Taurine And T3 As Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

haidut

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As most of the forum users know, MS is a chronic demyelination disease for which there is officially no cure. However, it is know that pregnant women experience complete remission and the condition exacerbates post-pregnancy, which emphasizes the protective role of progesterone and the detrimental role of estrogen. In males, MS is characterized with low androgen levels and high estrogen, and therapies with DHT in males have been shown to arrest the course of the disease. However, these therapies are still done off-label and are virtually unknown in the Western world.
This study is interesting because it used a metabolomics approach to determine the difference between health myelin cells and cells found in patients with MS. Among the identified metabolite differences, taurine levels emerged as the most notable discrepancy. Thus, the study tested if exogenously supplied taurine would increase re-myelination. While taurine did not do so on its own, it greatly increased the effects of existing drugs known to trigger re-myelination. Another interesting factoid from the study is the several mentions of T3 as a "well-known" and most potent agent that induces rapid re-myelination of nerves. In fact, the study found all drugs and treatments, including taurine to be inferior to T3 as far as re-myelination effects go. Adding taurine to the T3 treatment was synergistic. Apparently, T3 is commonly used in such studies to compare newly discovered agents as candidates for therapy of MS against the most potent known re-myelinating agent (T3). If this is indeed so, then why are we not hearing more about using thyroid as therapy for MS (alone or in combination with taurine)?!?
Btw, the study states there are parallels of the effects (metabolic) of taurine to those of biotin - another cheap, benign agent recently found to benefit MS patients. It also mentions the crucial role of cholesterol in the process of re-myelination, which explains why most MS patients on statins never experience remission and often have the worst form of the disease - primary progressive MS (PPMS - for which biotin was found to be so beneficial).


Taurine lends hand to repair cells damaged in multiple sclerosis
"...New research suggests that administering taurine, a molecule naturally produced by human cells, could boost the effectiveness of current multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) found that taurine helps spark a process called remyelination, which is crucial to repairing the nerve cells damaged in multiple sclerosis. "Remission of MS symptoms is dependent on the process of remyelination, so using taurine in combination with an existing MS drug and a future remyelination-inducing treatment may help patients by improving overall efficacy," says Luke Lairson, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry at TSRI and co-senior author of the study. "This could be something to add to an MS therapeutic regime.""

"...Lairson's next step was to find molecules that could make remyelination-inducing drugs even more effective, so he teamed up with Siuzdak to test the potential of molecules called endogenous metabolites to influence oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Endogenous (meaning "originating from within") metabolites are molecules naturally made by cells and include sugars, fatty acids and amino acids. The new analysis and follow-up tests in cells showed that while the endogenous metabolite taurine cannot induce oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation on its own, it can lend a helping hand when combined with the drugs benztropine or miconazole. The researchers described taurine as a "feedstock." "Combining taurine with drugs that induce differentiation significantly enhances the process," says Lairson. "You get more myelin." Lairson says this discovery is exciting because taurine has already been shown to be safe at certain doses and is readily used by the brain. "We still need to do tests in rodent models, but this is a good starting point," he said."

Metabolomics-based discovery of a metabolite that enhances oligodendrocyte maturation
"...Using established conditions for the in vitro differentiation of purified primary OPC cultures generated by immunopanning of rat optic nerves17 , we differentiated cells over the course of 6 d to a mature myelin basic protein positive (MBP+) fate using triiodothyronine (T3), a known inducer of OPC differentiation25 ."

"...Compounds were added alone or as mixtures in the presence or absence of optimal or suboptimal concentrations of the known OPC-differentiation-inducing drugs benztropine or miconazole. Notably, although both of these drugs have been shown to induce OPC differentiation in vitro and in vivo15,17 , the observed maximal in vitro efficacy of both drugs is suboptimal in comparison to that observed for T3."

