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The
Unexplored Properties of GBL EDITOR’S Note: There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the use of Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL) and its brother metabolite and precursor, Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB). The FDA has been the driving force behind an emotionally driven, “date-rape” drug platform, built entirely upon unsubstantiated allegations that cannot withstand scientific scrutiny. This propaganda, designed to serve the FDA’s hidden agenda of protecting pharmaceutical companies, has tainted the truth about GHB and GBL, thus preventing millions of people from experiencing its health, fitness and other benefits. Prior to Dr. Farley’s research, no real research had been conducted on the properties of GBL itself, primarily because GBL is known as a precursor to GHB, which lead other researchers to conclude that an analysis of GBL was simply an analysis of the properties and effects of GHB. Dr. Farley’s research is novel and demonstrates there are clearly many unexplored properties and benefits of GBL, including some that may have tremendous implications for the treatment of cancer. SERGIO: What type of research have you been involved with in regard to Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL)? DR. FARLEY: I started out doing research on GBL as a hGH secretion stimulator. The initial study showed that people who had been consistently using GBL for a year or more had a consistently lower serum level of IGF-1 than those who had not used GBL before in a like group. They also showed much less response from the GBL as far as the excretion of hGH than those who had not used GBL before. To put some numbers to it, non-users were starting out at an average of .63 ng/ml of hGH when tested in the morning about 9:00 am. People who had never used GBL before were getting an exceptionally high increase, from a .63 ng/ml average to about 7.1 ng/ml on average at 90 minutes from baseline. Those who had been consistently using GBL were only showing increases on average from less than .5 ng/ml to 1.7 ng/ml at 90 minutes from baseline. So, there was a great difference in pituitary response from the stimulation of GBL, depending upon the extent of previous use of GBL. Up until I began doing this research, everyone looking at GBL had done so only from the standpoint of its conversion to GHB; that everything occurring in the body was a consequence of the GHB conversion. Nobody had looked at the properties of the GBL itself. Because GBL and GHB interconvert, in other words, GBL converts to GHB and GHB converts to GBL, I knew that GBL had to have some mechanisms of action in the body in and of itself. And those are the properties that I wanted to investigate. SERGIO: I think this inter-conversion fact is of major importance in respect to the controversy raging about whether GBL is, by definition under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), a dietary supplement or whether it is an unauthorized drug, according to the propaganda issued by the FDA. Specifically, we know that GHB is a metabolite of the amino acid GABA. We also know, as you have just explained, that GBL and GHB interconvert, which makes GBL not only a precursor of GHB, it also makes it a metabolite of GHB. Logically, this makes GBL also a metabolite of the amino acid GABA. It is this fact that makes both GBL and GHB substances classified as dietary supplements under DSHEA. DR. FARLEY: Absolutely. The FDA's attempt to take GBL off the market, because it converts to GHB, is very incorrect. It shows that they haven't properly examined GBL itself. SERGIO: It also shows they haven’t examined GHB, or they have and they are ignoring it. What’s really unfortunate, though, is that this anti-GHB/GBL propaganda has resulted in GBL being banned in our state, Florida, which means that your research had to be terminated – hopefully, only temporarily. DR. FARLEY: That’s right. This research was all conducted prior to GBL being taken off the market in Florida. One of the things I noticed, when I was taking the case histories of people that had been using GBL for some time, was that they seemed to have much less susceptibility to viral infections, such as the common cold. For example, most of the people who had been using GBL didn't suffer from the common cold or flu, even when exposed to it. That was another reason that made me certain that there were additional properties of GBL, unrelated to GHB. To explore this, we tested alpha interferon levels. Because I was paying for the tests myself, and it was expensive, we did it on a very small number of people, only five. What we found was an average 20% increase over baseline, three hours post ingestion, using 25 mg/kg body weight of GBL, with three out of the five showing an increase of up to 40%. This demonstrated that GBL was actually stimulating alpha interferon secretion, and, as you know, alpha interferon is an excellent anti-viral agent that has tremendous immune stimulating responses. It's being used even today for AIDS in order to increase the body's immune functions. That was one property. Another property I found, through interviewing several bodybuilders and other athletes, was that they were able to increase work capacity during weight and cardiovascular training while they were taking GBL. Interestingly enough, this property