We missed this way back on July 30th of last year. Imad posted it but no one seemed to see it. This is another of those off label drugs that seem to die on the vine. It is, of course, used for PD in Japan.

Why should a vasoconstrictor work like this on us? Wow. forgot to include the name of the drug; it is Fasudil. (lack of sleep has caught up to me.)

Anyone else hear of this? It has potential to halt progression. It is now approved for stroke patients to aid in axonal repair. BTW, in PD, our axons take a big hit.

Curiously, this drug improves blood flow to the brain. Again, this begs the question why is our blood flow even impeded in the first place?

Here are a few more links. Note the interest by the MS CCVI group on FB.

http://news.msu.edu/story/9622/

MS CCVI Facebook

I wonder if there is any overlap with vinpocetine used by bodybuilders? From wikipedia-
Vinpocetine is reported to have cerebral blood-flow enhancing[2] and neuroprotective effects,[3] and is used as a drug in Eastern Europe for the treatment of cerebrovascular disorders and age-related memory impairment.[4]

Vinpocetine is widely marketed as a supplement for vasodilation and as a nootropic for the improvement of memory. In other words, Vinpocetine may help support brain functions such as concentration and memory by activating cerebral metabolism. A small subset of users report uncomfortable, adverse reactions to vinpocetine. A low initial dosage is ordinarily recommended.

I don't know about you, but I found this to be impressive-

1. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2011 Jan-Mar;43(1):1-5.

Reversing brain damage in former NFL players: implications for traumatic brain
injury and substance abuse rehabilitation.

Amen DG, Wu JC, Taylor D, Willeumier K.

UC Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA. docamen@amenclinic.com

Brain injuries are common in professional American football players. Finding
effective rehabilitation strategies can have widespread implications not only for
retired players but also for patients with traumatic brain injury and substance
abuse problems. An open label pragmatic clinical intervention was conducted in an
outpatient neuropsychiatric clinic with 30 retired NFL players who demonstrated
brain damage and cognitive impairment. The study included weight loss (if
appropriate); fish oil (5.6 grams a day); a high-potency multiple vitamin; and a
formulated brain enhancement supplement that included nutrients to enhance blood
flow (ginkgo and vinpocetine), acetylcholine (acetyl-l-carnitine and huperzine
A), and antioxidant activity (alpha-lipoic acid and n-acetyl-cysteine). The trial
average was six months. Outcome measures were Microcog Assessment of Cognitive
Functioning and brain SPECT imaging. In the retest situation, corrected for
practice effect, there were statistically significant increases in scores of
attention, memory, reasoning, information processing speed and accuracy on the
Microcog. The brain SPECT scans, as a group, showed increased brain perfusion,
especially in the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobes, occipital lobes, anterior
cingulate gyrus and cerebellum. This study demonstrates that cognitive and
cerebral blood flow improvements are possible in this group with multiple
interventions.

PMID: 21615001 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PubMed's got almost 600 papers on vinpocetine, so it isn't like it is a big mystery. If I were cynical I might suspect that because it is derived from the periwinkle plant that it may be hard to make a buck from. <The weary white rat gathers his limbs beneath him once more.... >

full text available on this one


1. Pharmacol Rep. 2011;63(3):618-28.

Role of vinpocetine in cerebrovascular diseases.

Patyar S, Prakash A, Modi M, Medhi B.

Department of Pharmacology & Neurology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, Chandigarh, India.

A cerebrovascular accident, or stroke, is defined as the abrupt onset of a
neurological deficit, which can be due to ischemia. Cerebral ischemia is caused
by a reduction in blood flow that thereby decreases cerebral metabolism. Chronic
cerebral hypoperfusion leads to irreversible brain damage and plays an important
role in the development of certain types of dementia. Vinpocetine, chemically
known as ethyl apovincaminate, is a vinca alkaloid that exhibits cerebral
blood-flow enhancing and neuroprotective effects. Non-clinical and clinical
studies have suggested multiple mechanisms responsible for the beneficial
neuroprotective effects of vinpocetine. As no significant side effects related to
vinpocetine treatment have been reported, it is considered to be safe for
long-term use. This vasoactive alkaloid is widely marketed as a supplement for
vasodilation and as a nootropic for the improvement of memory. The present review
focuses on studies investigating the role of vinpocetine in cerebrovascular
diseases.

PMID: 21857073 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]