Nerve Growth Factor

[6 Shooter]

Wanting to set this up as a separate subject. Below is what I had written months ago in the SCI net USA section.

On September 7, 2021, I wrote: Did an Internet search on nerve growth factor a month + ago to learn more about the subject and found this. Search on the website re wild thyself and look for: supplement to increase nerve growth factor. It looked promising and seemed to be worth a shot at possibly improving my son's paralysis. We are planning a 6- month test of the 4 supplements. The article suggests more along the lines of brain and the mental function, but does mention chronic or acute trauma without specifics. Bottom line, we have begun a twice a day regime with the 4 supplements suggested without any side effects notable as yet. Will say that the links were a little tricky and for several, had to go directly to the manufacture listed on the bottle.

Maybe this link would work better. http://www.rewildthyself.com/supplem...-growth-factor

If anyone has seen this 2014 article and has known of someone trying this supplement routine, would be helpful to reply and discuss.

On November 11, 2021, I wrote: Sparky831--I now also am not able to open that rewildthyself article on nerve growth factor. For some unknown reason, it has been deleted from their website. So, suggest you look here for more information and supplements that may help to improve a spinal cord injury. 9 Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Effects + What May Increase It - SelfHacked

Will say that it has been about 3 months with a trial of the 4 supplements suggested in that nerve growth factor article dated back to 2014. The 4 supplements suggested are: Japanese Ashitaba, Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate, Lions Mane, and Bromelain. My son has been on those 4 supplements at twice per day. Nothing negative at all to report up to this point. And, have not noticed anything specifically positive either. Am planning on a 6 month trial, and may go to a 12-month trial with a chance to give it our best shot. I would have replied in the message section but could not find any way in that area to click on anywhere to create a reply to your message.

Today, I have an update after 10 months. My son's injury was at C6 as we were told after surgery in 2006. His C6 level of injury has allowed for strong biceps and shoulder muscles, elbow extension, wrists up and down, and neck rotation. However, in 16 years post, he has never had any functional triceps. He could lift his arms above his head, but could not raise his forearms up or down but by maybe an inch or two. Triceps to move the forearm up and down against gravity are a C7 function. His triceps muscle had no nerve innervation. The other day, I asked him while sitting in his wheelchair to raise his arms above his head. Then asked him to raise his forearms up. I saw each forearm go straight up above his head. OMG! He now has functioning triceps muscles and will get him to begin to use those muscles a little every day to get them stronger. At that moment, I said 3 words; something is changing!!

For the last 2 months, in addition to the nerve growth factor supplements, I added Serrapeptase every morning. If you do not know its benefits, suggest you look them up. One of the multiple benefits of Serrapeptase is that when taken internally, the supplement goes to work in the bloodstream to locate and dissolve scar tissue. The active ingredient was determined from the silkworm who has to dissolve its casing to free from it. The spinal cord does not have much blood supply like the brain, but does have some. So, do not know what or how his C7 triceps function started to work. That is not important to me, but the fact that it is now working is a Gift from God and will assist in his independent functionality.

He has now gained function below his original injury level (C6 to C7), 16 years post. Do not know if this is common or very uncommon. If anyone has had any similar experiences of gaining function below the original injury, would be interested in posts of your experience and what functional gains have occurred. A review of a spinal cord chart indicates that a change at the next level down would be C8 that would show finger movements, which he has very little of.

[LethalSpoon]

I dont have the knowledge to grasp what could be happening there, but the fact that your son had recovered triceps function after 16 years of injury is awesome and inspiring. What dose of Serrapeptase are you using?

[6 Shooter]

To answer your question about dosage, first understand that I took Serrapeptase first in order to help remove plaque from my arteries. Think the brand was AST which was a professional grade product with 80 mg capsules. The recommended dosage was 160 mg per day, max. My aggressiveness bumped the dosage up to 320 mg per day. After about 80 total capsules consumed, I ate dinner at 5pm, then took in 320 mg of Serrapeptase around 10pm or so and went to bed. Around 12:30 pm, woke up and threw up violently multiple times!! Happened again about a week or so later. Wow, learned a lesson here. Serrapeptase and food do not mix well at all!!