didn't change with continued use. In other words, it was completely independent from the property exhibited by GHB that causes hGH secretion from the pituitary. We also found, in the initial testing, that diabetics who were diet-controlled, in other words, non-insulin users, had an average of over a thirty point drop in blood glucose levels. And this was occurring within one hour after ingestion of 25 mg/kg of body weight. This is a very significant drop. The diet-controlled diabetics were running glucose levels of 180, for example, and were dropping down to 150 or below. The only mechanism of action that I could think that would work that quickly was something that interfered with lactic acid production. That also tied in with the bodybuilders’ experiences of increased endurance during their workouts. To explore this further, I measured lactic acid baseline readings in some distance runners. I then had them run for two miles and again measured their lactic acid levels. The following week, I took their baseline lactic acid readings at the same time of the day and gave them one-half the sleep dose of GBL, or, in other words, 12.5 mg/kg of body weight. I then had them run for two miles and again took their lactic acid levels, and I found that lactic acid production was inhibited – from 200-300%, on average. This inhibition of lactic acid, tendency to drop blood glucose levels and increase alpha interferon levels – gave me the idea that it might be useful as an adjunctive aid in treating cancer. The reason for this is that the metabolism in cancer cells is all the same. It's very simple. Cancer cells take in glucose and excrete lactic acid. The lactic acid is then converted in the liver back into glucose; the more acidic the blood becomes, the faster the conversion becomes, which makes the liver work almost full time for the cancer cells. That's one of the reasons that most cancer sufferers, 50-60% of them according to the American Cancer Society, die from cachexia or starvation. My thought was that if we could interfere with that simple conversion, glucose to lactic acid by the cancer cells, we might, in some way, inhibit the rapid growth of cancer. Another aspect of this is stimulation of the anterior pituitary to secrete beta-endorphins, which seems to offer temporary pain relief in some types of problems, such as fibromyalgia, which it has been successfully used to treat, as well as severe muscle spasms, such as lumbo-sacral pain. SERGIO: Mike, we continually have people contact us who have very unusual circumstances relating to pain, e.g., nerve problems, injuries suffered in car accidents, etc., where they are unable to function on prescription pain killers. The level of prescription pain medication they were taking rendered them so dysfunctional that they often could not hold down a job or lead a normal life. However, since these people have begun using GBL products, they are leading productive lives. DR. FARLEY: That's sometimes true. I've seen the same thing on several occasions. An excellent example of this is a female cancer sufferer with total liver failure. She was suffering greatly from hepatomegaly, an enlarged liver. She was extremely jaundiced, very, very yellow, and her liver function tests showed a total bilirubin of 12.1. She previously had pancreatic cancer, which resulted in removal of the pancreas, and the cancer had metastasized into the liver and other organs. I explained the research to her, and even though she knew she was terminal and had a very, very short time to live, she asked if it would be possible for her to try it. At that time it was an over the counter nutraceutical, not a banned substance, and I let her know it was totally her decision. All I could do was show her the research findings, because they were so meager at that point. Within three days, the excruciating pain she had was completely gone. Within ten days, she had normal liver function by blood analysis; her total bilirubin had dropped to 1.82 (see Figure 1), and the jaundice and hepatomegaly had completely resolved. Several months later, she was still doing very well. The blood work also showed what we'd shown with the diabetics – a significant drop in blood glucose levels, as well as a drop in somatamedin-C, thirty days out. SERGIO: So continued use of GBL may result in reduced IGF-1 levels? DR. FARLEY: It appears that it does result in lower IGF-1 levels, and we have seen that consistently with this cancer sufferer and others. The longer they used GBL, the lower their IGF-1 levels became. We have also seen consistent lowering of fasting glucose levels, as well as consistently lower lactic acid levels. As I said before, metabolism of cancer is glucose and lactic acid controlled. It has also been shown in recent research that IGF-1 may have great influence over the reproductive rate of cancer cells. The higher the IGF-1 levels, the faster the growth of some cancers, such as breast and prostate. SERGIO: To clarify something for our readers, these cancer sufferers were taking small doses of GBL throughout the day, which means about one capsule (330 mg) every three or four hours, and a higher dose before bed, about three to four capsules (1.0 – 1.3 gm). DR. FARLEY: That’s correct. They were also following a very rigid regime of cutting glucose and simple carbohydrates out of their diet in order to keep their blood glucose levels as low as possible, and they