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Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
@Naomi_D_Harvey
Jun 22 • 20 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
Brief thread 🧵 on potential ways to mitigate against glutamate exitotoxicity in #MEcfs and #LongCovid
Glutamate has long been known to be involved in the pathology of #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis and more recently in Long Covid.

Recent neurology research confirmed there is significantly elevated glutamate in the brains 🧠 of pwME and LC .amjmed.com/article/S0002-…
Glutamate is a necessary neurotransmitter but when it’s present in elevated levels it can become toxic to neurons.

It’s heavily involved in causing seizures and symptoms such as light and sound sensitivity.

More info here:

healthrising.org/blog/2013/02/1…
“Dr. Paul Cheney has long proposed that a shift towards seizure brought on by overstimulated, overly sensitive  neurons  explains the ‘wired but tired’ symptoms and sensory overload often  experienced in ME/CFS”
“neurons (nerve cells) are sensing stimuli and firing when they should not. This causes amplification of sensory input. Light, noise, motion and pain are all magnified”
Dr Cheney used Klonopin,  Doxepin elixir and magnesium to reduce NDMA receptor activation in ME/CFS.

Other than magnesium much of those are not accessible for most.

But there are a few OTC nutraceutical options with evidence they can protect neurons from glutamate damage.
Rutin

“Rutin protects the brain against glutamate excitotoxicity by improvement in GLAST expression and maintenance of glutamine synthetase levels”

link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Vitamin E

Vitamin E (all forms but mainly tocopherols) helps reduce oxidative stress (a large feature of ME & LC) and may help protect mitochondria in the brain from glutamate toxicity.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20736061/#:~:t…
Grape 🍇 seed extract

As well as being a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral, antioxidant and supporting vascular health, there is evidence grape seed extract can inhibit glutamate induced neurotoxicity pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21810275/#:~:t…
Thread on grape seed extract here including possible contraindications at the end.
Obviously, there’s no studies using these compounds in tandem to try and help treat the neurological sensory sensitivity seen in pwME and LC but using these together (where safe to do so, always check contraindications and side effects) may be a good place to start.
I myself have been struggling more this year than ever before with cognitive slowing including marked sound and light sensitivity. Previously these symptoms only occurred in PEM but recently they’ve been a daily feature for me. So, I will be combining all three and hoping 🤞🏻
Also: I know glutamate is a problem in my body because I induced a severe spine and head pain flare this February but taking N Acetyl Glucosamine which is made from L-Glutamine. I was able to counteract the pain with glycine until the excess glutamate cleared my body.
Excess glutamate can activate pain receptors on the spine. Glycine inhibits those pain receptors, providing short term pain relief.

(Note: just as with glutamate glycine out of balance can cause pain so will only sometimes relieve pain)

.science.org/doi/10.1126/sa…
Some people have severe reactions or symptoms triggered by eating MSG - mono sodium glutamate. This is again caused by excessive glutaminergic action.

Grape seed extract has been shown to protect against MSG induced damage in developing chicken embryos ejceh.journals.ekb.eg/article_233148…
Thank you @IsabelRamirezRD for pointing out Rutin to me which I think also came from @KatBoniface who is the Glutamate Boss and knows much more about this than me!
@IsabelRamirezRD @KatBoniface I literally couldn’t have written this thread for much of the past few months as my cognitive issues have been so much worse. Whilst still bad, & I had to write this in short bursts using the save/drafts feature, I’ve been taking grape seed extract for possible covid exposure…
@IsabelRamirezRD @KatBoniface and I seem to have experienced a slight lift in my sensory sensitivities. Have rutin and Vit E in the way to try and build on this and hoping it’s not just a coincidence 🤞🏻
@IsabelRamirezRD @KatBoniface Some important notes on Rutin:
@IsabelRamirezRD @KatBoniface Adding to the bottom of this: trying to change glutamate balance may require short pulses of things, not continuous dosing. The system may ‘reset’ which could explain the commonly reported phenomenon where pwME feel better only briefly on a new med/supplement.

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More from @Naomi_D_Harvey

Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
Jun 24
“Our results demonstrate that pantethine, which is well tolerated in humans, was very effective in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection and might represent a new therapeutic drug that can be repurposed for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 & long COVID” nature.com/articles/s4159…
“cellular expression of the viral spike and nucleocapsid proteins was substantially reduced, and we observed a significant reduction in viral copy numbers in the supernatant of cells treated with pantethine”
Pantethine is thought to have antiviral actions because it reduces cholesterol levels. Viruses, especially SARS-CoV-2 use cholesterol to replicate and infect our cells.