"...Specifically, several exogenously supplemented metabolites that were found to increase significantly in mature OLs when compared to immature OPCs—most notably taurine—were found to significantly enhance the processes of OL differentiation. Mechanistic studies suggest that although taurine supplementation can impact the processes of mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in a beneficial manner in this system, neither of these effects alone fully account for the observed differentiation- and maturation-enhancing activities of taurine. Surprisingly, the effect of taurine supplementation was found to be fully recapitulated when endogenous taurine biosynthesis, as well as GSH production, was blocked via the inhibition of an upstream enzyme. This seemingly paradoxical finding suggests that the primary mechanism by which exogenous taurine supplementation enhances OL differentiation is by reversing pathway flux. This notion is consistent with the results of binary global metabolomics analysis, which indicated that serine and cysteine are the most altered metabolite pools impacted by exogenous taurine addition. A reversal in flux, and/or taurine’s ability to serve as an alternative feedstock, results in dramatically increased pools of serine, which serves as a primary building block for the glycosphingolipid (GSL) biosynthesis that is required to produce myelin."

"...When one considers that an essential function of an oligodendrocyte is the production of GSLs, which along with cholesterol make up the majority of the lipid components of myelin (~31% and ~27%, respectively35 ), it is internally consistent that taurine supplementation can enhance OL maturation by directly enabling GSL biosynthesis. The actual clinical relevance of our findings will require extensive preclinical evaluation involving quantitative analysis of the impact of taurine supplementation on in vivo drug-induced remyelination in the context of relevant rodent models of demyelinating disease. Nonetheless, the potential utility is appealing. Taurine is found in the brain at millimolar concentrations and it is a very well-tolerated agent that is actively transported across the bloodbrain barrier38 . As such, taurine supplementation, in combination with existing standard of care drugs, could be a feasible treatment strategy to improve remyelination by enhancing GSL biosynthesis in OLs. A similar strategy involving oral formulation of high dose biotin, which serves as a cofactor for essential carboxylase enzymes required for fatty acid synthesis, has recently been demonstrated to provide benefit in patients with not-active progressive multiple sclerosis39 . Intriguingly, taurine has previously been identified as a dysregulated metabolite in animal models of multiple sclerosis disease, including nonhuman primate models40 , and its plasma levels can be used to distinguish PLP-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice from naive controls41–44 . At a minimum, these findings demonstrate the utility of global metabolomic analyses in the identification of endogenous metabolites that can serve to modulate cellular phenotypes."
 

MCF

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Fantastic post @haidut, thank you;) I have 2 friends (both on pharma drugs) that I shall share this post with.
 

Fractality

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Does anyone think taurine used in these studies is close in quality/purity to what is available on the market?
 

DaveFoster

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Apparently, T3 is commonly used in such studies to compare newly discovered agents as candidates for therapy of MS against the most potent known re-myelinating agent (T3). If this is indeed so, then why are we not hearing more about using thyroid as therapy for MS (alone or in combination with taurine)?!?
Because "Red Bull is bad" and palliative care both yield more profit.
 

kitback

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I am fairly certain that I have been dealing with MS for at least the past few years. I avoid doctors like the plague so I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I have all the symptoms. ( Double vision, blurry vision, grayed out vision, had to stop driving last year. Problems came and went the first couple of years but last year they came and stayed and got progressively worse till I was almost blind. I also had burning nerve pain in various areas of my torso, extreme fatigue, weakness in my leg muscles.)

After reading this post by @haidut , I ordered some Taurine. I was already taking T3 and have been for years. I started taking Taurine with my T3 and also with my T3/T4 at bedtime one month ago.

The results have been pretty miraculous. I started feeling the effects within minutes. The painful, burning nerve pain in my torso quieted down immediately and completely ceased for several hours. It would start to flare up again after 5 to 7 hours until I took my next dose of thyroid and Taurine. As the weeks have gone by, now I rarely experience the burning nerve pain at all unless I am stressed or haven’t eaten for a while.

I also immediately felt stronger, I had a lot more energy, my walking and balance improved quite rapidly. Muscles that had been almost nonfunctional suddenly were working well again. Previously I couldn’t lift my butt up and slide over in bed except by using my lower leg muscles and feet and arms. But after a couple weeks of the Taurine/T3, I was easily able to lift my butt up with my upper leg muscles like I used to do.

The vision issue has been my biggest concern and has greatly impacted my life since I could no longer drive. I didn’t notice any improvement there for the first couple of weeks. I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but I cycle Progest-e two weeks on and two weeks off and I was off during those first two weeks. The third week, when I started the Progest-e again, there were significant improvements in my vision, from one day to the next. I don’t know if the progesterone had a synergistic effect with the T/T or if it took two weeks for some re-myelination of the optic nerve?

