Soothamide (PEA) Cream Helps Psoriasis & Seborrheic Dermatitis

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I have posted on PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) for several years on this site – use the search function top left above photo and type in PEA. No prescription is needed. Before it was available in the US, patients ordered it from the Netherlands where it is sold as PeaPure. One whose neuropathic pain was finally relieved by it, ran out, flew to the Netherlands just to pick up an emergency supply and flew back immediately. Thankfully Vitalitus began offering PEA capsules in the US a few years ago, and then made the 2% cream called Soothamide, which I have also posted on this site. It may even relieve the neuropathic pain of Complex Regional Pain  Syndrome (CRPS).

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Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA, or PeaPure in Netherlands) is nontoxic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and has no side effects. Your body makes it; plants make it. Years ago the publications on it were extensive. A Nobel Prize winner published on it in the early 90’s. When taken in capsule form for CRPS, I have seen it take 6 or 8 weeks to be effective, but when it relieved pain, it lowered pain from very severe to mild in a patient bedridden for 6 years. I have seen the cream relieve neuropathic pain instantly in a couple minutes in some with CRPS. I have seen the cream fail to relieve CRPS pain in one patient, who then wiped the remainder of the cream along the lumbar spine of her dad who had been groaning with pain, who had instant relief. And I have published on its use for vulvodynia, discussing its autocoid mechanism.

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Skin conditions can be their own constant day and night torment. A patient reports almost complete immediate relief from the itch of psoriasis and seborrhea (around eyes and all over scalp). Itch can be a form of neuropathic pain besides more common causes such as allergy. The rash, the bleeding crusted itchy skin of those two conditions is treated by prescription steroid creams that can thin the skin, and thin skin itself can predispose to bleeding, further discomfort, and frankly did not help this patient. If you use steroid creams, it must be applied 3 or 4 times a day and use gloves or caution where you rub your fingers — risk thinning the delicate skin near eyes and nether regions as weeks and weeks drag on. Soothamide worked quickly, not needing 3 or 4 applications per day.

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Instantly the itch was markedly better. And overnight! the rash was markedly improved. The patient had had some mild relief from the bleeding itchy scabs on scalp with T/Sal shampoo but not great, for weeks and weeks. Before that, DHS Zinc shampoo helped only mild “dandruff”, did not touch the crusts and itch. Aloe Vera helped the itch for a few hours. Steroid creams were no help for itch, for 4 months scratching the delicate skin around eyes with hard scratchy cloth almost like a dry loofah sponge. Soothamide 2% took away the itch around eyes immediately though it can easily get into eyes when washed or when rubbing the eyes, it does not burn. It is truly very soothing.

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It’s also a remarkable moisturizer, absorbs very quickly, is not greasy, and for those whose other skin conditions are unusually thickened, it would likely be worth a try.

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I see Vitalitus now also sells CBD, that is cannabidiol, the cannabinoid from the marijuana plant that has no psychotomimetic properties – does not make you “high”. GW Pharmaceuticals’s “Epidiolex”, their CBD, recently received FDA approved for epilepsy. Imagine! a Schedule I drug received FDA approval! hmmm, must not be deadly after all. Wait til the DEA kills that idea. Does congress make sense when they dictate medicine?

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

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It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Comments are welcome.

This site is not for email, not for medical questions, and not for appointments.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please IGNORE THE ADS BELOW. They are not from me.

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Vitalitus is the only reputable supplier of PEA in the US – palmitoylethanolamide

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Strong Warning

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 Purchase PEA only from *Vitalitus* in the U.S.

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I have previously warned readers, but I continue to be bombarded with fake comments about the toxic contaminated Chinese powder with a fake address in Florida that sells on the web at a “bargain” so that people think they will save money. 

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Do not buy from any other source than Vitalitus in the U.S. Or purchase PeaPure in the Netherlands. 

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Take the capsules with something fatty to help them absorb (glass of whole milk, peanut butter, etc) and continue for 2 to 3 months to determine if they work. The PEA Cream called Soothamide will give relief in a few minutes when it works for pain. 

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

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It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Comments are welcome.

This site is not for email, not for medical questions, and not for appointments.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please IGNORE THE ADS BELOW. They are not from me.