The body often dramatically reduces cholesterol production in response to viral infection for this reason.
Read 7 tweets
Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
Jun 21
There are sometimes meds or supplements that make people feel worse at first. Sometimes.

These usually will be known about & predictable, as they work by breaking biofilms or can trigger deficiencies in other things when one deficiency is addressed (B12 is a good example).
In some cases, the worsening is a sign that what you’re doing is needed.

But there’s *huge* caveats here.

Some ppl are so severe, they can’t risk any slight worsening.

Some worsening’s are not safe or expected & should never be pushed through.

How do you tell which it is?
You need careful supervision and extensive knowledge of the pathways you are affecting to be able to know how to attempt to address a worsening, even when it is a sign you’re in the right path.

99% don’t have that and they should *not* push through worsening on their own.
Read 13 tweets
Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
Jun 13
Tyrosine 🧵

Tyrosine is an amino acid used to make dopamine, adrenaline and melanin.

Under situations where adrenaline is being released more, like under high stress, it can become depleted, thus reducing dopamine production.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
I can’t read the papers in detail unfortunately, but from what I did read, supplementing Tyrosine is not expected to increase adrenaline or dopamine production - unless you’re depleted already.

So, it’s considered useful to supplement under high stress conditions only.
However, we do know that in #POTS (and maybe other dysautonomia and MCAS) people’s bodies release adrenaline (norepinephrine) simply when upright, to help blood vessels contract.

Maybe useful for us? May improve cognitive function?

#LongCovid #MEcfs
my.clevelandclinic.org/health/disease…
In addition, your autonomic nervous system turns on a series of rapid responses. To compensate for the lower amount of blood returning to your heart after standing up, your body releases the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine. These hormones typically cause your heart to beat a little faster and with more force. Norepinephrine also causes your blood vessels to tighten or constrict. This all results in more blood returning to your heart and brain.
Read 14 tweets
Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
Jun 4
Grape seed extract 🍇

Seriously, get it in your cupboard and if it’s ok for you to take (I haven’t found any proven interactions though), use it for Covid prevention or when infected

200-400mg of 95% OPC extract reduces viral load & stops the virus from replicating by 50%
It’s a tricky one to shop for as some are just ‘grape seed’ & provide 2-3grams of grape seed powder. But what is needed is 200-400mg of OPC extract.

The study wasn’t done by any company trying to sell it (so there’s no conflict of interest) so there’s no ‘gold standard’ brand.
Solaray do a good 100mg one but you’d need 2 a day to get the minimum dose.

solaray.com/products/grape…
Read 15 tweets
Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
May 31
People like the presenter at @ACSMNews hold false beliefs about exercise and illness like ME/CFS and Long Covid.

One of them is they believe the disease is caused by bed rest - but the reality is, 80% never did any bed rest at all at the onset of illness
Other very strict laboratory studies of extreme bed rest (beyond what most people ever experience) show that the metabolic consequences of it do not trigger anything like the diseased state we see in ME or Long Covid.

The presenters are, I’m afraid, showing their ignorance.
They also failed to read or acknowledge the actual exercise science on people with ME & Long Covid that shows a distinct abnormal pathology in response to exercise in these patients. A pathology not seen in any other disease. Again, highlighting their lack of expertise @ACSMNews
Read 7 tweets
Naomi Harvey PhD #WearAMask “Naomi Hammy Dodger” Profile picture
May 30
Ellagic acid [EA] “supplementation (30 mg EA/kg BW) for 14 wk attenuated oxidative stress–induced endothelial dysfunction” [in mice 🐁]

“EA reduces gene expression levels of TNFα, IL-6, and chemokine C-C motif ligand-2 secretion in LPS-stimulated macrophages and adipocytes”
Link ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Urolithin A: important for vascular health & mitochondria

It’s made from Ellagic acid by gut microbiota

BUT - not everyone can make it

60% of the USA cannot make it at all, none, zip, zero.

Most UA supplements provide Ellagic acid, but if you can’t make UA that won’t help.
Read 6 tweets

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