On another forum someone was seeking info concerning a new prescription for osteoarthritis called Limbrel.

Curious...I goggled it and found it to be something called a "medical food" product that can only be obtained with a script from the doctor.

see:

Limbrel is the first prescription product that provides for the safe daily nutritional management of osteoarthritis. Nutritional Management in this context is grounded in that Limbrel’s ingredients are natural food-based or dietary ingredients proven effective in helping to manage osteoarthritis. Limbrel is classified as a medical product according to FDA regulation. Specifically, Limbrel meets the definitional requirements of what FDA terms a “medical food” product. As in other food-based products, Limbrel’s ingredients are safe

and

Limbrel contains flavocoxid, a proprietary blend of natural ingredients from phytochemical food source materials. Flavocoxid is comprised primarily of the flavonoids such as baicalin and catechin. These or similar ingredients can be found in common foods such as soy, peanuts, cauliflower, kale, apples, apricots, cocoa and green tea. The fact that these and similar ingredients have been widely researched and used in medicinal products in other countries also supports biacalin and catechin’s safety and effectiveness. Limbrel provides levels of these flavonoids needed to meet the distinctive nutritional requirements of people with osteoarthritis and cannot be obtained through simply changing the diet

from the websie: http://www.limbrel.com

SOooo my question is...

Why do some vitamins and "medical foods" (B12 shots, Limbrel) require scripts from a physician? Why aren't they simply marketed OTC?

Thank you...Car;y

This question at OBT on their Chronic Pain forum.

I am not going to duplicate it here. But suffice it to say, this is a very
expensive product that provides only polyphenols. The chemistry listed,
is typical for most Cox-2 explanations.

Antioxidants of quality are:
Yerba Mate tea (has double that of green tea)
Green Tea
red wine
purple grapejuice
pomegranate juice

Cox-2 blocking anti-inflammatory actions can also be found with fish oil.

There is a "medical fish oil" too, called Omacor. It is not different from regular fish oils. And is also RX only.

Limbrel sounds like OPCs...pycnogenols.

Here is the home mission statement of Primus pharmaceuticals:
http://www.primusrx.com/ourcompany.php

They apparently only have "one" metabolic product so far.

I am not sure prescription insurance will cover this product. It is pretty expensive. Sometimes vitamin products are excluded from plans.

B12 is OTC in oral forms. BTW Ilex which is Yerba Mate tea, is in the rub Biofreeze. It would work topically thru the transdermal gel delivery system,
when applied over joints. It works great on my knees and feet!
The one thing I would wonder about are the "claims" for this product that it is superior to dietary intake.

Here is a call for a clinical trial:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00303017

I still prefer SAMe. I have had enormous results with SAMe..but it takes time and commitment. If the Limbrel works, it would also take TIME.

Be advised some people get headaches from polyphenols. This product may trigger vascular headache in those patients.

What brand etc. do you recommend for SaMe? Thank you
It doesn't look like we will ever see the vast amount of info the old Braintalk had be replaced except one post at a time!

here is a whole thread about SAM-e. the brand mrsd and i both use and lots of info. hope it helps.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=5846