Hi, all.
Ive been asked to comment on the protocol described by Dr. Alan R. Vinitsky in his article entitled 21st Century Miracle Treatment? and in his U.S. Patent Application number 20080045448, dated February 21, 2008, which was apparently initially filed on August 18, 2006, which is entitled, Reversing Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction by Potentiating Methylation.
Dr. Vinitskys protocol bears strong resemblance to several other protocols that are being used to treat methylation problems in autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, vitamin B deficiency, and other disorders. I dont know who came up with this type of treatment first. I know that it was not I, since I based the so-called Simplified Treatment Approach on the complete treatment program used by Dr. Amy Yasko. In addition to these two protocols, there is also the protocol developed by the researchers and clinicians involved in the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) project, the protocol developed by Freddd of Salt Lake City, and the protocol developed by Prof. Martin Pall.
The feature that all these protocols have in common is that they include forms of folate and vitamin B12 at relatively high dosages, as well as some additional supplements. Though these protocols have not all been expressly developed with the intent to stimulate the methylation cycle, they do have this effect.
In the case of Dr. Vinitskys protocol, the preferred form of folate is folic acid, and the preferred form of B12 is hydroxocobalamin, though his patent application includes the full range of forms of these nutrients that are used in all of these protocols. Dr. Vinitsky prefers sublingual administration of these nutrients, though again, his patent application includes other routes as well.
One unique feature of his protocol is that he adds the folic acid in liquid form to the tablet of hydroxocobalamin, and they are administered together, sublingually.
As far as I know, there is no other protocol that uses this combined mode of administration.
In addition, Dr. Vinitsky prefers a mass ratio of 5 to 2 for folic acid and hydroxocobalamin. That is, he recommends adding 5 milligrams of folic acid solution to a 2-milligram sublingual hydroxocobalamin tablet. He suggests taking this approximately 3 times per day, though this is not a rigid recommendation. If this program is followed, the daily dosage of folic acid is then 15 milligrams, and the daily dosage of hydroxocobalamin is 6 milligrams.
Here are my comments:
1. With regard to the use of a form of folate and a form of B12, with some supporting nutrients, I think all the protocols agree in this regard.
2. With regard to the choice of hydroxocobalamin, I of course agree with that, and it is also part of the Simplified Treatment Approach.
3. With regard to the choice of folic acid, I dont think this is the best choice, because all the functions of folate in the body are performed by tetrahydrofolate and its one-carbon derivatives. Folic acid is not useable by the body unless and until it is chemically reduced by the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) to tetrahydrofolate, and this is a very slow reaction, particularly in some people. While Dr. Vinitsky argues that folic acid offers advantages of binding glutamate and formaldehyde, as far as I have been able to learn, it does not do that unless it is first chemically reduced to the biochemically useable forms of folate. So my opinion is that it would be better to use folinic acid or 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate, which incidentally are also included in his patent application.
4. With regard to his recommendation to mix the two nutrients together and take them sublingually, I think that is a good idea. Normally, folate is absorbed in the earlier part of the small intestine, while B12 is absorbed in the terminal ileum. While there are probably more people who have difficulty absorbing B12 normally, there are also some people who cannot absorb folate normally, such as because of celiac disease. So mixing them together and taking them sublingually should give better assurance that they will be absorbed into the blood, and that they will be presented to the cells at essentially the same time, which could be advantageous, because they are used together to support the methylation cycle. So I would say that Dr. Vinitsky has a good idea here.
5. With regard to the dosages he recommends, I think the folate dosage is rather high, but this may be necessary to compensate for the fact that folic acid is not very well utilized by the bodies of many people. If he were to use folinic acid or 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate instead, he would likely be able to use smaller dosages. I note that for the hydroxocobalamin, one of his dosages is the amount I have suggested in the Simplified Treatment Approach, so if this is taken three times per day, it would be three times the daily dosage. I think it will depend on the individual as to whether this is too much, or whether it is satisfactory. Im not able to make a judgment about what total dosage per day is best. There are differing philosophies as to whether it is best to go slow so that the resulting symptoms are more tolerable, or to push through the symptoms by consistently taking larger dosages. My approach has been to be cautious and to recommend going slowly, but it is possible that the other approach will get a person to recovery sooner. I just dont know the answer to this, and I think a controlled study would be necessary to determine it.
6. In any case, my position continues to be that it is necessary for a person to work with a licensed physician while on a treatment to lift the partial methylation cycle block, to make sure that any adverse effects that may arise will be promptly and properly dealt with.
