Huperzine A:
 

I am beginning a trial of this supplement (which is really a drug and very potent). It is still over the counter, and has been used mostly as a "smart drug".

It is a cholinergic acting substance and as such should be handled with care. My son is using it for ADHD and concentration issues. So he recommended it to me.

I started today with 50mcg in the morning. I am feeling stronger today, and have much less general pain.

So I looked it up more in detail just now and found a chronic pain entry discussing it for neuropathic pain.
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/8/E746.short
It appears to be a NMDA antagonist which is what most of the recommendations consist of for nerve pain. Magnesium is another NMDA antagonist too.

I bought the Source Naturals from Amazon. 100mcg dose which I cut in half for now. (it was an nice affordable price there).

Our MG forum has some posts on this too...to help them with muscle weakness and I am noticing this action today on this first dose for me. I am optimistic this will be a nice thing to help me cope better with my chronic pain. This winter was pretty hard on me.

I'll keep this thread going, in case anyone wants to respond.

What I've read so far (only 3 articles) says it's got promise for Alzheimer's. It's late, so I'll get into it further next week.

I wasn't really looking for skeptical articles at this point, but one came up prominently that got me laughing so hard I thought you might appreciate it. Please don't take this to mean I'm taking any kind of stance on Huperzine A; it's too early, and I have a LOT more reading to do. The article is about a supplement mixture that contains Huperzine A; it doesn't really have anything negative to say about Huperzine; just that a lot isn't known/proven yet. It's more about the charlatanism in the claims about some of these mixtures and how they're marketed.

Procera AVH: A Pill to Restore Memory

I have seen the Science Based Medicine site before, and I think I'm getting to like it so far. It also led me to a couple of other sites I'll be checking out soon.

Supplement Geek—Supplement Reviews Without the Hype

The Skeptic's Dictionary
The Skeptic's Dictionary—Procera AVH® and Ceraplex

Doc

The net is difficult with Huperzine A. Where you will find more on it will be the various discussion forums --esp the life extension places.

there are contraindications for this herb/drug:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supple...=HUPERZINE%20A

I didn't find yesterday, that it did anything for my thinking. But it sure helped my arthritis pain, muscle weakness etc. It didn't cause any side effects at 50mcg in the morning, except to make me a bit hot and itchy for a few minutes. It also helped my left eye blur which comes with fatigue on the computer.

I am interested mostly in the NMDA actions of it. This pain receptor impacts all of us here. Alzheimer's is a big topic now and quite popular. So it is not a surprise that most articles discuss that.

My son cautioned about not taking it after 2pm...says it will keep you from falling asleep. So I am only using 50mcg in the morning for now. With my GI easy upsets, I cannot afford MORE GI actions, so am very conservative on the dosing. Also I take a beta blocker for blood pressure, and this slows my heart a bit. So caution is necessary for me.

There are other things that block the NMDA receptor... Dextromethorphan, magnesium, Namenda (RX drug), ketamine which some people here use or have used for PN pain.

After a time I'll report back if there is any tolerance issue.
Huperzine A has been around a long time...I recall some posts on our old ADHD forum about it in the past.;)

I wonder if this would help my MS brain fogginess?

Cognitive issues are common among MS patients. I'm only 53 so I don't think it's age that causes me to forget what to call the remote! Yesterday I called it the stove. :o:mfr_wha:

brain fogginess
 

I have not used but watch a show mind you only watch as would never be good following a restrictive diet.. but the show is Know the Cause They have the creator of Prevagen on which is to help with memory. It replaces proteins we lose in the brain. I have seen it on the shelf in Walgreens. I don't know if would help with brain fogginess but maybe since helps with memory.????

Huperzine A works by increasing acetylcholine which is a neurotransmitter in the brain, spinal cord and muscles.

As we age acetylcholine may diminish and so providing it
may help. A few MG posters have tried it some.

I have been getting weaker each year....and I am hoping this will help my muscles in that respect. So far it is helping to sharpen my vision, which I didn't expect.

It might.... send me a PM with all the drugs you use...so I can look up interactions etc.

Dr. Blaylock has mentioned it in his newsletter as a memory booster. He's helped to develop a supplement called Cresceo and it is one of the ingredients. The other three are Ginkgo Biloba, Bacopa and Phosphatidylserene. I don't recall him mentioning other benefits from it besides the memory booster though.

I read some people add DMAE with it. Thoughts? Memory problems are my worst symptom at the moment and I came here today searching for something to add to my supplements. I wonder if this will affect my heart like magnesium which I had to completely quit taking. My doc said it was inflaming my heart lining.

So far, I am not seeing much in the way of "mental" improvements. In fact it makes me tense and irritable instead, at 50mcg in the morning daily.

So I skipped two days, and now am trying 1/4 tablet 25mcg today. There is a distinct improvement in my weakness however, and arthritis pain perception. I don't really need memory enhancement yet. ;) I do also have some sinus congestion from the 50mcg dose.

Hubby is taking 50mcg daily after breakfast...and seems to be doing his outside working chores more easily (lots of oak leaves to remove from our property). He is working well on the restore discs for our new computer, and so far seems to process this supplement differently from me.