This page contains the following articles:
Jumex the key to Anti-Aging
Fight illness and aging with Deprenyl Jumex
Jumex the Antiaging Drug
What is Jumex?
Jumex is the brand name for the tablet form of deprenyl, the original, potent, selective, irreversible MAO-B inhibitor approved for medical use and until the recent approval of
Rasagiline (Azilect) the only selective MAO-B inhibitor available.
What is Deprenyl?
Deprenyl was first synthesised by Hungarian Professor Joseph Knoll in his Budapest laboratory in 1961. It forms part of a class of medications known as MAOIs.
There are two forms of MAOIs – MOA-A and MAO-B. MAO-B causes the breakdown of dopamine (a monoamine) into chemical compounds which are then excreted by the body. Jumex works by helping to prevent (or inhibit) this breakdown of dopamine by MAO-B.
Why do we need Dopamine?
Dopamine is essential to the normal functioning of the central nervous system. It also plays a significant role in the cardiovascular, renal and hormonal systems of the body.
Dopamine exists in many parts of the body, but is found in its greatest concentration in the structures of the mid-brain. Brain cells called dopaminergic neurons produce dopamine when one cell needs to communicate with another.
To keep the brain functioning at its optimal level, there has to be just the right amount of dopamine available in balance with other chemicals. Too much or too little dopamine means that the brain cannot work properly.
Dopamine is responsible for a wide range of fundamental brain functions including those involved in the control of movement and fine motor behaviour, the formation of emotional responses, sexual behaviour, the perception of pain and pleasure, mood, motivation and reward, sleep, attention, learning, problem solving, memory and immunological function.
What are Catecholamines?
Professor Knoll has also discovered that Deprenyl enhances the activity of neurotransmitters called catecholamines. Catecholamine levels increase in times of stress and prepare the body for physical activity – or what is often referred to as the fight or flight response. Physiological changes can include increases in heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
Professor Knoll and colleagues discovered that Deprenyl causes a larger release of these neurotransmitters in response to a given electrical impulse - in effect Deprenyl ‘turns-up’ catecholamine nerve cell activity.
What is Jumex used for?
By stopping MAO-B from destroying dopamine, Deprenyl (as found in Jumex) has a direct effect on dopamine levels.
1. Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Because of Deprenyl’s ability to affect dopamine levels, one of its main uses is the treatment of the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease is thought to be caused by a depletion of dopamine levels in the brain and is not usually diagnosed until a person has lost more than 80% of their dopaminergic brain cells. Such drastic reductions in neurotransmitters can result in devastating declines in memory, movement, co-ordination and libido.
Although Parkinson’s Disease cannot be cured, Deprenyl has proved to be very effective in not only treating the symptoms of the disease but also in slowing it’s progress and expanding the lifespan of sufferers. Indeed, Deprenyl has been a standard treatment for Parkinson’s Disease since the late 1970’s. As the disease progresses, levodopa often becomes the drug of choice but in these more advanced stages, Deprenyl used in conjunction with levodopa maybe still be beneficial.
A large number of studies have been carried out looking at the relationship between Deprenyl and Parkinson’s Disease. Often the results of these studies have been quite remarkable. For example, in one study carried out in the USA and Canada in 1989, the researchers halted the trials halfway through because the Parkinson’s Disease patients receiving deprenyl were doing so much better than those in the control group who were just receiving a placebo.
2. Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia affecting older people – it’s estimated that around 11 million people worldwide suffer.
Researchers have been able to establish that the some circuits within the brain under-function in Alzheimer’s patients. Dopamine, acting as a catecholamine, is one of the neurotransmitters used to activate these circuits. There also appears to be a significant deterioration of the dopaminergic system - particularly relevant for Cognitive function. In an Alzheimer’s Disease patient, MAO-B levels are significantly increased and dopamine levels depleted which can result in memory and attention deficits.
Because of its ability to inhibit MAO-B and to enhance catecholamine activity, Deprenyl appeared to be a prime candidate in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease. Indeed, early research results were promising. In 1996, a review of articles and human clinical trials into Deprenyl and Alzheimer’s Disease, found that in 8 of 11 controlled trials, Deprenyl had a positive effect on cognitive function. The reviewers concluded that Deprenyl “maybe a useful agent in managing behavioural and cognitive symptomatology associated with Alzheimer disease.”
Further research on a long term clinical basis has yet to prove conclusively whether Deprenyl can improve memory and behaviour and slow brain degeneration in Alzheimer’s patients.
3. Depression and Mood Enhancement
Deprenyl was originally developed as a ‘psychic energizer’ and acts as a mood enhancer. As an MAO-B inhibitor, it falls into a class of medications known to be anti-depressants.
Although depression may have many causes, in some cases it may be due to a dysfunctional dopaminergic system. A brain deficiency of the trace amine phenylethylamine (PEA) also appears to play a role in many cases of depression. In these situations, Deprenyl acts as an anti depressant by increasing PEA and dopamine levels in the brain through MAO-B inhibition and also by increasing catecholamine activity.
Deprenyl is known to be particularly effective in treating depression in those with atypical depression, treatment resistant depression and major depression.
