice with dementia had

poorer memory in passive avoidance performance and lower brain

choline (cortex and hippocampus) and acetylcholine (hippocampus and

forebrain excluding cortex and hippocampus) concentrations and lower

cortex choline acetyltransferase activity than the control normal

mice.

> > >

> > > Gayatri,

> > >

> > > Thank you for the lovely compliment, but I am very, very far

from

> > > understanding any of this well at all, and have no answers for

> > you.

> > >

> > > I do have an observation though. My son's liver enzymes have

> been

> > > slightly elevated from the first time we tested him, prior to

> > > starting chelation or anything like that. They remain at the

> same

> > > level (just got results today) after about 30 rounds of

> chelation,

> > > so for him, detox isn't elevating these at all (and this using

> > DMsA

> > > which can cause stress on the liver). I do try to support

his

> > > liver with milk thistle, phosphatidylcholine, and ALA as a

> > chelator

> > > too.

> > >

> > > I had never attributed this elevation to viral problems, but

now

> > I'm

> > > not sure (of anything for that matter--we got back some test

> > results

> > > that leave me entirely stumped! arghhh!). It would seem that

my

> > > son certainly has viral problems. But he also has metals

> > problems.

> > > I would also suspect that he, like most people, let alone ASD

> > > children, is high in other environmental toxins. Any of these

> > > things could be causing the damage to his liver as measured by

> the

> > > SGOT and SGPT levels. And, any of these things could be

causing

> > the

> > > elevated levels that you've had measured in yourself.

> > >

> > > If you're not already, you might want to consider taking

> something

> > > like phosphatidylcholine. It really is one of those super

supps

> > and

> > > it might give your liver that extra bit of help it needs until

> you

> > > figure out what is causing the problem.

> > >

> > > Sorry I can't be of more help.

> > >

> > > Thank you for that information on Dr. Krigsman's view. I

wonder

> > why

> > > the high dose A does work for some kids? I'm not sure of the

> > > numbers but it does seem to me from reading the lists that it

> > really

> > > doesn't do much if anything for the majority of kids. Maybe

for

> > > some kids their measles virus problems are from the wild

strain,

> > and

> > > not the MMR. Or maybe there is something else entirely going

on--

> > > these things are so very complex.

> > >

> > > I hope you are recovered completely very soon from your

accident.

> > >

> > > Take care,

> > >

> > > Anita

> > >

>