With my son, thought about how to separate the two. In his situation, he eats just 2 meals per day, lunch and dinner. So, decided to take in Serrapeptase between 6-7 am before leaving for work, then not eating any food until noon. This time span gap will allow the Serrapeptase to absorb in the stomach and bloodstream and have no chance to mix with food until hours later, if at all. Will say that Serrapeptase is sold through various companies. The current brand he is taking is Doctor's Best, in capsule form and 40,000 spu. With this brand, my son is taking in 4 smaller capsules per day which is pretty close to 160 mg total. He has had NO negative reactions thus far.

Want to also say that I believe that exercise is part of his success, keeping his weight to 150 lbs max, and also using a manual wheelchair for 16 years. He also rides a handcycle, and I ride beside him on a bike. This last Saturday morning, we rode 19 miles. Sunday morning, 14.5 miles starting in the garage and returning to the garage. Just taking in a few capsules may or may not have any effect. But I believe that an overall healthy person who is committed to regular exercise plays a major role to the changes he is beginning to notice. Further, he has been taking in Collagen Peptides Type 1 and 3 daily for the last 8-9 months or so. Collagen is in almost every cell in the human body. The collagen is dissolved in water and has been taken with the Serrapeptase at the same time with no negative effects. On a bike/cycle ride, he eats a banana before the ride, BUT, will not take in any Serrapeptase that morning.

[kizh]

Thank you for posting this! I’m in a nursing home and they treat stuff like this as medication, which isn’t really fair. I’m going to get my doctor to write the prescriptions and give it a go though. I am trying your suggested Japanese Ashitaba, Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate, Lions Mane, and Bromelain. Please keep us updated!

Jacob

[6 Shooter]

Jacob: None of the above suggestion supplements require a prescription. However, with my mom in a nursing home in past years, went through HELL trying to get them to give her supplements. What finally worked was making an appointment with her doctor and brow beating the doc until he said UNCLE. At that point, the doctor wrote an order allowing the nurses at the facility to give her the vitamin supplements I recommended (not the ones mentioned above). At point, it was easiest to mix the supplements in her applesauce or other foods to hide them as she refused to swallow pills. Within several weeks, her Alzerheimer's began to reverse and she became able to converse with family members once again.

P.S.--Some of the nerve growth factor supplements recommended are hard to find. Several can be located at www.Vitacost.com. Had to get one of the supplements from Amazon. Just do a search on the name and several sources may popup.

[kizh]

It’s just kind of how it works. For my supply company to supply lubricant they required a prescription. For my housing to allow an extra bedroom, my doctor wrote it on a prescription pad. It’s crazy I know. I didn’t mean to suggest you said I needed one.

[LethalSpoon]

Did your son noticed any difference in terms of sensation level?

[6 Shooter]

Lethal--Do not know that answer. Will have to ask him. Would like to add that he had another major crash 10 years post SCI in 2016. Another guy was driving and my son was belted in the right seat. The driver rolled the side-by-side over on the right side. Think he stuck his right arm out of the vehicle to protect himself during the rollover. Broke his right elbow, broke the right arm bone just below the socket ball in 4 places, and also broke a right-side bone in his upper back behind the shoulder. Would have to count, but he had probably 15+ screws and several plates installed during the surgery. Subsequently, took him to a magnetic clinic (now closed) for about 150 hours of magnetic therapy to eliminate inflammation, speed up bone healing, and lessen the opportunity for further nerve damage in his right arm and hand. All in all, he returned probably 95% plus functionality in the arm, hands, and nerve sensation within a year. He is still able to lock out his right arm which allows him to self-transfer. Being able to still ride his handcycle is a blessing from God.

[6 Shooter]