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PEA Capsules & PEA Cream from Vitalitus – Soothamide

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Palmitoylethanolamide (Pea in the US, PeaPure in Netherlands) is a glial modulator, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and anticonvulsant  with mechanisms involving the innate immune system and mast cells. It binds to a receptor in the cell nucleus. The major focus of hundreds of publications on it has been inflammation, neuropathic pain states and mast cell related disorders from University of Oxford,  Journal of Arthritis Research and Therapy, Journal of Pain Research, University of Bologna School of Dentistry (a study for TMJD pain), etc.

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It is a food supplement. It is a naturally occurring lipid amide, i.e. the body makes it, plants make it. It is available as a capsule and a cream without prescription. It may take days to weeks to work, but I’ve seen the cream work in two minutes – shock!  The relief is amazing for someone who has failed everything for intractable pain.

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Soothamide Cream is 2% palmitoylethanolamide from Vitalitus in the US.

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It’s been fascinating to see the cream work for so many pain syndromes including severe CRPS/RSD nerve pain! arthritis, muscle and severe ligamentous strain – often in less than two minutes! Not everyone, not every pain benefits but it is well worth trying and very affordable for large amount.

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One senior whose osteoarthritis in finger joints has been painful, very stiff, and prevents him from only very slightly being able to bend four fingers on his right hand. It’s been years since he’s been able to touch tips of the fingers to his palm because of stiffness and pain. They just would not go.

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After applying Soothamide cream, in less than 20 minutes he was able to fully, easily and painlessly bend all four fingers to the palm without any trace of stifness – quite astonishing. And the next day, three of the four fingers still had complete 100% relief 20 hours later, but it did not last for the index finger, even applying it later to that finger over those 20 hours. Twenty hours relief is amazing for three fingers after years of severe stiffness and pain. Relief may have been hours longer, but he took off for the day and data like this is difficult to pay attention to, and then to make a memory note of how long.

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Another with knee pain and significant joint effusion (fluid that creates pressure inside the joint), had relief for 3 hours after one application in the office.

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I have seen the cream relieve low back pain completely in less than two minutes. This was the father of a patient who had tried it in the office and it failed to help that patient, but she had a little left on her hand and schmeared it across her dad’s back. All pain gone in less than two minutes!  I am assuming this was muscle strain, not deep mechanical structures in the spine.

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Another patient with RSD pain on the foot had no benefit, but she then applied the Soothamide to a very severe pain from torn ligament in the arm that was more painful than her RSD. It was gone in less than two minutes, to her shock and delight.

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The cream has only recently been available in the US, and I have seen it help so many patients including those with CRPS/ RSD nerve pain. Most relief from creams is short lived, but if you see 4 hours of relief, or 20 plus hours as the patient above, it is very special.

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The cream has been such fun! Having seen even the severe nerve pain of CRPS/RSD improve or be astonishingly gone -!- in less than two minutes -!- it helps doctors forget the pain of being unable to offer anything more. Here we have capsules and cream that do not require prescription. And even in the most extreme pain syndromes is worthy of a try.

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PEA capsules – open and place powder under tongue for instant relief of breakthrough pain.

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That was a blessing in the middle of last night for one of my patients with RSD who was having a severe flare of pain. In August, she had started PEA capsules 3 twice daily – always take with something fatty (milk, peanut butter, etc) to aid absorption. In 3 weeks it had reduced her lower limb pain from severe to mild-moderate while in bed. Now months later, after reducing another medication briefly due to side effects, pain flared severely. What to do?

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I instructed her to open the PEA capsule and place the powder under tongue to absorb there. She had relief. I don’t have data to relate more as yet but hope to post as I learn from her and hopefully other patients who write in their comments. How much is safe? I will try to find more information. We know the body makes it, plants make it and at doses of 6 capsules daily it causes no side effects.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.
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It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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This site is not for email and not for appointments.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone the office to schedule.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please IGNORE THE ADS BELOW. They are not from me.

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PEA in US (palmitoylethanolamide), PeaPure in Netherlands – DO NOT BUY OTHER SOURCES

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PEA in US is palmitoylethanolamide from Vitalitus

PeaPure in  Netherlands

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DO NOT BUY OTHER SOURCES

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PEA is thankfully available in the US since Spring 2016 from ONE company: Vitalitus. It is a trusted source. Buy PEA only from Vitalitus in the US, others are fraudulent sources.

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I strongly recommend that you AVOID any product with a “PEA-type” name trying to sell elsewhere in the US or on the web.

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One such fraudulent source is a foreign entity pretending to be in the US, and they are now listing a US address on Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL 33131 United States. But that is a virtual office address which is still listed for rent at $60/month.

