Arginine Deprivation and Immune Suppression in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

[pgf54]

There has been a lot of excitement in our local newspapers about this study from Duke University looking at immune suppression( rather than inflammatory factors, ) and Arginine reduction within the brain , in the role of Alzheimers.......... Link to abstract herewith.............

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/35/15/5969.short

http://www.medicaldaily.com/alzheimers- ... elp-329248

Strangely enough when i was last nursing arginine supplements were being used big time to promote wound healing in the elderly..........

[J11]

This is interesting because a phase 3 clinical trial is now underway to determine whether reducing arginine levels to near zero in the blood stream can help in the treatment of cancer. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT ... oup&rank=1

Cancer cells cannot make arginine (auxotrophic), while normal cells can make it. I am not sure why the brain cells in the study do not just make it from precursors. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the risks of Alzheimer's and cancer are inversely related.

I wonder whether the clinical trials currently being conducted are measuring the cognitive status of the patient. Their trials might prove that dramatically lowering arginine in humans can cause AD!

[TheBrain]

And here's an article from Duke University:

http://today.duke.edu/2015/04/arginine

Al Sears, MD, discussed this study in his latest email/web article. Here's a link to that:

http://content.alsearsmd.com/?y9O9pTMro ... Not8otfwQy

He writes:

At my anti-aging clinic, I have been encouraging my Alzheimer's patients to take arginine for many years. And I've seen firsthand how it prevents their cognitive decline, keeping their minds sharp and their memories clear.

His supplement recommendations:

Make sure you buy either arginine or L-arginine. To your body, there's no significant difference between these molecular cousins. But avoid D-arginine, which has more value in lab experiments than in your body.

You should also supplement with either citrulline or L-citrulline, two other biochemical relatives of arginine. The interaction of the amino acids further increases the production of nitric oxide.

You can get capsules of these nutrients online or from health food stores. I recommend daily doses of 6,000 mg. of arginine (or L-arginine) and 1,000 mg. of citrulline (or L-citrulline).

[LA18]

Here’s the abstract for an article on arginine and citrulline in the context of mitochondrial disease. I can’t get the full study, but it looks interesting. The author speculates about the benefits of supplementing to increase nitric oxide production when mitochondrial function is impaired.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22819233