Deprenyl can also counteract the depressive emotional conditions often found in people suffering from degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes and lupus.
In tests involving older people, Deprenyl has drastically improved their general well being, as well as increasing their motor ability, awareness and activity.
Deprenyl is also an effective libido enhancer, particularly for men. Its aphrodisiac effects improve sexual function and desire. It’s also effective in helping combat the age-related decline of sexual performance.
4. Treatment of Other Conditions
Deprenyl is noted to have remedial benefits for a number of other ailments including stroke, fatigue, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, learning difficulties and hypertension.
Cancer patients are often found to have imbalances of the neurotransmitters epinephrine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Deprenyl can help to restore the normal levels and balance of these neurotransmitters.
Deprenyl may also be of use to sufferers of attention deficit disorder and those suffering from poor concentration.
5. Ageing
It is probably in the area of slowing the ageing process and extending lifespan that the use of Deprenyl is causing the most excitement.
As we age, the amount of essential chemicals in our bodies declines. Unfortunately for us, the fastest ageing cells in the body are neurons within the brain. From the age of about 45 the number of dopaminergic neurons declines at a rate of about 13% a decade. At the same time MAO-B levels increase with age. This means that as we age, our dopamine levels decrease.
Professor Knoll first realised that Deprenyl may be implicated in the slowing of the ageing process and the extension of lifespan whilst researching its role in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. A group of 24 month-old rats (equivalent to 65 human years) were injected three times a week with 0.25mg/ kg of Deprenyl. The control animals received saline injections. The injections were continued until the animals died. The rats that received the Deprenyl lived to an age equivalent in human terms of 150 years!
These remarkable results were later confirmed by a team from the University of Toronto in 1989. The researchers concluded that not only had Deprenyl delayed the ageing of the rats’ organs, the Deprenyl injected rats were in themselves much healthier than those in the control group.
While the Toronto study was not an exact replication of Professor Knoll’s study, this does not detract from the inevitable conclusion that Deprenyl may indeed be a key to life extension.
What’s more, Deprenyl is able to provide a better quality of life particularly in our old age. Not only does Deprenyl enhance brain function and cognition but it also targets age-related depression and two of the major illnesses of the elderly, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Deprenyl helps to prevent the deterioration of brain cells over time. By maintaining and protecting nerve cells against neurotoxins and protecting nerves cells exposed to damaging or stressful conditions, Deprenyl enhances the condition of the cells which increases longevity. It stands to reason that if you can keep cells in good condition then they will last longer which is exactly what Deprenyl does. And we need healthy brain cells if we are to live longer and to enjoy the benefits of that longer life.
Fight illness and aging
with Deprenyl Jumex
Deprenyl is a drug that was discovered and developed by Professor Joseph
Knoll in 1964, and is known broadly as a life-extending drug. Since its
inception, it has been the subject of extensive research, and hundreds
of studies have been published over the last 30 years. These studies
have concluded that it successfully treats Parkinson’s disease, Dementia
and Depression, while having positive effects on both female and male
libido.
In 1978, Professor Knoll discovered that Deprenyl was an inhibitor of
monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), a neurotransmitter responsible for
metabolizing used neurotransmitters for excretion. MAO levels tend to
increase with age, resulting in decreased monoamine neurotransmitters
like dopamine. Therefore, MAO inhibition can correct this age-related
decline in neurotransmitters. Professor Knoll stated that deprenyl
“...is an exceptionally lucky modification of PEA [phenylethylamine], an
endogenous ... member of the family to which also the transmitters
noradrenaline and dopamine belong.”
Parkinson's disease, which is characterized by progressive dementia,
unsteady gait, and tremor, is believed to be caused by a loss of
dopamine producing nerve cells in the brain.
A series of four rat experiments were conducted with the purpose of
determining whether deprenyl could in fact extend lifespan
significantly. The first experiment saw 132 Wistar-Logan rats treated
towards the end of their second year, with either saline injections or a
0.25 mg/kg deprenyl injection 3 times a week until their deaths. The
oldest rat in the saline-treated group reached 164 weeks of age, the
average lifespan of the group being 147 weeks. The average lifespan in
the deprenyl group was 192 weeks, the shortest-living rat dying at 171
weeks, and the longest-living reaching 226 weeks. The remaining three
experiments reported similar results, and these types of experiments
have been replicated successfully since.
Currently, deprenyl is FDA approved only for treating Parkinson’s
disease. However, ongoing clinical trials are being conducted to
determine its ability to treat Alzheimer’s disease. It is also thought
to have therapeutic effects on a range of conditions including: cerebral
infarction, hormone imbalance, Multiple Sclerosis, sexual dysfunction,
hypertension and cancer.
Recommended Forms
Deprenyl hydrochloride (Selegiline, Jumex etc) is the prescription form
that is most widely prescribed by orthodox physicians.
08/30/2007 GI
| Caution: Japan has classified Deprenyl as a controlled substance. |
| Caution: In rare circumstances, deprenyl can cause a false-positive dope test, if you need to know more about this, please
click here. |
|