Best regards,
Rich
Ive been asked to comment on the protocol described by Dr. Alan R. Vinitsky in his article entitled 21st Century Miracle Treatment? and in his U.S. Patent Application number 20080045448, dated February 21, 2008, which was apparently initially filed on August 18, 2006, which is entitled, Reversing Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction by Potentiating Methylation.
Dr. Vinitskys protocol bears strong resemblance to several other protocols that are being used to treat methylation problems in autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, vitamin B deficiency, and other disorders. I dont know who came up with this type of treatment first. I know that it was not I, since I based the so-called Simplified Treatment Approach on the complete treatment program used by Dr. Amy Yasko. In addition to these two protocols, there is also the protocol developed by the researchers and clinicians involved in the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) project, the protocol developed by Freddd of Salt Lake City, and the protocol developed by Prof. Martin Pall.
The feature that all these protocols have in common is that they include forms of folate and vitamin B12 at relatively high dosages, as well as some additional supplements. Though these protocols have not all been expressly developed with the intent to stimulate the methylation cycle, they do have this effect.
In the case of Dr. Vinitskys protocol, the preferred form of folate is folic acid, and the preferred form of B12 is hydroxocobalamin, though his patent application includes the full range of forms of these nutrients that are used in all of these protocols. Dr. Vinitsky prefers sublingual administration of these nutrients, though again, his patent application includes other routes as well.
One unique feature of his protocol is that he adds the folic acid in liquid form to the tablet of hydroxocobalamin, and they are administered together, sublingually.
As far as I know, there is no other protocol that uses this combined mode of administration.
In addition, Dr. Vinitsky prefers a mass ratio of 5 to 2 for folic acid and hydroxocobalamin. That is, he recommends adding 5 milligrams of folic acid solution to a 2-milligram sublingual hydroxocobalamin tablet. He suggests taking this approximately 3 times per day, though this is not a rigid recommendation. If this program is followed, the daily dosage of folic acid is then 15 milligrams, and the daily dosage of hydroxocobalamin is 6 milligrams.
Here are my comments:
1. With regard to the use of a form of folate and a form of B12, with some supporting nutrients, I think all the protocols agree in this regard.
2. With regard to the choice of hydroxocobalamin, I of course agree with that, and it is also part of the Simplified Treatment Approach.
3. With regard to the choice of folic acid, I dont think this is the best choice, because all the functions of folate in the body are performed by tetrahydrofolate and its one-carbon derivatives. Folic acid is not useable by the body unless and until it is chemically reduced by the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) to tetrahydrofolate, and this is a very slow reaction, particularly in some people. While Dr. Vinitsky argues that folic acid offers advantages of binding glutamate and formaldehyde, as far as I have been able to learn, it does not do that unless it is first chemically reduced to the biochemically useable forms of folate. So my opinion is that it would be better to use folinic acid or 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate, which incidentally are also included in his patent application.
4. With regard to his recommendation to mix the two nutrients together and take them sublingually, I think that is a good idea. Normally, folate is absorbed in the earlier part of the small intestine, while B12 is absorbed in the terminal ileum. While there are probably more people who have difficulty absorbing B12 normally, there are also some people who cannot absorb folate normally, such as because of celiac disease. So mixing them together and taking them sublingually should give better assurance that they will be absorbed into the blood, and that they will be presented to the cells at essentially the same time, which could be advantageous, because they are used together to support the methylation cycle. So I would say that Dr. Vinitsky has a good idea here.
5. With regard to the dosages he recommends, I think the folate dosage is rather high, but this may be necessary to compensate for the fact that folic acid is not very well utilized by the bodies of many people. If he were to use folinic acid or 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate instead, he would likely be able to use smaller dosages. I note that for the hydroxocobalamin, one of his dosages is the amount I have suggested in the Simplified Treatment Approach, so if this is taken three times per day, it would be three times the daily dosage. I think it will depend on the individual as to whether this is too much, or whether it is satisfactory. Im not able to make a judgment about what total dosage per day is best. There are differing philosophies as to whether it is best to go slow so that the resulting symptoms are more tolerable, or to push through the symptoms by consistently taking larger dosages. My approach has been to be cautious and to recommend going slowly, but it is possible that the other approach will get a person to recovery sooner. I just dont know the answer to this, and I think a controlled study would be necessary to determine it.
6. In any case, my position continues to be that it is necessary for a person to work with a licensed physician while on a treatment to lift the partial methylation cycle block, to make sure that any adverse effects that may arise will be promptly and properly dealt with.
Best regards,
Rich