increased protein and anti-oxidant intake dramatically. There was a whole program they were following. I don't want to mislead anyone by suggesting it was simply just using GBL. They were doing other things to help facilitate GBL's action. But, as I said, we were seeing consistent lowering of glucose, lactic acid and IGF-1 levels. And for those who had cancer of a type we were able to measure (cancer-specific antigens, CSAs), we were seeing a lowering of those values as well, whether they were PSAs, in prostrate cancer, or CA-119 in the organs, such as liver and pancreatic. So everything pointed to the fact that the cancer was, indeed, being inhibited. Many of these cancer sufferers were on morphine and found that GBL was a phenomenal adjunctive aid to the morphine. In fact, most required much lower doses of morphine while on GBL. And all were able to function and to return to their daily work while on GBL. On a low dose of one capsule, or 330 mg, three times daily they were certainly able to function without any drowsiness or any side effects. SERGIO: So, we're not only talking about the possibility of GBL being used to treat the cancer and the individual living a longer life, we are, at minimum, definitely talking about the certainty that GBL is improving the quality of whatever life that person still has. DR. FARLEY: In this small group, it seemed to definitely improve the quality of their lives. There is another property of the GBL I'd like to mention. We've had one cancer sufferer with breast cancer with a lesion that was completely open. This lesion extends from her right armpit to her mid-sternum, up to the throat and down to approximately the fourth rib, where the cancer had metastasized. She had totally refused conventional treatment. These open wounds would bleed profusely. Hemorrhage is a real problem for these women, and she was having to change her dressings in the doctors office in case she could not stop the bleeding. What she did was apply pure GBL, in liquid form, and I want to emphasize pure GBL in liquid form, directly on the lesion, and within thirty days the bleeding stopped. SERGIO: She actually put pure GBL directly on the open wound? That must have been brutally painful. DR. FARLEY: Yes, it was. She sprayed it on twice daily during her normal dressing changes. This woman was horribly frightened thinking that she was going to bleed to death every time she would change a dressing. The bleeding was exceptionally hard to stop, and then in thirty days the bleeding had stopped and she was beginning to get more normal tissue in the area that the GBL was sprayed on. SERGIO: That’s amazing! What’s very sad though, is because GBL is now banned in Florida, all of this testing has ended. DR. FARLEY: Yes. The state legislature responded to the FDA's request to ban GBL. SERGIO: In addition to all the other health and fitness benefits that come from using GBL and GHB, this is the kind of information that the public and our legislators need to know. Instead, people “freak-out” over isolated incidences of abuse committed by irresponsible people. DR. FARLEY: I'm really hopeful that this kind of information will make some difference, but I have my doubts. The FDA has not even done any research into the properties of GBL. It was an automatic assumption on their part that GBL was simply to be viewed as GHB; just look at the literature. Since they were already launching an anti-GHB campaign, they were, to a great extent, already committed to eliminating GBL. Anytime you have the FDA acting with no scientific basis for their decisions it gives me great concern. As you know, it was railroaded out. There's no doubt that GBL can be abused, just as alcohol can be abused; however, the benefits of GBL certainly vastly outweigh the benefits of alcohol, and we haven't seen that outlawed in this country. GBL should at least be investigated on its own merits a lot more thoroughly. SERGIO: Exactly. Our legislators don’t outlaw alcohol when drinkers hurt, and even kill, other people. They address the problem by dealing with the person who misused, or abused, the alcohol. Furthermore, virtually all of the cases in which a problem has occurred that involved GBL, GBL has never been proven to be directly responsible – alcohol or drugs were also involved. DR. FARLEY: It's all very ironic how our lawmakers protect lethal substances and condemn other substances without testing or evaluation. GBL is showing at least some early promise as an adjunctive therapy in cancer. The really sad thing about this whole anti-GBL legislation is that the cancer sufferers who have been using it, even though they can now acquire it with prescription from their physician, can’t get it, because no pharmacies are carrying it in the state. To continue treating their cancer, these people, and others in Florida who were using GBL for health reasons, must have it illegally shipped into the state. It really is a "catch 22" for Florida residents in need of GBL and residents of the other states that have also banned GBL. Hopefully, the research will be picked up in another state where it's legal over the counter and may be carried on. That's my hope. Of the twenty-two cancer sufferers, twenty showed at least some positive benefits from their use of GBL. And in one of these terminal cases, she was still able to get good nights sleep and was more functional with her family for some months before