I could once again see images and colors instead of a big, gray blur and that made my life a lot better. Things were still blurry and I still had double vision but those symptoms continue to improve daily. One of the issues contributing to my double vision is the fact that when I stare straight ahead, the pupil of my right eye is pointing down and to the right. Apparently that is a sign that the MS is affecting the brain stem where eye control is centered. My left eye seems almost normal now which is wonderful. If I wore an eyepatch, I could probably drive again at this point. I am hopeful that with time, the right eye will continue healing as it has been for the past few weeks.

I am so grateful to @haidut for posting this study!
 

Vinny

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I am fairly certain that I have been dealing with MS for at least the past few years. I avoid doctors like the plague so I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I have all the symptoms. ( Double vision, blurry vision, grayed out vision, had to stop driving last year. Problems came and went the first couple of years but last year they came and stayed and got progressively worse till I was almost blind. I also had burning nerve pain in various areas of my torso, extreme fatigue, weakness in my leg muscles.)

After reading this post by @haidut , I ordered some Taurine. I was already taking T3 and have been for years. I started taking Taurine with my T3 and also with my T3/T4 at bedtime one month ago.

The results have been pretty miraculous. I started feeling the effects within minutes. The painful, burning nerve pain in my torso quieted down immediately and completely ceased for several hours. It would start to flare up again after 5 to 7 hours until I took my next dose of thyroid and Taurine. As the weeks have gone by, now I rarely experience the burning nerve pain at all unless I am stressed or haven’t eaten for a while.

I also immediately felt stronger, I had a lot more energy, my walking and balance improved quite rapidly. Muscles that had been almost nonfunctional suddenly were working well again. Previously I couldn’t lift my butt up and slide over in bed except by using my lower leg muscles and feet and arms. But after a couple weeks of the Taurine/T3, I was easily able to lift my butt up with my upper leg muscles like I used to do.

The vision issue has been my biggest concern and has greatly impacted my life since I could no longer drive. I didn’t notice any improvement there for the first couple of weeks. I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but I cycle Progest-e two weeks on and two weeks off and I was off during those first two weeks. The third week, when I started the Progest-e again, there were significant improvements in my vision, from one day to the next. I don’t know if the progesterone had a synergistic effect with the T/T or if it took two weeks for some re-myelination of the optic nerve?

I could once again see images and colors instead of a big, gray blur and that made my life a lot better. Things were still blurry and I still had double vision but those symptoms continue to improve daily. One of the issues contributing to my double vision is the fact that when I stare straight ahead, the pupil of my right eye is pointing down and to the right. Apparently that is a sign that the MS is affecting the brain stem where eye control is centered. My left eye seems almost normal now which is wonderful. If I wore an eyepatch, I could probably drive again at this point. I am hopeful that with time, the right eye will continue healing as it has been for the past few weeks.

I am so grateful to @haidut for posting this study!

Congratulations about your success so far with such a serious condition, man!
 

Vinny

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Goobz

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There's a theory that MS is caused, at least in some cases, by a chronic intracellular infection by chlamydia pneumoniae.

Interestingly, taurine is recommended by the original doctor treating the infection for MS, Dr Stratton. A taurine metabolite is used to inactivate the bacteria in one of its life stages.

Cpnhelp.org and this YouTube video give some information if anyones interested.

 
OP
haidut

haidut

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I am fairly certain that I have been dealing with MS for at least the past few years. I avoid doctors like the plague so I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I have all the symptoms. ( Double vision, blurry vision, grayed out vision, had to stop driving last year. Problems came and went the first couple of years but last year they came and stayed and got progressively worse till I was almost blind. I also had burning nerve pain in various areas of my torso, extreme fatigue, weakness in my leg muscles.)

After reading this post by @haidut , I ordered some Taurine. I was already taking T3 and have been for years. I started taking Taurine with my T3 and also with my T3/T4 at bedtime one month ago.

The results have been pretty miraculous. I started feeling the effects within minutes. The painful, burning nerve pain in my torso quieted down immediately and completely ceased for several hours. It would start to flare up again after 5 to 7 hours until I took my next dose of thyroid and Taurine. As the weeks have gone by, now I rarely experience the burning nerve pain at all unless I am stressed or haven’t eaten for a while.

