PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT From time to time, Bariatrics Today reports on new products of potential interest to our readers, particularly if academic research data is involved.
PNT-200 and Immunocal
Milk Fractions
Promote Optimal Pre- and Post-Op Care by William Code, MD, FRCPCP
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he medical community has long known that milk consumption offers significant health benefits. However, the full spectrum of milk-derived substances with proven health-promoting properties has not yet been exhaustively explored. Research has revealed, however, several exciting possibilities for those turning to milk for healing. Two such possibilities are PNT-200 (a milk-derived sleep aid) and Immunocal, a cysteine-rich whey protein isolate. Mothers often offer glasses of milk to calm their children. Research into nature’s tranquilizing peptide in milk, under professors Guy Linden and Jean-François Boudier in France, has shown that there is scientific support for this common maternal action. Linden and Boudier started with the concept that newborn babies settled and slept soon after breast feeding, while older infants did not settle as completely. With study, they realized that a newborn had fewer gastrointestinal enzymes to break down proteins. Subsequent investigation revealed a decapeptide with anxiolytic properties. This research may prove beneficial to those looking for new options to deal with the inability to sleep. With the recent class-action suit against Ambien in the United States, many sleep-disorder patients are likely to be searching for alternative sleep aids. A milk byproduct called PNT-200 may be the answer for some of these patients. Initially discovered and patented in France, the protein is now available throughout Canada and the USA without prescription and was awarded a U.S. Patent on December 8, 1998. PNT-200 is a milk byproduct with ten amino acids, a decapeptide. Studies have shown that PNT-200 works on the gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptor complex in the brain—not unlike the benzodiazepines Valium and Librium. However, unlike benzodiazepines, it does not suppress dream or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. A recent study confirms that the isolate also lowers cortisol, a key step in the weight loss struggle and optimal function of insulin receptors. PNT-200 is safe for sleep issue treatment even in the morbidly obese, as it does not depress respiration and does not interact with prescribed medication. Once the function and efficacy of the decapeptide had been established, the next step was to determine its safety for human use. To that end, the decapeptide was double blind tested for its possible addictive effect. Researchers used the standard paradigm
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of the Conditional Place Preference in male Wistar rats. Diazepam (Valium) was used as a reference substance. Unlike diazepam, the decapeptide did not Note: Neither this publication nor its owner receive fiinduce dependence. nancial support from the manufacturer of this product. Further in vivo tests revealed no memory loss or amnesiac effect in subjects receiving PNT-200, while those receiving diazepam experienced memory impairment. Finally, the substance was evaluated for “tolerance.” No tolerance was revealed, meaning that the effectiveness of the decapeptide did not decrease over time. The positive outcomes of these trials set the stage for human trials. The first human study was on the oral ingestion of the decapeptide by healthy people to study their blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety and cognitive function under conditions of moderate stress. Two outcomes were noted. First, human subjects with a high anxiety level had a slower increase in their global anxiety score when they received the decapeptide. Second, there was no apparent effect of the decapeptide on cognitive function or on hemodynamic parameters under these conditions. The second human trial was on healthy volunteers, measuring their hemodynamic parameters and hormonal stress indicators (cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH) under conditions of moderate stress. The study found that during stress tests, the ACTH and cortisol increased in the control group, but not in the decapeptide group. In summary, this agonist effect of the decapeptide enhances the inhibiting action of the neurotransmitter GABA and so modulates the anxiety response, proving it is a valuable tool in the sleep-challenged and the anxious client—both common problems in the postoperative bariatric population. While PNT-200 may have a positive impact on bariatric patients, another milk-derived product offers the enhancement of intracellular glutathione (GSH), which impacts healing, immune optimization and detoxification. Significant study into the effects of GSH has been undertaken by Gustav Bounos, MD, FRCSC, and immunologist Patricia Kongshavn, PhD, at McGill Univer-
B a r i a t r i c s To d a y 2 0 0 6 I S S U E 2 ©2006 ObesityHelp, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Bariatrics Today Magazine. For information about reprints or to subscribe, please e-mail editor@obesityhelp.com or call toll-free (866)957-4636 ext. 353