she died. And those were very valuable months for her and her family. Many of these cancer sufferers are in so much pain at night that they can't sleep, and as a sleep aid, GBL was very helpful. SERGIO: I would be interested in interviewing a few of these cancer sufferers who have experience with GBL, if you think they would want to share their experiences with readers in our next issue. Would this be OK? DR. FARLEY: I know of several cancer sufferers who would like to speak with you, so I will put you in touch with them. If any of your readers want to know more information about this research or have questions about GBL that I might be able to answer for them, ask them to please forward them through your magazine. I am involved with other research right now that is occupying sixteen hours a day of my time and it’s not possible for me to take phone calls. SERGIO: I want to thank you so very much for your time and sharing this most valuable information with us. Personally, I am a proponent for the responsible use of GBL, and I believe in the right for it to be recognized as a dietary supplement, so that its remarkably diverse benefits can be available to everyone. I want to thank you for your commitment to this research, as well as your determination to pursue the truth. I wish you great success and hope that you will find a way to continue with your research.• REALITY
CHECK The Hillory J. Farias Date Rape Prevention Drug Act of 1999 The U. S. Congress is close to enacting “date rape” prevention drug legislation that includes the scheduling of certain alleged “date rape” substances. This legislation is named after a young woman who suffered a tragic death. Since the cause of her death had absolutely nothing to do with the substances alleged to have been used, and not even an allegation of “date rape” was involved, maybe it’s time for everyone to slow down and see what’s really going on here. The events to follow that occurred in August 1996 would begin the story of how an important and powerful agency of our federal government would exploit the tragic death of a young woman. Her death would become the platform for a continued agenda of deception upon the American public and the U.S. Congress. Hillory Farias shared a Sprite with her girlfriend at a local club. After complaining that she had a headache and was tired, Hillory’s friend drove her home. Hillory proceeded into the house, spoke with her grandmother and then went upstairs to her bedroom. At no time did she need assistance. Hillory died sometime during the morning hours. In his autopsy report, the medical examiner stated that he couldn’t determine why she died. One month later, the local police decided that her blood should be checked for GHB, “a new designer ‘date rape’ drug.” Sure enough, it contained 27 mg/L. With no further testing, a different medical examiner ruled Hillory died from ingesting GHB, and the police ruled her death a homicide. Move over Florence Nightingale and Dick Tracy. More than a few people let Hillory down that summer of 1996, starting with the first medical examiner. Since his autopsy report indicates he examined her thoroughly, and he couldn’t determine why she died from what he did examine, maybe it might have had something to do with what he didn’t examine – her heart, which was donated prior to the autopsy (the blood clot in a remaining coronary artery might also have been a worthwhile clue). A quick background check would have revealed her younger niece and nephew each had open-heart surgery, and her uncle died at a young age from cardiomyopathy. Since it will be demonstrated that the second medical examiner was incorrect, Hillory probably died from a congenital heart condition. Follow the yellow arrow to see why the second medical examiner was incorrect, and why it is a medical/mathematical certainty that a concentration of 27 mg/L of GHB was not the cause of her death; it was the result of it. As you can see, postmortem readings of GHB indicate that the body produces GHB after death, which is the result of postmortem decomposition. The longer the time from her death to when her blood was preserved, the higher the concentration of GHB. Since the second medical examiner was incorrect, the determination by the police that “date rape” was involved was incorrect, as well. The medical examiner, police department and the family of Hillory Farias would subsequently be provided with similar information by the County of Los Angeles Department of Coroner. Further, the family would be contacted by someone from the DEA, who would verify that their daughter did not die from GHB. Yet, despite pleas from the family to investigate Hillory’s death further, nothing was ever done and no retraction of the cause of death was ever made. More people would continue to let Hillory down, and they still do so to this day. The FDA knew Hillory did not die from GHB, yet they would continue to build their anti-GHB campaign around the Hillory J. Farias platform. What happened to Hillory should clearly show Congress that it has been deceived by the FDA, and also that other information provided to them, built upon this fictitious platform, should be thoroughly scrutinized. Everyone should slow down and take the time to understand the real issues related to GHB, before a substance so beneficial to so many people is legislated away. Our legislators should ask themselves
the following questions: 1.