Now for the rest of the story--After his arm and elbow surgery, he was in an inpatient rehab center due to his quadriplegic situation. Further his arm was put in a sling and was forbidden to use or put any pressure on his right arm. He was not allowed to use his manual wheelchair at all and someone else had to push him around for 3 months straight. In addition, there was NO way to pick him up and transfer him to his wheelchair or bed. Thus, he was transferred via a Hoyer lift. At the end of the 3-month rehab period, he was given clearance to come home, but still restricted to no wheelchair rolling for another month to allow the bones to heal and not break any of those screws or plates. On the way to a doctor's appointment on a Friday, there was a small raw spot on his right forearm that apparently became infected. Sunday, it was obvious that there was a lot of redness and noticeable swelling. Called his ortho doc Monday morning and we headed to his office for a 11:00 appointment. The doc said YIKES and he was in emergency surgery 2 hours later. The plate and screws in his elbow had to be removed and his arm was full of a sepsis infection. If not addressed when we got to the doctors office, he would likely have had his right arm amputated. Whoa! But, after surgery and recovery, it was back to another inpatient rehab center for another 3 months. And, he was on IV antibiotics for 2 hours per day for 6 weeks to kill off the sepsis infection. And, again, right arm was back in a sling, Hoyer lift for all transfers, and no use of his right arm for wheeling around in his wheelchair. But, he and the family endured. He slowly healed up and was able to wheel himself around once again. And slowly over time, his atrophied right arm became stronger we slowly started the self-transfers up once again. And, God's blessings continue to flow toward him.

[LethalSpoon]

Would be great if someone could shed some light about what could be happening. Is Serrapeptase the key factor here? Can reach spinal cord and interact in some weird way with the gliar scar? Or is the combination with some of the growth factors? Could be just spontaneous recovery? Lot of questions

[6 Shooter]

If one reads this blog from beginning to end, is should be obvious that there are a lot of things in play. First, my son has been on a lot of vitamins to keep him healthy, slow atrophy, build muscle, strengthen his skin, take in cranberry extract to significantly lessen the opportunity to get UTIs, and increase joint flexibility. Those have been going into his body for 16 years without any noticeable triceps changes. He has been riding a handcycle routinely since 2013 when a quad friend loaned him one that was not being used. Sometime in 2014, my son found a low-rider handcycle quad person in Kansas who was considering an upgrade. We purchased it and have been riding that second handcycle for 8 years now. When he worked out of the home, we rode 3-4 days a week at around 15 miles per ride. His longest was 23 miles. Since he got a new job and drives to work, he can only ride on Saturdays or Sundays.

He has been rolling around in a manual wheelchair for 16 years now, does a minimum of 10 self-transfers per day, and pushes down on his manual brakes probably 50 times per day, all without any noticeable changes or trunk control. Think it is important to understand that lots of regular exercise is critical. In the many years since Wise's clinical trials, it became obvious that some sort of 666 muscle work is mandatory in order to improve function. We totally believe in Wise's philosophy and have been following this guidance. Throughout all this time, no noticeable changes in triceps.

However, I began to read up on nerve growth factor information and decided to throw some $$$ at the above mentioned as an experiment to see whether those supplements would have any effect at regrowing parts of his spinal cord. First thought about a 3-month trial which became 6 months, and then even longer to maybe a year. We started with one each of the supplements once per day. After about 3 weeks or so without any negative reactions, bumped the dosage up to twice per day, breakfast/lunch and dinner. Still, no negative reactions, mental or physical, to the supplements throughout this time. Need to also point out that we added in Collagen types 1 and 3 about the time we started adding the nerve growth factor supplements. Collagen is in about every cell in the body and is part of every cell structure.

Back to me for the moment. When finding out about my high percentages of plaque in arteries, really focused on how to get rid of that plaque to avoid a heart attack or maybe even a stroke. Read a lot about how to lower cholesterol in the diet and also how to dissolve the buildup of artery plaque. Ran across an article about Serrapeptase and searched the internet about its potential benefits. The benefits were lengthy, and the one that intrigued me the most was artery plaque removal. Found the strongest dosage, purchased it, then started taking it every night on an empty stomach. And, in the back of my mind, recalled something about the researchers finding out that a silkworm had to eat its outside casing to escape to live to become a moth and fly. Thus, the silkworm created some enzymes to do the metamorphosis trick and researchers figured out what it was. Thus, Serrapeptase was discovered and put to use in a lot of sports injuries. Serrapeptase has been around for maybe 10 years now or so. Hummm, wonder what would happen with nerve growth factor supplements and Serrapeptase combined in my son with an SCI?

Bottom line, somewhere in the last month or so, my son began to notice some movements in his triceps and never mentioned anything until I asked him about it and wanted to see some of his C7 triceps movements. And apparently, he has now worked his full triceps movements up to 10 reps per arm without any weights before total fatigue occurs. Absolutely amazing.