I also immediately felt stronger, I had a lot more energy, my walking and balance improved quite rapidly. Muscles that had been almost nonfunctional suddenly were working well again. Previously I couldn’t lift my butt up and slide over in bed except by using my lower leg muscles and feet and arms. But after a couple weeks of the Taurine/T3, I was easily able to lift my butt up with my upper leg muscles like I used to do.

The vision issue has been my biggest concern and has greatly impacted my life since I could no longer drive. I didn’t notice any improvement there for the first couple of weeks. I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but I cycle Progest-e two weeks on and two weeks off and I was off during those first two weeks. The third week, when I started the Progest-e again, there were significant improvements in my vision, from one day to the next. I don’t know if the progesterone had a synergistic effect with the T/T or if it took two weeks for some re-myelination of the optic nerve?

I could once again see images and colors instead of a big, gray blur and that made my life a lot better. Things were still blurry and I still had double vision but those symptoms continue to improve daily. One of the issues contributing to my double vision is the fact that when I stare straight ahead, the pupil of my right eye is pointing down and to the right. Apparently that is a sign that the MS is affecting the brain stem where eye control is centered. My left eye seems almost normal now which is wonderful. If I wore an eyepatch, I could probably drive again at this point. I am hopeful that with time, the right eye will continue healing as it has been for the past few weeks.

I am so grateful to @haidut for posting this study!

Amazing! Keeping fingers crossed you keep improving! If you are also a member of the major MS forums out there, please spread the word of what helped you.
 

kitback

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Just an update. The taurine, as well as increasing my dose of aspirin, continue to help control my MS symptoms. My strength and stamina continue to improve, no muscle weakness, and no burning nerve pain. My vision continues to be a major issue. It is very blurry, both distance and now close up as well. And double vision when one of the eyes goes all wonky and points in a different direction. It is never the same one day to the next and some days are much worse than others. I try to remain hopeful since I have managed to pretty much eliminate all the other symptoms.
 

irob

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Greetings from Germany!
My Name is Robert and my wife is suffering with MS for 5 years now. We decided to treat it without serious medication like Betaferone etc. At this time we are doing the Coimbraprotokoll with high dose of Vitamin D (50.000IE per day) but in my opinion thats only a part of curing MS. So iam realy glad that I have found this forum. I already ordered some taurine but i could not figure out what dosage to use to get an Effekt? Also we have planned to get a blood panel and check the thyroid hormons. So my wife is doing well so far but there are still some paresthesia in the right side of her body. Her right side is feeling colder than her left side. Also she feels cold often. So I hope to get some good ideas out the community and maybe people with ms to.
 

ddjd

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While taurine did not do so on its own, it greatly increased the effects of existing drugs known to trigger re-myelination.
hi haidut do you know if riboflavin b2 is particularly helpful for re-myelination?
ive found that the combination of b2 with taurine is particularly powerful, i feel like its also very androgenic, perhaps testosterone raising.
have you heard of any synergy between b2 and taurine?
 

accelerator

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Just an update. The taurine, as well as increasing my dose of aspirin, continue to help control my MS symptoms. My strength and stamina continue to improve, no muscle weakness, and no burning nerve pain. My vision continues to be a major issue. It is very blurry, both distance and now close up as well. And double vision when one of the eyes goes all wonky and points in a different direction. It is never the same one day to the next and some days are much worse than others. I try to remain hopeful since I have managed to pretty much eliminate all the other symptoms.

That's awesome! how much taurine are you using?
 

kitback

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That's awesome! how much taurine are you using?

When I started taking the Taurine, I took 800 mg with my T3 in the AM and 800 mg with my T3/T4 at bedtime. At first, it would relieve my symptoms for about 5 to 7 hours. As the weeks went on, it provided relief for 12 hours, up until the next dose. Months later, I discontinued the morning dose and just took a total of 800 mg a day with my bedtime T3/T4. That is my current dosage and it still keeps my symptoms at bay.
 

accelerator

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When I started taking the Taurine, I took 800 mg with my T3 in the AM and 800 mg with my T3/T4 at bedtime. At first, it would relieve my symptoms for about 5 to 7 hours. As the weeks went on, it provided relief for 12 hours, up until the next dose. Months later, I discontinued the morning dose and just took a total of 800 mg a day with my bedtime T3/T4. That is my current dosage and it still keeps my symptoms at bay.

Got it, thanks!
 

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