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Date: 09 Jan 2009 10:29:39
From: Rob
Subject: News Substance to be banned from chess?
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The question is:
Since Nicotinamide is clinically proven to improve cognition; should
it be banned from use as it relates to chessplay?
Vitamin B3 May Reduce Alzheimer=92s Memory Loss
November 4, 2008
An over-the-counter vitamin in high doses prevented memory loss in
mice with Alzheimer=92s disease, and UC Irvine scientists now are
conducting a clinical trial to determine its effect in humans.
Nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, lowered levels of a protein called
phosphorylated tau that leads to the development of tangles, one of
two brain lesions associated with Alzheimer=92s disease. The vitamin
also strengthened scaffolding along which information travels in brain
cells, helping to keep neurons alive and further preventing symptoms
in mice genetically wired to develop Alzheimer=92s.
=93Nicotinamide has a very robust effect on neurons,=94 said Kim Green,
UCI scientist and lead author of the study. =93Nicotinamide prevents
loss of cognition in mice with Alzheimer=92s disease, and the beauty of
it is we already are moving forward with a clinical trial.=94
The study appears online Nov. 5 in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Nicotinamide is a water-soluble vitamin sold in health food stores. It
generally is safe but can be toxic in very high doses. Clinical trials
have shown it benefits people with diabetes complications and has anti-
inflammatory properties that may help people with skin conditions.
Nicotinamide belongs to a class of compounds called HDAC inhibitors,
which have been shown to protect the central nervous system in rodent
models of Parkinson=92s and Huntington=92s diseases and amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis. Clinical trials are underway to learn whether HDAC
inhibitors help ALS and Huntington=92s patients.
In the nicotinamide study, Green and his colleague, Frank LaFerla,
added the vitamin to drinking water fed to mice. They tested the
rodents=92 short-term and long-term memory over time using water-maze
and object-recognition tasks and found that treated Alzheimer=92s mice
performed at the same level as normal mice, while untreated
Alzheimer=92s mice experienced memory loss.
The nicotinamide, in fact, slightly enhanced cognitive abilities in
normal mice. =93This suggests that not only is it good for Alzheimer=92s
disease, but if normal people take it, some aspects of their memory
might improve,=94 said LaFerla, UCI neurobiology and behavior professor.
Scientists also found that the nicotinamide-treated animals had
dramatically lower levels of the tau protein that leads to the
Alzheimer=92s tangle lesion. The vitamin did not affect levels of the
protein beta amyloid, which clumps in the brain to form plaques, the
second type of Alzheimer=92s lesion.
Nicotinamide, they found, led to an increase in proteins that
strengthen microtubules, the scaffolding within brain cells along
which information travels. When this scaffolding breaks down, the
brain cells can die. Neuronal death leads to dementia experienced by
Alzheimer=92s patients.
=93Microtubules are like highways inside cells. What we=92re doing with
nicotinamide is making a wider, more stable highway,=94 Green said. =93In
Alzheimer=92s disease, this highway breaks down. We are preventing that
from happening.=94
Source
UC Irvine
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Date: 10 Jan 2009 09:20:11
From: Rob
Subject: Re: News Substance to be banned from chess?
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On Jan 9, 9:14=A0pm, help bot <[email protected] > wrote:
> On Jan 9, 1:29=A0pm, Rob <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > The question is:
> > Since Nicotinamide is clinically proven to improve cognition; should
> > it be banned from use as it relates to chessplay?
>
> =A0 Good question. =A0 I don't believe the idea behind
> drug-testing is to prevent age-related diseases,
> but rather to prevent, say, youthful aspirants to
> victory from gaining an unfair advantage via the
> use of, say, stimulants.
>
> =A0 Let's say you have two players of roughly equal
> ability, both entered in a chess competition.
> One of them is drug-free, drinking purified water
> and eating organically-grown fruits and veggies.
> The other, however, shows up with a cannister
> of dark-roasted coffee, some dyphenhydramine
> hydrochloride capsules (i.e. sleeping pills), a
> miniature pocket set, a pocket-sized computer
> with tinyFritz 1.0 installed, and a book on how
> to distract and annoy opponents, plus a copy
> of ECO to stash in one of the restroom stalls
> before play begins.
