Newsgroups: alt.recovery,talk.politics.drugs,alt.drugs,misc.health.alternative,sci.med.nutrition From: [c--t] at [netcom.com] (ccat) Subject: Potential Nutritional therapy for cocaine/speed? Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1993 23:44:56 GMT Over the last few years I've become aware of a number of papers dealing with stimulant addiction,depression and a hypothesis of addictive behavior- These clues have led me to the belief that there is strong possibility that tyrosine (an amino acid) may help people go off cocaine/speed. A friend of mine,Dr. Gantt Galloway, at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic drug program, has been studying this as well, and he has,for the last two years,been doing an "historically controlled" study with amphetamine users. This study has proven quite promising and he is currently looking for funding for a placebo controlled study.Is there anybody reading this who might be able to help with suggestions as to a good way to proceed? If you do,feel free to write me or contact Gantt at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic here in SF... My feeling is that tyrosine might be a very cost effective way to help people get off crack. Tyrosine is a nutritional supplement,and as such,might be better accepted than drugs.. Its also quite inexpensive,the cost of the six gram daily dose that Gantt is proposing for his study would be pennies a day... ... So anyway, any serious suggestions as to ways to get funding would be welcomed by Gantt and myself. References: Tennant,Sweinseid Alterations in catecholamine metabolism partially corrected during amphetamine dependance. Drug Alcohol Depend 10: 57-60 1985 Geis,Smith,Smith,Yu, Lyness Tyrosine Influence on Amphetamine Self Administration and Brain Catecholamines in the Rat. Pharmacology,Biochemistry and Behavior Vol 25 1027-1033 Hixson, Tyrosine Helps in Withdrawal from Cocaine,Medical Times Dec 28,1983 Lehnert,Reinstein,Stowbridge and Wurtman Neurochemical and Behavioral Consequences of acute,uncontrollable stress:Effects of dietary tyrosine Brain Res. 303 215-223 1984 Morgan,Gibb Short term and Long term effects of methamphetamine on biogenic amine metabolism in extra striatal dopaminergic nuclei Neuropharmacology 19:989-995 1980 Smith,Geis and Lyness Effects of L-Tyrosine on brain monoamines in rates given intravenous amphetamine. Subst Alcohol Actions Misuse 5: 293-298 1985 Gelenberg,Wojcik,Growdon,Sved,Wurtman Tyrosine for the treatment of Depression Am J Psychatry 137:5 May 1980 Reinstein,Lehnert and Wurtman Dietary Tyrosine suppresses the rise in plasma cortisterone following acute stress in rats.Life Sciences Vol 37 pp 2157-2163 Beckmann,Phenyalanine in Depressive Disorders Adv. Biol Psychiat vol 10 pp 137-147 DL-Phenyalanin als Antidepressivum, Beckmann, Ludolf. J Neural Transmission 41 123-134 1977 Sabelli "Phenethlamine Hypothesis of Afecctive Disorders" Am Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists. Oct 1984 Daigle,Clark Landry A primer on Neurotransmitters and Cocaine Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Vol 20(3) Jul-Sept 1988 Rosen,Flemenbaum and Slater Clinical trial of carbidopa/l-dopa combination for cocaine abuse.American Journal of Psychiatry Vol 144(11) 1493 Tennant FS Effect of cocaine dependance on plasma phenyalanine and tyrosine levels and on urinary MHPG excretion.American Journal of Psychiatry Vol 142 1200-1201 Tennant, Primer on Neurochemistry and Drug addiction 1985,Veract,West Covina,CA