are found naturally in every cell in my body (or even found naturally in
my body at all)? Doesn’t this tell you that you aren’t dealing with the typical substance that you would normally classify as a Schedule I drug? Hold an open hearing on this subject. Those of us who have experience with these products, including physicians, biochemists and researchers, should have the opportunity to present Congress with the real facts about GHB and GBL and the issues surrounding their use. Congress needs more information from responsible people, not more emotional hysteria. There are answers to this problem that do not involve complete abolition of GHB and GBL from the public as dietary supplements. We should look for ways to make these products available to responsible people. Restrict these products to individuals over the age of twenty-one, as they should be, and allow responsible consumers access to them from responsible suppliers. Legitimate GBL dietary supplements can easily be made so that anyone ingesting even the smallest amount can immediately detect its presence. Sexual assault is a crime of violence of the worst kind, and it’s a problem that needs better solutions. Let’s build a “date rape” prevention drug program around the real substances being used to sexually assault people, and let’s focus more on dealing with the sexual predator, who can continue to access potentially harmful substances no matter what legislation is enacted. •
GENESIS
Part I and II GOOD NEWS FOR POOR SLEEPERS People suffering from poor sleep have found a new ally in RenewTrient, a new, powerful human Growth Hormone secretagogue. Thousands of poor sleepers around the country have already discovered the benefits of taking this new hGH releaser before bedtime. One of these is Bill Hoad, age fifty-five, of Clearwater, FL., who has suffered with insomnia and fibromyalgia since his late teens. It is not uncommon for fibromyalgia sufferers, such as Bill, to also experience insomnia or non-restorative sleep as part of their illness. In 1976, Moldofsky noted that patients with fibromyalgia were specifically deprived of stages 3 and 4 sleep. These are the stages of deepest and most restorative sleep. Moldofsky then experimentally deprived a group of healthy college students for several days of stages 3 and 4 sleep by monitoring their sleep in the laboratory and selectively waking them when they entered these stages. After a few days, these otherwise healthy students developed symptoms of fibromyalgia. Fortunately, the student's symptoms totally disappeared once they resumed a normal sleep pattern. True fibromyalgia sufferers, such as Bill, however, are not as fortunate. In the natural course of their illness, their sleep continues to be deficient in stages 3 and 4 and they continue to go through life, not only in chronic pain , but also in a chronic state of fatigue from non-restorative sleep. Thus, a vicious cycle of pain and fatigue is unleashed, which cannot be affected by the drug armamentarium of traditional medicine. Up until now, these patients have been prescribed tricyclic antidepressants or benzodiazepine type drugs. These drugs in themselves are problematic as they have long half lives which translates into daytime sedation, lethargy, weight gain, dry mouth, and believe it or not, add to their stage 3 and 4 sleep deprivation!! Although these medications will put the patient to sleep, they will also block the deeper more restorative sleep stages. In the fall of 1998, Bill took part in a sleep study for fibromyalgia patients designed to evaluate the effects of RenewTrient on their sleep. Patients like Bill were monitored for three consecutive nights using ambulatory EEG equipment to determine their baseline sleep quality and their response to the addition of RenewTrient or placebo in a double blind fashion. On his baseline night Bill was hardly able to sleep at all. His EEG revealed generalized muscular activity and fast brain waves characteristic of wakeful states. On this night Bill finally achieved "slow wave sleep" at 5:23 a.m.!! On the second night of the study Bill took 15 ml of liquid RenewTrient (app. three capsules) dissolved in 3 oz of pink grapefruit juice at midnight. This time, however, his sleep changed. The EEG tracings revealed that he had achieved stage 3 sleep by 1:21 a.m.! On the third night of the study Bill again received a dose of 3 oz of pink grapefruit juice, but this time it contained no RenewTrient (placebo), again given at midnight. On this night , as in the first night, slow wave sleep did not appear until 4 a.m., consistent with his first night's recording. Finally, we correlated the objective EEG findings with a subjective rating scale filled out by the patient himself in which he noted a definitive improvement in the quality of his sleep, improved morning alertness and reduced pain! The beneficial effects of RenewTrient upon sleep are probably due to the product's blockade of "dopamine," a brain neurotransmitter, which is responsible for keeping us awake and alert. A relative "excess" of dopamine will result in anxiety and insomnia. The stimulating actions of dopamine in the brain are "balanced" by the sedating activity of another neurotransmitter, serotonin, which is a natural antidepressant and hypnotic. We suspect that this blockade of dopamine release causes a relative preponderance of serotonin, which results in the deep, natural sleep experienced by RenewTrient users, as noted in the EEG recordings. The sleep inducing effects of this compound can be noticed within fifteen to thirty minutes after taking four to eight capsules. The serotonergic effects of RenewTrient are also responsible for its antidepressant activity, which is currently under study as well. I guess Bill Hoad summarized it best when he told me: " I feel as if the hand of God is upon me." • Richard Morales, M.D. Dr Morales is a board certified psychiatrist and chronic pain management expert and is currently conducting various clinical studies on the therapeutic applications of RenewTrient for several medical disorders. A
