Posted by Larry Hoover on May 30, 2006, at 8:56:46
In reply to Re: Taurine Questions, posted by ravenstorm on May 25, 2006, at 14:54:19
> I have always read that taurine helps with sleep.
Yes, it does. Usually the lower doses, though. Chronic daily use tends to be at higher levels, and that exceeds your brain's capacity to respond to the sleep cycle.
I first used taurine as a sleep aid. It worked great, for a while. And then it more than just faded in effect. It began to impede sleep.
What that suggests to me is that one or more taurine-regulated processes can become saturated by oral supplementation. If you over-supply those processes, the effect inverts. It's a normal way for your body to react, to bring the pendulum back.
The trick is to take the optimal amount, for you. It's an elusive target. It moves around, too.
> I just read an article posted at about.com by a woman whose epilepsy was brought under control by taurine, but it didn't say how much she was taking. She indicated that the research she did said the only side effect was the possibility of peptic ulcer.
I think doctors can't quite fathom that this mega-dosing can be virtually without side effects, so they look especially hard to find something. You won't find good research into the use of taurine, because it cannot be patented. Instead, you'll find medical companies patenting derivatives, and marketing them for specific medical problems. E.g. acamprosate for alcohol abuse.
Compare the structure of acamprosate, and that of taurine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acamprosate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaurineThe part sticking out the left side of acamprosate, the last bit past the N(itrogen) atom, is an acetyl group. It may modify the ability of the body to take it into cells, as absolute bioavailability is only 11% (i.e. most of it stays in the gut, and you poop it out). Taurine is much more bioavailable than that, so the acetyl group, I believe, slows the drug version down. It has a half-life of 20-33 hours, so it most likely antagonizes some taurine-based mechanisms, such as re-uptake? They haven't really figured out what it does. But taurine is most likely to be the most affected neuromodulator.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:637935
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060428/msgs/650380.html