Posted by Ron Hill on November 4, 2007, at 13:41:47
In reply to Re: Clearing Up the Confusion; Metafolin/Ron, posted by stargazer2 on November 2, 2007, at 21:56:44
> 7.5 mg of Deplin seems like alot of Methylfolate considering the OTC Metafolin dosage is 800 mcg.
> I wonder how they came up with putting that much in Deplin, is 7.5 mg necessary or would 800 mcg be enough to help with depression. Did any of the literature address that specifically?
No, I did not run across any explanation for the dosage. Metanx, and Cerefolin contain less.
As an aside, for me, a single morning dose of Deplin wears off after about six hours. Therefore, I was faced with the decision of either splitting the morning dose of the unscored 7.5 mg tablet by biting it in two, or adding a second 7.5 mg dose in the afternoon. I chose the latter. Therefore, I take 15 mg/day of Deplin.
Look at the dose response curve for Deplin at the bottom of this webpage (note; 6(R,S)-5-MTHF is another name for L-methylfolate):
http://www.deplin.com/HealthcareProfessionals,Deplin
Notice that by the sixth hour after taking a single dose, the plasma level of L-methylfolate has markedly declined from the peak plasma level. Although plasma level is not completely indicative of brain levels, my hunch is that this dose response provides an explanation for my need to take a morning dose and an early afternoon dose.
> I asked the endocrinologist, who I saw this week, about taking Deplin as a folic acid replacement and he said the best test to verify any deficiency is a Homocysteine level. If it is elevated it would be from a folate deficiency. We shall see, SG
Clearly, your endo would know more about it than I. And, I fully agree that low L-methylfolate will indeed increase homocysteine. However, other factors can also cause high homocysteine levels. For example, on the Metafolin web site:
Click on the Scientific Review tab, and scroll down to page five of this pdf file. Read the section titled CELLULAR FOLATE METABOLISM AND MASKING OF VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY. Use the two diagrams as visual helps.
Pay particular attention to the discussion of the Methyl Trap Hypothysis. Under this scenario, there is a more than adequate quantity of L-methylfolate in the cell, but homocysteine will be high due to a deficiency of B12.
My only point is that other problems besides low L-methylfolate can cause high homocysteine levels.
If it were me, I'd forgo the expensive testing and simply try some Deplin to see if it helps. If so, keep it on board. If not, dump it. But, that's just me, and you gotta do what you think best.
Star, if there is one thing that I would like to scream from a high tower to everyone taking Deplin is to TAKE SUBLINGUAL METHYLCOBALAMIN (i.e.; METHYL-B12) WITH DEPLIN. The reason for this is to avoid the problems discussed in the section of the Metafolin web site that you just read.
If patients are not going to take methyl-B12 with Deplin, then IMHO, they should take Metanx, which is L-methylfolate plus methyl-B12 and P-5-P (the "brain-ready" form of B6).
IMHO, here are a couple of the best Methyl B12 products:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=129&at=0
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=2119
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=117&at=0
By the way, I also take the all important P-5-P and zinc as well as other vitamins.
-- Ron
dx: Bipolar II, with ultra rapid cycling (15 days for one complete cycle), and mild Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
600 mg/day Trileptal
200 mg/day Lamictal
875 mg/day Keppra
90 mg/day Nardil
15 mg/day Deplin
poster:Ron Hill
thread:791742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071104/msgs/793293.html