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It looks like they’ve morphed the website and their product label. Very professional looking but AVOID THEM LIKE POISON. They keep trying to post comments on my website. They may even be buying advertising on my free site – anyone can advertise but I do not endorse products with this one exception, PEA, because it is unique.

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I have also seen “PEA-type” powder available on the web. Do not buy powders claiming they are pure palmitoylethanolamide. They are not trustworthy sources.

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Make sure your PEA comes only from a trustworthy source. In the US, that is Vitalitus. PEA works on the innate immune system, mast cells, and much more. There are more than 400 scientific publications on palmitoylethanolamide since it was rediscovered by a Nobel Prize Winner in 1993. Vitalitus’ PEA capsules are 100% palmitoylethanolamide. Pain relief is one of its immune functions. Your body makes it, plants make it, it has no toxicity, but follow directions or capsules will not fully absorb.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.
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It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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This site is not for email and not for appointments.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone the office to schedule.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please IGNORE THE ADS BELOW. They are not from me.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.
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It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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This site is not for email and not for appointments.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone the office to schedule.

~~~~~

For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please ignore the ads below. They are not from me.

 

Vulvodynia Topical Treatment – Monotherapy Obsolete

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New topical treatment of vulvodynia based on the pathogenetic role of cross talk between nociceptors, immunocompetent cells, and epithelial cells

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Authors Keppel Hesselink JM, Kopsky DJ, Sajben N
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Journal of Pain Research 2016, 9:757-762

 

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Abstract: Topical treatments of localized neuropathic pain syndromes in general are mostly neglected, mainly due to the fact that most pain physicians expect that a topical formulation needs to result in a transdermal delivery of the active compounds. On the basis of the practical experience, this study brings forth a new, somewhat neglected element of the vulvodynia pathogenesis: the cross talk between the nerve endings of nociceptors, the adjacent immunocompetent cells, and vaginal epithelial cells. Insight into this cross talk during a pathogenic condition supports the treatment of vulvodynia with topical (compounded) creams. Vulvodynia was successfully treated with an analgesic cream consisting of baclofen 5% together with the autacoid palmitoylethanolamide 1% [Pea, PeaPure], an endogenous anti-inflammatory compound. In this review, data is presented to substantiate the rationale behind developing and prescribing topical products for localized pain states such as vulvodynia. Most chronic inflammatory disorders are based on a network pathogenesis, and monotherapeutic inroads into the treatment of such disorders are obsolete.

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[Vitalitus, the American manufacturer of PEA, expects to have their first batch of cream for sale in 2 weeks. It’s a 2% PEA cream.]

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice,

diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Please understand that it is not legal for me to give medical advice without a consultation.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone my office.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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The advertising below is not recommended by me.

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PEA Vitalitus Micronized/ultramicronized superior

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From the Journal of Neuroinflammation comes this 2014 discussion of PEA related to the recent post on Vitalitus PEA product. PEA is micronized.

 

Micronized/ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide displays superior oral efficacy compared to nonmicronized palmitoylethanolamide in a rat model of inflammatory pain

 

… PEA’s ability to modulate inflammation and pain in animal studies led to the proposal of this endogenous fatty acid amide as a component of a complex homeostatic system controlling the basal threshold of both inflammation and pain. The fact that PEA is produced during inflammatory conditions supports this role. Further, data showing selective inhibition of PEA degradation to be anti-inflammatory points more directly to PEA’s involvement in the control of pain and inflammation. As an endogenous compound, PEA has no adverse effects at pharmacological doses while possessing a double therapeutic effect (that is, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive) (see [8,9] for recent reviews).

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This study allows me to be confident that the product sold in USA is as helpful as PeaPure sold in Netherlands.

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PEA is a glial modulator. It clearly modulates the TLR4 mediated inflammatory responses and dose-related inhibits inflammatory evoked TNFa and IL-1b gene expression. This and other mechanisms are summarized by Jan Keppel Hesselink in 2013.

 

 

 

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice,

diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Please understand that it is not legal for me to give medical advice without a consultation.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone my office.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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The advertising below is not recommended by me.

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PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) made in America – like PeaPure

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Vitalitus

now sells PEA