>
> =A0 =A0Well then, there is very likely not going to be
> a fair competition of chess skill in this scenario,
> but something else entirely. =A0 What bugs me is
> that while one fellow is competing at chess, the
> other one seems to be competing at an entirely
> different activity-- cheating; he really has no
> competition at all, since his opponent is not
> interested is that game, but only in chess.
>
> =A0 At any rate, there must be a number of drugs
> or herbs which can improve results in chess
> far better than some random Alzheimer's meds.
> =A0 I've gotten a few newsletters in the mail from
> the good people at Consumers Reports, on the
> subject of health. =A0 Like all other rational folks
> (not that imbecile, Mr. Parr), they recognize
> that there are several, if not many, substances
> which can enhance cognition, improve mental
> stamina or alertness, and thus /could/ be of
> some use to mankind-- though not necessarily
> for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage
> in a boardgame competition.
>
> =A0 Supposedly, your boss' boss, LP, has a
> thing about drug-testing in chess because of
> the infringement of Big Brother on mankind.
> The Libertarian view is that big government is
> bad; small government is good-- and Mr. Parr
> apparently extends this even unto the FIDE.
>
> =A0 But somebody high-up wants to get chess
> into the Olympics... probably because it
> would lead to mo' money. =A0 You see, mo'
> money is what it's all about, and when it's
> not about mo' money, it's about power or
> fame (or sex).
>
> =A0 So these bureaucrats are not really
> interested in adding new drugs to a list to
> watch out for; all they really want is mo'
> money, and for that there need be just one
> drug or substance... provided the OC does
> not interfere with its own lists.
>
> =A0 -- help bot
Great response until you strayed on my "bosses' boss" statement. As a
happily married man, my wife has no equal and her only "boss" is the
nurse manager at the hospital! LOL
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Date: 09 Jan 2009 19:14:24
From: help bot
Subject: Re: News Substance to be banned from chess?
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On Jan 9, 1:29=A0pm, Rob <[email protected] > wrote:
> The question is:
> Since Nicotinamide is clinically proven to improve cognition; should
> it be banned from use as it relates to chessplay?
Good question. I don't believe the idea behind
drug-testing is to prevent age-related diseases,
but rather to prevent, say, youthful aspirants to
victory from gaining an unfair advantage via the
use of, say, stimulants.
Let's say you have two players of roughly equal
ability, both entered in a chess competition.
One of them is drug-free, drinking purified water
and eating organically-grown fruits and veggies.
The other, however, shows up with a cannister
of dark-roasted coffee, some dyphenhydramine
hydrochloride capsules (i.e. sleeping pills), a
miniature pocket set, a pocket-sized computer
with tinyFritz 1.0 installed, and a book on how
to distract and annoy opponents, plus a copy
of ECO to stash in one of the restroom stalls
before play begins.
Well then, there is very likely not going to be
a fair competition of chess skill in this scenario,
but something else entirely. What bugs me is
that while one fellow is competing at chess, the
other one seems to be competing at an entirely
different activity-- cheating; he really has no
competition at all, since his opponent is not
interested is that game, but only in chess.
At any rate, there must be a number of drugs
or herbs which can improve results in chess
far better than some random Alzheimer's meds.
I've gotten a few newsletters in the mail from
the good people at Consumers Reports, on the
subject of health. Like all other rational folks
(not that imbecile, Mr. Parr), they recognize
that there are several, if not many, substances
which can enhance cognition, improve mental
stamina or alertness, and thus /could/ be of
some use to mankind-- though not necessarily
for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage
in a boardgame competition.
Supposedly, your boss' boss, LP, has a
thing about drug-testing in chess because of
the infringement of Big Brother on mankind.
The Libertarian view is that big government is
bad; small government is good-- and Mr. Parr
apparently extends this even unto the FIDE.
But somebody high-up wants to get chess
into the Olympics... probably because it
would lead to mo' money. You see, mo'
money is what it's all about, and when it's
not about mo' money, it's about power or
fame (or sex).
So these bureaucrats are not really
interested in adding new drugs to a list to
watch out for; all they really want is mo'
money, and for that there need be just one
drug or substance... provided the OC does
not interfere with its own lists.
-- help bot
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