SEXUAL AWAKENING Human Growth Hormone can be thought of as the "master hormone" in the human body as it stimulates the activity of all the other glands, including, of course, the sex glands. As we get older, the hormonal production of the ovaries and testes diminishes resulting in reduced levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Sexually speaking, this represents a loss of fuel to our sexual engines. Up until now, hGH has only been available in injectable form and at a considerable expense to its users. A more recent alternative has been the availability of human Growth Hormone releasers. Amongst these, RenewTrient has emerged as a most potent human Growth Hormone secretagogue. RenewTrient , 2(3H)-Furanone dihydro, causes a natural release of hGH during the deep phases of sleep. This fact has been confirmed through medical testing by Dr. Michael Farley and this writer in separate but related studies. Our combined work has demonstrated that RenewTrient will induce stage 3-4 sleep within one hour and that during this time, there is a release of hGH at least eight to ten times the user's baseline levels. It should be noted that, as we age, we do not stop producing hGH as much as we stop releasing it from the pituitary gland where it is stored. It is for this reason that RenewTrient has captured the interest of physicians throughout the U.S. who are using the product themselves and recommending it to their patients. In addition to its sleep enhancing properties, which, generally, occur when using five or more capsules, an added advantage of the product is its aphrodisiac effect when the product is taken in a lesser dosage. This generally occurs within fifteen minutes of taking an average dose of three capsules. RenewTrient causes an immediate blockade of the brain's dopamine release, which results in a quick rise in serotonin levels. In our brain, increased serotonin creates a heightened awareness of touch, taste, smell and overall sensuality, which sets the stage for a passionate sexual encounter. The product's creators, distributors and this writer are constantly bombarded by testimonials from RenewTrient users about its effects on their sexuality. In women there is an increase in libido, orgasmic intensity and frequency of sexual encounters. Men report more frequent, firmer and longer lasting erections, as well as an increased sexual appetite. A.C., a 65 yr. old married female with fibromyalgia, reported with delight that after a few days on the product her husband was becoming “threatened” by her heightened sexual passion. This “problem” was quickly resolved when he started using the product himself. Ron Y.: “I was asked to rate RenewTrient on a scale from 1 to 10; I give it an 11. It definitely puts a smile on my face. Before using RenewTrient, I was suffering from sexual dysfunction (inability to maintain erection). Now at forty-two I feel I am back in my teens. I can maintain erections for more than thirty minutes.” • Richard Morales, M.D. Dr. Richard Morales is a board certified
psychiatrist and chronic pain management specialist. He has conducted medical
research using RenewTrient in patients with fibromyalgia and sleep disorders. THE
FIGHT AGAINST DEPRESSION Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL) and Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid (GBHA) have been established for quite some time as excellent ways to increase muscle mass, lose weight and increase energy. Essentially, these molecules are the definitive secretagogues. However, many people aren’t aware of the effects of these molecules on a variety of conditions. GBL and GHBA have been explored in the treatment of everything from narcolepsy to pain of childbirth. Every other issue I will be reviewing another use of these molecules. This month I’d like to discuss what is known about the use of these substances in the treatment of depression. Let’s start with some history. In 1961, Dr. Henri Laborit, the discoverer of Thorazine, was looking for a way to increase Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) levels in the Central Nervous System (CNS). Although GABA itself was readily available, very little GABA was available to the CNS due to the action of the digestive system. What Laborit did was to introduce a chemical that immediately converted itself to GABA within the CNS. The chemical was gamma hydroxybutyric acid or GHBA. GHBA was seen as an anaesthetic and sedative by Laborit who took it himself as a mood enhancer and energy booster. His colleague, Dr. Claude Rifat, discovered that it relieved the symptoms of his own