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Selegiline
for Smarts
Anti-Aging
Drug
Over
the last ten years selegiline Hydrochloride has
become the dominant cognition-enhancing, sex potentiating,
anti-aging compound in Europe.(1) There it is
freely available under the brand names Deprenyl
or Jumex. Selegiline is fast gaining the same
status in America, though it was not approved
by the FDA until June 1989. Even then, approval
was restricted to a minor adjunctive treatment
to L-dopa therapy for Parkinson's disease.(2)
Seligiline
is yet another derivative of phenethylamine, the
base structure of many man-made stimulants and
anti-depressants. Phenethylamine is a natural
psychoactive molecule widely distributed in humans,
animals, and plants. It is the reputed chemical
in chocolate that makes it an addictive substance
for sex and affection. "Treated with the
proper respect, selegline will improve sexual
and steroid hormone release areas in the brain
in people over 30, and it will likely maintain
them lifelong."
Your
body makes many essential biochemicals out of
phenethylamine every day. Millions of derivatives
are possible, each with unique biochemical activity.
Selegiline may will be one that your body makes
less and less efficiently with usual aging.
Declining
levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine with usual
aging, causes loss of muscle and loss of sexual
potency in both men and women. Selegiline works
by blocking the re-uptake of dopamine into nerves,
therefore increasing dopamine levels. It does
this partly by blocking the enzyme called monoamine
oxidase (MAO) that chews up dopamine. So it belongs
to the well-known class of anti-depressants called
MAO inhibiters. But selegiline has a unique distinction,
the reason behind it is safety and efficacy, and
the reason we are writing about.
MAO
enzymes come in two types, MAO-A, mostly in your
digestive system, and MAO-B, mostly in your brain.
They both have essential functions. Many foods
contain toxic levels of tyramine and MOA-A has
the important task of preventing toxic levels
of tyramine, thus preventing hypertensive crisis.
So, using MAO-A blockers can be dangerous. But
selegiline is unique in mostly inhibiting MAO-B
enzymes in the brain, and leaving alone the MAO-A
enzymes to do their vital work.(3) At dosed of
1-10 mgs per day, used for maintaining the brain's
dopamine system, selegiline is non-toxic.(2) Nevertheless,
dosage is critical. Seligiline is not innocuous.
It's an extremely powerful compound. Hyper-tension
can occur with 20 mgs per day.(3) Obviously, it
should not be used at all by hypertensive folk,
or folk taking other MAO inhibiters, or anti-depressants
such as fluoxetine (Prozac) that interact with
MAO inhibiters.
Dr.
Joseph Knoll advocates using only 1 or 2mg per
day to inhibit ageing of the striatal dopamine
system, rising to 5 mg per say, 3 days a week
after age 60.(4) Treated with proper respect,
selegiline will improve sexual and steroid hormone
release areas in the brain in most people over
30, and it will likely maintain them lifelong.
But, if you have allowed yourself to become fat,
hypertensive, overstressed, or dozens of other
preventable degenerative conditions, it will do
you little good. Seligiline is icing on the cake
of a healthy lifestyle. If you are interested
in taking this drug, check out the references
and see your physician.
References:
1. Dow A. Deprenyl: The Anti-Aging Drug. Clearwater
FL: Hallberg Publishing, 1993
2. Physicians Desk Reference, 49th Edition. Montvale
NJ: Medical Economics, 1995.
3. Knoll J. Deprenyl medication: A strategy to
modulate the age-related decline of the striatal
dopaminergic system. J Amer Geriat Soc,1992:40:8390847
4. Schatzberg AF, Cole JO. Manual of Clinical
Pharmacology, 2nd edition. Washington DC: American
Psychiatric Press, 1990.
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