Bottom line, he was on the nerve growth factor supplements for maybe 7-8 months with no noticeable triceps changes that I was made aware of. He has added the Serrapeptase now for about the last 2+ months and that seems to be when the triceps changes began to show up.

Lethal--I can only explain to the best of my ability what we did, when we did it, and what I saw over time. Will say that I cannot guarantee the same results for anyone else other to say that just taking a few pills may or may not work. And, not looking to do some surgery on the spinal cord to satisfy mine or anyone else's curiosity. And, do not know if a CT scan would show any changes either. Further, the supplements are relatively inexpensive, available, and apparently do no harm. However, there is a protocol for taking in Serrapeptase and it must be followed precisely, or your guts will really revolt when food is also involved. Will also say that we will continue this protocol into the future and begin to watch for C8 changes which are finger movements.

[LethalSpoon]

Lethal--I can only explain to the best of my ability what we did, when we did it, and what I saw over time. Will say that I cannot guarantee the same results for anyone else other to say that just taking a few pills may or may not work. And, not looking to do some surgery on the spinal cord to satisfy mine or anyone else's curiosity. And, do not know if a CT scan would show any changes either. Further, the supplements are relatively inexpensive, available, and apparently do no harm. However, there is a protocol for taking in Serrapeptase and it must be followed precisely, or your guts will really revolt when food is also involved. Will also say that we will continue this protocol into the future and begin to watch for C8 changes which are finger movements.

I know, dont worry. Im only trying to connect the dots, because I cant find any info about serrapeptase in relation with CNS, and none of its properties seems to explain changes in a injured spinal cord.

[6 Shooter]

Well, this is where I tried to connect the dots. Crash, C6 injury, then scar tissue around the area so the body can heal and prevent further injury 16 years ago. For me, the key word here is scar tissue in the CNS. Next, I read this 16 years later: 13 Amazing Serrapeptase Uses and Benefits Look at point numbers 1 and 8 which discuss a little about removing/dissolving scar tissue. At the time, I was interested in its possible use to remove artery plaque. Further, I understand that Serrapeptase starts in the stomach and is absorbed into the blood stream to search for scar tissue and inflammation from an injury and begin the healing process. Then, I have read in the past where Wise Young has discussed SCI surgeries for his trials in China where he has indicated that there is some blood flow in the spinal cord, but not much. So, connecting the dots in my small brain and given some time and little cost to maybe have a chance to lessen the damage to my son's spinal cord and maybe gain some function in the process. Turns out to be a pretty cheap experiment and we are beginning to see some positive results. Since I am the caregiver here at home mainly on weekends and all evenings/nights, ANY positive change in my son's paralysis makes him more independent and less work for me. I have a life as well that benefits. To end here, do not think you will ever find any info on serrapeptase and the CNS, unless it works consistently and is used on SCI patients. Recall when Wise many years ago experimented with Lithium on new SCI patients. Who would have thought at that time that there was any possibility that lithium would work to lessen the damage and extend some benefits in new SCI injuries.

[LethalSpoon]

Got a bottle to try (60000 units per capsule, enteric coated), I have nothing to lose. Did you asked your son for changes in sensation levels?

[6 Shooter]

Yes I did and he has not noticed changes in sensation, per se. We/He did not do any needle and feather tests either before or after the nerve growth factors. Same with the Serrapeptase. So, his answer may or may not be totally accurate.

I had hopes of changes when starting the nerve growth factor supplements and then adding Serrapeptase, but was shocked when the C7 triceps began to function in comparison to virtually no function the previous 16 years. And recall that the changes came on maybe over several weeks or maybe months. Also recall that nerve cells are very slow growers. Now, it may be helpful to look at this link which discusses the anatomy of the C6 nerves. Spinal nerves: Anatomy, roots and function | Kenhub From the nerve roots at C6, the nerves split into two separate nerves on each side of the vertebra, one for motor and one for sensory. Therefore, based upon the original crash damage, I could imagine that one nerve could be damaged and the other still functional. Or, both could be damaged, or completely severed. This is very complex, new to me, and lots of new terms I am first seeing. Am thinking that more time will tell if any other muscles or sensation begins to show up.