longstanding depression. Laborit remained unconvinced of its antidepressant properties despite Rifat’s insistence that it be researched as an antidepressant. In 1978, Rifat wrote a detailed paper on what he thought were the virtues of GHBA. Rifat essentially feels that GHBA is the only true antidepressant in that it does not cause side effects as many of the synthetic antidepressants do. He called it a “sociabilizer” and pointed out that it promotes social interaction and positive feelings, as opposed to mainstream antidepressants, which tend to anesthetize areas of the brain involved with emotion and social interaction. As anyone who has taken the current antidepressant medications can attest, there is a feeling of emotional numbness that often accompanies any relief from depression. Rifat feels that the “relief” experienced by those taking SSRIs may be the numbing of emotion. He dubbed the conventional antidepressants “thymoanesthetizers” in that their action may cause anesthesia of the deeper areas of the brain, such as the thalamus and hypothalamus. These areas (part of the limbic system) are responsible for emotions and “basic” activity, such as eating, drinking, sexual urges, etc. One of the major side effects of conventional antidepressants is lack of sexual urge. In fact, many patients have the experience of forgetting about sexuality completely when taking conventional antidepressants. The differences between GHBA related molecules and conventional antidepressants are astounding. Depressed individuals using GBL, a GHBA precursor (in our studies we use the RenewTrient brand), feel a pervasive sense of being alive and invariably experience a feeling of “being reconnected.” I will address why this might happen below. All credit should be given to Dr. Rifat for being the pioneer of the use of these molecules in the treatment of depression. Rifat successfully treated his own serious depression with GHBA. Unfortunately, his hypotheses were never tested under controlled conditions. His seminal paper on depression and GHBA is available on the internet (see references). Then, about three years ago, the staff at RenewTrient Research noted a distinct difference in some of the reports of people taking RenewTrient. Although most experienced the sedative and sleep-inducing effects, a significant number felt energized and unable to sleep after taking a standard dose. After some questioning, these people invariably reported a history of depression! They began to see these people as “euphoric responders”. Over the years this difference in response patterns for depressives has almost become a way of diagnosing clinical depression. There was only one thing left to do. We conducted a study of individuals with depression to find if RenewTrient did influence the symptoms of depression. We took 40 people diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and followed them over a four-month period to see how their symptoms progressed. One out of three of these people were given a placebo RenewTrient (RenewTrient without the GBL). They were tested with standard tests for depression, given a dose of RenewTrient (1 oz = 6 capsules) and tested after one hour. The results were impressive. 78% of these individuals who got the RenewTrient improved dramatically. The next question was whether these results would stand up over time. The same people were given RenewTrient (2-3 teaspoons = 1-2 capsules) every 4-6 hours over a two-week period. The same results were reported when they were tested after 21 days. As a last measure, we tested 20 people who had no history of depression under the same conditions. They responded in the way that was expected. RenewTrient caused them to have great sleep. However, the daily dose was too much and made them too sleepy. The scientific community has not reviewed this study. Right now it is being submitted for review and possible publication. I still cannot make claims for RenewTrient. I can only report the results to you as they were gathered. There is still much work to be done in studying this class of molecules. What does the study mean? It simply means that there might be another molecule to be used in the fight against depression. Any mental health worker will tell us that the vast majority of people who enter treatment are being treated for depression. Substantial portions of these people have great difficulty with side effects from the standard medications for depression. The results are impressive. You be the judge. • References: Rifat, C. – Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate: The Dawning of a New Age of Antidepressants. Unpublished paper. Staff of Renewtrient Research – Bimodal Response to Renewtrient (1997). Unpublished paper (CG). Available for download at www.renewtrientpro.com Dean, W., Morgenthaler, J., and Fowkes, S. (1997) GHB The Natural Mood Enhancer. Smart Publications, PO Box 4667, Petaluma, CA 94955 Cochrane, K. (1999) 2,3H Furanone di-hydro to Alleviate the Symptoms of Depression. The above article is copyrighted and may not be copied without the written permission of International Antiaging Systems, Les Autelets Suite A, Sark GY9 0SF, Channel Islands, UK. ALL INFORMATION IS EDUCATIONAL AND SHOULD NOT REPLACE THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN.
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