Posted by chemist on April 27, 2004, at 22:41:32
In reply to Clarification on what neurotoxicity means, posted by utopizen on April 27, 2004, at 11:26:52
> Neurotoxicity is used a lot to fear-monger people out of using ADD treatments.
>
> To clarify things a bit, and provide some common sense, let me say this:
>
> It is unknown how amphetamines of any kind cause neurotoxicity, but it is known that stress alone causes brain cell loss. And amphetamines can produce stress if you let them. (Breathing exercises, exercise in general, sleep, nutrition, and other things can and do control this, as can add-on meds)
>
> Now, brain cell loss is always regenerative, provided your brain is in healthy conditions (you are sleeping properly, you are not 24/7 stressed to the max, you are eating regular meals that are well-balanced, and if you have any vitamin deficiencies noted from a blood work, you are taking supplments for those).
>
> I'm not sure what neurotoxicity means exactly, but I don't think that matters, since it would be impossible to prove in a human subject that neurotoxicity has or is occuring at any point without a new generation of brain scanning technology.
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> So far, we can only use animals to determine things, and basically look for holes in their brain.
>
> And if you had any idea of how acceptable sloppy research practices are the norm for animal tests, you'd take all of them with a grain of salt instead of pretending these are like tests using fuzzy humans.
>
> If you're taking a stimulant, you need to be most concerned about your stress/anxiety--
>
> you need to sleep properly, control any insomnia if present (I suggest using a self-hypnosis tape for several months along with some Ambien, and before you know it the self-hypnosis will let you actually sleep without resorting to a controlled substance for the rest of your life).
>
> you also need to eat regular meals, and not skip them, whether you feel you're force-feeding yourself or not.
>
> and if you're a student, and you're using them for all-nighters, do what you can to change your habits, and realistically, this is best done by planning a more reasonable course load the following semester.
>
hi there, chemist here....brain cell loss is not regenerative, unless you adhere to the unsubstantiated results of a particular researcher at princeton university. the jury is not in in re: which neirons regenerate, and in the best case, they are not a homogenous crowd. ``holes in the brain'' are not what - in general - are indicative of neurodegeneration, except in schizophrenia, where there is marked decrease in volume of the corpus callusum. you can go into high-contract MRI or real-time MRI or PET, for that matter, but the issue is that your neurons are dying off at a rapid rate as life progresses. as for neurotoxicity: this is a well-established field, and the crux of the matter is that there are chemicals that can lead to pre-mature cell death (as opposed to apotosis). the drugs being discussed inthis forum are more in-line with those that condition certain receptors for enhanced/inhibited uptake of certain neurotransmitters, and the receptors themselves are an entirely different matter....all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:339575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040423/msgs/340821.html