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Copper and CERULOPLASMIN
@alexm you have a lot of useful knowledge (as does @jiri) I did not know that excess copper can inhibit GAD. Thank you for that. My main focus is currently on the glutamate - GABA pathway, after having a seizure after a very high MSG meal. My focus was there anyway but now I’m super focused! There are many ways to end up with high glutamate in the brain and a slow GAD enzyme is certainly very unhelpful. Of course poor brain energy production is important too as excess glutamate should be pumped away into glial cells according to Russell Blaylock (like a bilge pump). I think weak mitochondria could well be at the core of glutamate oversensitivity but you’ve thrown in a new idea with the copper. I have excess copper on hair tests.
@jaj
No worries yes that’s why it’s very common for autistic kids to have high copper on their hair tests
You’ll probably find this article useful, this website also has really good info on all the genes involved in the methyl cycle in general.
We can restore glutamate-GABA balance by:
- Addressing CBS up regulation/BHMT down regulations to decrease alpha-ketoglutarate production.
2. Decreasing intake of food precursors of glutamate (see list below).
3. Supplementing with GABA
4. Copper inhibits conversion of glutamate to GABA by glutamate decarboxylase so avoid copper excess, or better stated, an imbalance between copper and zinc.
5. Calcium is involved in glutamate toxicity, so supplement with magnesium to keep calcium in check. - Remove heavy metals with a chelating agent. Of interest, toxicity due to mercury is aggravated by glutamate excess; mercury and glutamate synergize to damage nerve cells.
Phosphatidylcholine And Phosphatidylserine both help support the BHMT pathway which is known as the short cut route for methylation and this can be depleted by stress so maybe that’s why you find eggs helpful, I also read that lecithin can be protective against seizures.
Unlike the typical supplements which are used for lowering high glutamate levels that didn’t seem to help much at all, I did find this one product made by Amy Yasko called Nerve calm RNA extremely helpful for lowering high glutamate levels and it worked like nothing I tried before, instantly cleared brain fog, autistic symptoms like bad eye contact, great for clearing anxiety caused by high glutamate. So you may be interested in trying it, I think she also recommends it to people who are having seizures.
https://www.holisticheal.com/nerve-calm.html
“Genomic defects, viral illness, and heavy metals will compromise this balance, leading to excess glutamate, insufficient GABA, excitotoxicity, and eventual neuron loss. Viral infection (individuals with Methyl Cycle defects cannot defend well against viral infection) can lead to antibodies against the vitamin B6 dependent enzyme glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), blocking GABA production (this is felt to occur in the pancreas in kids with juvenile onset diabetes). Aluminum poisons this enzyme as well. Excessive alpha-ketoglutarate generated due to the CBS up regulation can be converted into glutamate, but in the presence of lead and aluminum, the glutamate so created cannot be converted into GABA, glutamine, or back to alpha-ketoglutarate. The result is glutamate-GABA imbalance, agitated behavior, and eventually nerve loss.”
@alexm Thanks Alex. Very interesting information to ponder.
One interesting thing to add is that porphyrins block GABA receptors. I suspect these are an issue for me and many others. MSG makes porphyria worse.
My pyroluria expert Anne Pemberton thinks blocked CBS is a bigger issue than upregulation. She disagrees with Amy Yasko on this I’m pretty sure. No idea if she’s right.
This pathway glutamate to GABA is affected by so many things. Bob Miller has some good diagrams showing useful information. If I knew how to post a photo on here I would post!
@jaj Yes I’ve seen bob millers stuff before he has some good work and info.
I don’t know that much about CBS but sulfur issues seem to be because of toxicities like mercury, molybdenum b12 deficiencies, homozygous mutations, and bacterial issues.
One interesting thing now is last week I tried Yasko’s all in one multi vit again which provides low dose methylation support and also was designed so that even the most sensitive people can tolerate it. Last year I couldn’t tolerate any supplemental lithium or even SAM-E without extreme attacks on my right side (which seemed to be my gallbladder/bile ducts) so that meant I couldn’t tolerate her multi vit as it had very low dose lithium in it. I tried it again last week and I can now tolerate it without those issues I got last year and it is definitely working much better, but the trouble now seems to be the Vitamin A it has in it which has 375mcg Vit A Palmitate so I ended up getting red hands and dry mouth especially if I had it around any fats or meals. Which is really annoying as I think if it didn’t have the Vit A it would be really helpful as it is not like other multi vits and b complexes.
What were you lithium levels like on hair tests, as that is supposed to be one thing that helps with glutamate and gaba issues (it modulates both). A lot of people find low dose lithium supplements really helpful, just for me it seemed to trigger extreme detox reactions.
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