OK, during the appointment with a neuro doc, on Tuesday of this week, the doctor found that I have peripheral neuropathy. In fact, it's severe enough that I have basically the same risk of amputation that diabetics can have, if they don't follow proper guidelines for treatment, (or if they're just plain unlucky), and they develop a lesion on a foot, that is slow to heal. If I understood him correctly, this is an entirely separate issue from the Parkinson's disease, but I could be wrong.
The neuro doc gave me a full box of 12 sample bottles of a "prescription medical food for the dietary management of endothial dysfunction in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy". It contains:
L-methylfolate 2.8 mg
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate 25 mg
Metyhylcobalamine 2 mg
Those are, respectively, the active forms of folate, (B-9), vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12.
The RDAs for those vitamins, (for me), would be:
Folate, (B-9) 0.33 mg
B-6 2 mg
B-12 0.0024 mg
Obviously, the supplement contains the following percentages of my respective RDAs:
Folate, (B-9) 850%
B-16 1,250%
B-12 83,333%
When I do a little research on this stuff, I find the following:
http://www.oralchelation.com/ingred/folicacid.htmFolic acid toxicity is rare. High doses (above 15 mg) can cause stomach problems, sleep problems, skin reactions, and seizures. Folic acid supplementation can mask vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause permanent damage to your nervous system. Folic acid supplementation should always include vitamin B12.
The recommended dose is one or two tablets, daily.
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12.aspFolic acid can correct the anemia that is caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Unfortunately, folic acid will not correct the nerve damage also caused by vitamin B12 deficiency [1,36]. Permanent nerve damage can occur if vitamin B12 deficiency is not treated.
In recent years, researchers have identified another risk factor for cardiovascular disease: an elevated homocysteine level. Homocysteine is an amino acid normally found in blood, but elevated levels have been linked with coronary heart disease and stroke [38-47]. Elevated homocysteine levels may impair endothelial vasomotor function, which determines how easily blood flows through blood vessels. High levels of homocysteine also may damage coronary arteries and make it easier for blood clotting cells called platelets to clump together and form a clot, which may lead to a heart attack [43].
Vitamin B12, folate, and vitamin B6 are involved in homocysteine metabolism. In fact, a deficiency of vitamin B12, folate, or vitamin B6 may increase blood levels of homocysteine. Recent studies found that vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements decreased homocysteine levels in subjects with vascular disease and in young adult women. The most significant drop in homocysteine level was seen when folic acid was taken alone [48-49]. A significant decrease in homocysteine levels also occurred in older men and women who took a multivitamin/ multimineral supplement for 8 weeks [50]. The supplement taken provided 100% of Daily Values (DVs) for nutrients in the supplement.
Note, however, that the subjects in that research project, presumably did not have a malabsorption problem. 100% of the RDAs will not work for us, while we are having a malabsorption problem - we require a lot more, and it has to be in a highly absorbable form, if we are to derive any benefit from it.
So what's my point in writing this post? How did I get this way? I'm not a diabetic, (at least, not so far). I'm wondering if years of malabsorption of these three vitamins, (along with others), caused the nerve damage that I now have in my feet, (and possibly the rest of my body). I'm hoping that this supplement may eventually at least partially "undo" some of the damage, since it seems to be backed by pretty sound research, but I'm not holding my breath. The only fly in the ointment, is the fact that these articles are based on research on pheripheral neuropathy, caused by diabetes, and I haven't been diagnosed with diabetes. So far at least, my blood glucose level has always been fine, on a fasting blood test, (usually down around a third to half of the trigger level),
http://web.1.c3.audiovideoweb.com/1c3we ... nsorum.pdf
http://vasculardiseasemanagement.com/co ... y-diabetes
I'm not suggesting that this will definitely happen to you, or anyone else with MC, I'm just saying that I really believe that it would be prudent to make sure that you are getting sufficient amounts of vitamins B-6, B-9, (folic acid), and vitamin B-12, (especially folic acid and B-12), if there is any chance at all that you might be having malabsorption issues for any extended length of time. Note that I did take these vitamins, for a while, during the time when I was healing, but I had been malabsorbing for several years prior to that, and I may have started taking them too late, and/or I might not have taken them in sufficient amounts to overcome the malabsorption obstacle.
If you have any thoughts on any of this, I would love to hear them.
Love,
Tex
P. S. Thanks to Gloria, for pointing out a math error in my percentages.
Of course, according to Dr. Edwin Liu, 1-2% of biopsy proven celiacs carry the HLA DQ1 gene, and Dr. Hadjivassiliou has found HLA DQ1 in about 20% of his gluten sensitive, (antigliadin positive), neurological patients. The remaining 80% have either HLA DQ2, or HLA DQ8, according to the respective percentages that are normally found in the celiac population. That implies that HLA DQ1 may be a "legitimate" celiac gene. Unfortunately, though, that doesn't help to understand why some of us have malabsorption problems, while others do not. 