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Palmitoylethanolamide is now sold in the US as PEA by Vitalitus. It should be very comparable with the product PeaPure from the Netherlands. Since a Nobel Prize winner rediscovered it in 1993, over 400 scientific papers have been published on it. It is a food supplement, your brain makes it, plants make it. It is nontoxic, a glial modulator that works on the innate immune system, inflammation and mast cells, among many functions.

 

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Remember, you need to take PEA capsules with something a little fatty, like milk, or peanut butter, or buttered toast. Otherwise, it will not absorb. Because it is lipophilic, i.e. likes fat, it does not dissolve in water. Only oil.

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Dosage – use the search functions on left column for PEA or palmitoylethanolamide or PeaPure. You will find where I previously imported the instructions from the Netherlands website.

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PeaPure has helped intractable nerve pain. We published in 2014 the case of a woman in remission after 8 years of vulvodynia, treated with PeaPure.

 

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I have been very pleased with PeaPure (palmitoylethanolamide) for neuropathic pain. It is available in a capsule as a food supplement called PEA, without prescription.

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[Edited 12-13-16 for repetitious comments. Link added.]

 

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Update on PeaPure – Palmitoylethanolamide

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Please refer to this post for context. Here is the addition:

 

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2014

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It is with a heavy heart that I report this news:

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Palmitoylethanolamide is

now available only from the Netherlands,

sold as PeaPure, a food supplement.

www.peapure.com – click on UK flag for English.

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It can no longer be imported in the USA in larger quantities.

My local pharmacy is trying hard to find alternatives,

but it may take years, if they are successful at all.

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.I have published this year, 2014, on the treatment of

vulvodynia and proctodynia with PeaPure and a topical cream.

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There are no studies to show us how often it may relieve nerve pain,

but it is astonishing when it works.

No toxicity, no side effects.

Your brain makes it, plants make it.

There is a growing literature on it and I have posted on some of its mechanisms,

in particular, its Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Neuroprotective Mechanisms.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for

medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Please understand that it is not legal for me to give medical advice without a consultation.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone my office or contact your local psychiatrist.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Palmitoylethanolamide “PEA” – Review of Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Neuroprotective Mechanisms

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A review of palmitoylethanolamide, or PEA, has been published this June by Mireille Alhouayek and Guilio G. Muccioli from the Bioanalysis and Pharmacology of Bioactive Lipids Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Bruxelles, Belgium.

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The authors review the impact of PEA on inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, and show that inhibiting the breakdown of PEA (the hydrolysis) may increase levels of PEA. This could lead to treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

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To address the loss of PEA that occurs in various diseases we must either

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1.  replace the decreased levels of endogenous PEA that is made by the brain by taking a capsule such as PeaPure,  a food supplement that contains 100% palmitoylethanolamide, to reconstitute the needed levels

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2.  inhibit the breakdown (hydrolysis) of PEA.

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.I directly quote palmitoylethanolamide4pain that has outlined key quotes from that scientific review:

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They start outlining the focus of the paper:

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Our focus here is on PEA, which is a known anti-inflammatory compound with analgesic, neuroprotective and antiallergic properties.

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Important for understanding the therapeutic relevance of PEA is the next remark:

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Evidence suggests that PEA metabolism is disturbed during inflammation, and that a decrease in PEA levels contributes to the inflammatory response.

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This explains why it is so useful to administer exogenous PEA as a supplement during states of chronic inflammation. Decreased PEA levels induce more inflammation and a vicious circle has started. Administering PEA (for instance as PeaPure capsules of 400 mg, a foodsupplement) can stop this circle and help the organism to restore the PEA levels and decrease inflammation.

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PEA’s mechanism of action

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The next quote is related to PEA’s main mechanism of action:

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Although it is now clear that PEA is a ligand for PPAR-a, some of its effects occur through as yet unidentified receptors.

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Although there are many ways PEA acts in the cell, the PPAR-a receptor indeed seems the most important one; through that receptor PEA can downregulate overactive inflammatory responses.

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PEA levels also decreased following sciatic nerve constriction injury or ligation of the sciatic nerve in spinal cord and brain areas involved in nociception

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PEA levels are not only decreased during chronic inflammation, also during chronic pain states, such as in sciatic pain.

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The fact that an anti-inflammatory treatment restores PEA levels reinforces the role of PEA as an anti-inflammatory mediator.

