Vitamin Research Products is an excellent source of information, particularly in their newsletter archives. They footnote everything (my litmus test). This article caught my eye-
http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?pag...ch_in=articles

"Brain Regeneration
Key Nutrients Support The Growth of Brain Cell Neurites and Dendrites"

excerpts-

We now know that brain cells can, under certain conditions, replace themselves and regrow their neural communications networks. What is especially true is that neurites and dendrites, the long filament or root-like terminal branches that are extensions of the brain cells themselves, can regrow and elongate when given the proper nutrients. Neurites and dendrites comprise the wiring communications network that allows brain cells to communicate with each other. Loss of brain cells with age is a normal process, but the loss of neurites and dendrites disrupts the neural communications network severely, preventing brain cell “cross-talk” and is a far more serious matter. Senescence of the central nervous system is characterized by a loss of neurons, neurites and dendrites and results in physiological and behavioral impairments. It is believed that reductions in the levels of growth factors, like nerve growth factor and other trophic growth factors leads to major declines in brain cell performance and degenerative diseases.1 The good news is that certain supplements act as growth factors or stimulate the brain to produce growth factors to maintain and rebuild the neural communications network.

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In 1991, it was discovered that the presence of acetyl carnitine increased the effects of nerve growth factor on the outgrowth of neurites from brain cells 100 times greater than when just nerve growth factor itself was present. This was an interesting observation at the time but nerve growth factor is an internally produced protein in the brain and it was not really known how to stimulate or regulate its production.2

In 1995 it was discovered that the supplement acetyl carnitine arginate mimicked the effect of nerve growth factor and caused neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells “in a manner similar to that elicited to by nerve growth factor (itself).”3 Synergy between acetyl carnitine arginate and acetyl carnitine had earlier been demonstrated when both were tested separately and together on brain cells and found to be highly synergistic in the production of the neurotransmitters GABA, glutamate, somatostatin and other brain peptides.4

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Acetyl carnitine and acetyl carnitine arginate are two synergists that regrow brain cell neurites and dendrites so powerfully that the average length of neurites produced by the mixture of the two resulted in a 19.5 percent increase in neurite outgrowth with the mixture compared to neurite outgrowth of 5.6 percent using acetyl carnitine alone in brain cell cultures.3

In addition, acetyl carnitine arginate protects neurons against the toxicity caused by the presence of beta amyloid plaque found in old brain cells.5 Beta amyloid production is strongly implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and is found in great abundance in Alzheimer’s brains. When beta amyloid was added to healthy human brain cell cultures, neurotoxicity took place in 5 days and cell death occurred within 8 days. Acetyl carnitine arginate added at the same time completely prevented or “reverted” beta amyloid toxicity by preventing its disrupting effect on the normal brain cell’s calcium balance, or homeostasis.5