Robert Rister
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A few years ago I had to spend a few weeks in a nursing home after 52 days in the hospital with sepsis. One of the other patients, herself a PhD biochemist, is married to a researcher named Steven Kornguth. We had a number of fascinating discussions about brain research.
Dr. Kornguth (the husband) has done a lot of research on traumatic brain injury. One of the findings of one of his projects is that minocycline, the antibiotic most commonly used for acne, reduces inflammation in the brain and can ameliorate or stop the cumulative effects of traumatic brain injuries. He’s focused on soccer players and soldiers, but the general principle may also be reflected in the research you are listing here.
So, yes, I’d probably be up for participating in clinical research. It’s consistent with a broader principle that’s been gently explained to me.
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I first became aware of this drug through television advertising. There’s a critical way it could go badly for some people with PD. If you also have inadequately treated sleep apnea, the amphetamine in the drug could make sleep disturbance worse. Aside from its effects on Parkinson’s, in severe cases of apnea the use of the drug could induce narcolepsy. Not everybody should get this drug.
And reading the fine print in one of the studies of Nuedexta for PD, I noticed that the effects of the drug are stopped by cycloserine. That may suggest that the anti-inflammatory we discussed in another thread may interfere with Nuedexta. All that said, yes, if my doctor, aware of ALL of my medications recommended this, I would be happy to see if I could get it.
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My dad had vascular Parkinsonism for 42 years. His neurologist recognized that his symptoms started after being struck in the head with a steel cable, and that he had multiple infarcts throughout his brain. He was kept off L-dopa for 41-3/4 years.
But his doctor of many years quit to do research and a new, busy doctor took over his case. He couldn’t imagine a patient who wasn’t on L-dopa, so on it Dad went. In less than a week he had “frozen” smooth muscles along his urinary tract. He promptly needed a cathater, and he developed an infection. With the infection came psychological issues. He couldn’t remember why the catheter was there and kept pulling it out, making the infection worse and worse. He died of sepsis from that bladder infection about three months after going on L-dopa.
The caveat in the story for most PD patients is that my father’s disease was of vascular origin. But L-dopa can go very badly.