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PEA levels can be restored also by treatment with classical anti-inflammatory compounds such as NSAIDs, this however triggers many side effects and that can be avoided by treating with PEA itself!

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PEA as a protective molecule

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In the brain, PEA levels seem to be increased following injurious stimuli, and this has been proposed as a homeostatic mechanism aimed at counteracting inflammation and blunting the inflammatory response.

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PEA has self-reparative properties and indeed can be defined as the molecule of self-reparation and self-protection.

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This ‘pro-homeostatic’ increase, although probably slowing disease progression, seems insufficient to exert anti-inflammatory effects in itself, and should be further amplified…

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One of the classical ways to amplify PEA is to administer it as food supplement: start dose is 1200 mg/daily and in cases of insufficient response we suggest to double the dose.

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Although the first identification of PEA as an anti-inflammatory compound occurred more than 50 years ago, general interest in its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties was not sparked again until the mid-1990s.

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It was due to the work of the Nobel laureate professor Rita Levi-Montalcini that the scientific community understood the importance of PEA in the 90s. However, as patents on this natural compound were not possible, no great interest emerged, as pharmaceutical companies were uninterested. It was due to the work of small companies, such as Epitech Srl and JP Russell Science that PEA was brought to the attention of the general public.

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Mechanism of action in addition to the PPAR receptor

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The authors nicely summarized the effects of PEA:

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PEA inhibits phosphorylation of kinases involved in activation of pro-inflammatory pathways, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), c- Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), and the nuclear translocation of the transcription factors nuclear factor (NF)-kB and activator protein 1 (AP-1) and prevents degradation of the inhibitory IkB-a, which when associated to NF-kB prevents its nuclear translocation.

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Besides reducing inflammatory cells activation and recruitment, PEA modulates the expression of enzymes involved in pro-inflammatory processes, such as COX-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and reduces nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines production in vitro and in vivo.

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Relevance for Alzheimer, Parkinson’s and MS

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The neuroprotective effects of PEA are in part the result of its effects on downregulating the inflammatory cascade. Indeed, many neurodegenerative diseases are associated with a strong inflammatory component, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) or MS

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The follow stating:

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This neuroinflammation is no longer simply considered as a consequence of neurodegeneration, but might be a primary factor in some cases; therefore, anti-inflammatory treatments might represent interesting therapeutic strategies in these diseases

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After discussing modern pharmaceutical ways to block the hydrolysis of PEA with pharmaceutical new compounds, they end their overview with an important statement:

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The potential of using PEA as a beneficial endogenous bioactive lipid in the setting of inflammation is well established

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My thanks to palmitoylethanolamide4pain for the outline of key points in this review of PEA.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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PEA Palmitoylethanolamide – “Glia & Mast Cells as Target, An Anti-Inflammatory & Neuroprotective Lipid Mediator”

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Another oustanding article on palmitoylethanolamide “PEA.” I have seen profound results with it relieving intractable neuropathic pain in a woman with CRPS for years, and I suspect it may help Major Depressive Disorder but that remains to be tested.

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I need to add that opioids create pain. One mechanism by which that occurs is that opioids create pro-inflammatory cytokines, which creates more pain. Patients may see no response to essential pain relieving medications untill they taper off all opioids and allow the system to stabilize. Otherwise, they will have pain forever and it may increase.

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Glia and mast cells as targets for palmitoylethanolamide,

an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective lipid mediator

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Authors  Skaper SD, Facci L, Giusti P.

Mol Neurobiol. 2013 Oct;48(2):340-52.  Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Abstract

Glia are key players in a number of nervous system disorders. Besides releasing glial and neuronal signaling molecules directed to cellular homeostasis, glia respond also to pro-inflammatory signals released from immune-related cells, with the mast cell being of particular interest. A proposed mast cell-glia communication may open new perspectives for designing therapies to target neuroinflammation by differentially modulating activation of non-neuronal cells normally controlling neuronal sensitization-both peripherally and centrally. Mast cells and glia possess endogenous homeostatic mechanisms/molecules that can be upregulated as a result of tissue damage or stimulation of inflammatory responses. Such molecules include the N-acylethanolamines, whose principal family members are the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), and its congeners N-stearoylethanolamine, N-oleoylethanolamine, and N-palmitoylethanolamine (PEA). A key role of PEA may be to maintain cellular homeostasis when faced with external stressors provoking, for example, inflammation: PEA is produced and hydrolyzed by microglia, it downmodulates mast cell activation, it increases in glutamate-treated neocortical neurons ex vivo and in injured cortex, and PEA levels increase in the spinal cord of mice with chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Applied exogenously, PEA has proven efficacious in mast cell-mediated experimental models of acute and neurogenic inflammation. This fatty acid amide possesses also neuroprotective effects, for example, in a model of spinal cord trauma, in a delayed post-glutamate paradigm of excitotoxic death, and against amyloid β-peptide-induced learning and memory impairment in mice. These actions may be mediated by PEA acting through “receptor pleiotropism,” i.e., both direct and indirect interactions of PEA with different receptor targets, e.g., cannabinoid CB2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Vulvodynia & proctodynia treated with topical baclofen 5 % & palmitoylethanolamide

 

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Vulvodynia and proctodynia (rectal pain) treated with topical baclofen 5 % and palmitoylethanolamide

• Jan M. Keppel Hesselink,
• David J. Kopsky,
• Nancy L. Sajben

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Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics

April 2014

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of idiopathic vulvodynia and proctodynia is high. Pain management with anti-depressants and anti-epileptics may induce undesirable side effects. Therefore, topical baclofen cream and palmitoylethanolamide might be new therapeutic options.

Case

A 33-year-old woman with intractable chronic vulvar and anal pain had to abstain from sexual intercourse and could neither cycle nor sit for more than 5 min. The patient did not respond to standard treatments. We prescribed a combination of topical baclofen 5 % and palmitoylethanolamide 400 mg, three times daily. After 3 months her symptoms decreased more than 50 % and sexual intercourse was possible again without pain.

Conclusion

Topical baclofen and palmitoylethanolamide can be a viable treatment option in chronic vulvodynia and proctodynia.

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I have been very pleased with palmitoylethanolamide for neuropathic pain. It is made in the brain and by plants and I have never seen toxicity. PJ’s Prescription Shoppe imports it from the Netherlands for my patients, and it is available in a capsule as a food supplement called PeaPure, without prescription. I have posted on it and its mechanisms a few times elsewhere on this website.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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PeaPure – Palmitoylethanolamide for Nerve Pain or Migraine

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PeaPure is a glial modulator. It is available in Italy and the Netherlands as a food supplement and has been studied in multicenter clinical trials in Europe for several years. It is well tolerated with no side effects and is very helpful for neuropathic pain, headache, and osteoarthritis. It is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective.

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Because it inhibits astrocyte activation and the over-expression of pro-inflammatory molecules and signals, it is being investigated in Alzheimer’s Disease.

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The mechanism of action of PEA was discovered in 1993 by Nobel laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini in her work on nerve growth factors. She found it is involved in metabolism of mast cells and published a series of papers on its self-healing effect of the body in response to inflammation and pain. Two recent publications from Jan M Keppel Hesselink, MD, PhD, and his colleagues at the Institute for Neuropathic Pain, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, describe case reports, one of which is the case of a woman with CRPS.

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The purpose of this post is to clarify dosing of PeaPure and how to take it for a sudden flare of pain. My apologies for failing to recall the source of these instructions which I believe was from the manufacturer and from here and here. The latter includes an excellent review of its mechanism.

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Description of PeaPure® 400 mg capsules
PeaPure® is a food supplement based on a natural and fatty-acid like compound.
The substance palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a physiologically active molecule that the body produces naturally.
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What the user should know prior to ingestion:
•    There are no known significant side effects.
•    PeaPure® can be taken simultaneously with other medicine. In case of doubt, it is recommended to first consult your doctor or a pharmacist.
•    Use during pregnancy is NOT recommended.
•    PeaPure® does not contain sugar, yeast, allergens, sorbitol, magnesium stearate, povidone or other ingredients.

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Dosage and administration – please refer to the manufacturer.

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UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2014

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It is with a heavy heart that I report this news:

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Palmitoylethanolamide is

now available only from the Netherlands,

sold as PeaPure, a food supplement.

  It is no longer able to be imported by a pharmacy, but we are hoping

that may change if we can interest a supplement manufacturer to make it available for the US.

Patent rights, attorneys are far beyond the resources of my local pharmacy.

 

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I have published this year, 2014, on the treatment of

vulvodynia and proctodynia with PeaPure and a topical cream.

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There are no studies to show us how often it may relieve nerve pain, but it is astonishing when it works. No toxicity, no side effects. Your brain makes it, plants make it. There is a growing literature on it and I have posted on some of its mechanisms. And in particular, its Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Neuroprotective Mechanisms.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for

medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

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Please understand that it is not legal for me to give medical advice without a consultation.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone my office or contact your local psychiatrist.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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