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Miss Kudzu - 2005
Ms. Debbie Dee Glodnuski


"Grab a shovel......let's go Cop a Root."


Kudzu User Testimonials

Wanna join the guinea pigs?
Nani, NM		 I'm going to pick some
Vig, NC.		 Tastes like chicken....
Ozzy, NJ		 Love those 5HT receptors.
Floridian, Fla		 I want to try it.
Casey, Toronto, Can
Guess I've joined the crowd.
Jean, Tx		 NO CH! And no shadows.
Sandie, Finland		 My urine is the brightest color yellow I've ever seen.
Sandy, NC		 My clusters are all gone
Shiraj, NY		 I have put a timer by my bed
Karen, Tx
Kudzu info

Floridian's Kudzu page is an excellent place to start. Take a look through the rest of Floridian's Online Cluster Headache Book. It's a true work of art.

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J Pharmacol Sci. 2004 Dec;96(4):420-7. Epub 2004 Dec 3.
Puerarin acts through brain serotonergic mechanisms to induce thermal effects.
Chueh FS, Chang CP, Chio CC, Lin MT. Department of Applied Life Science, Taichung Healthcare and Management University, Taichung, Taiwan 413.

The present study was attempted to investigate the effect of puerarin, an isoflavone compound isolated from Pueraria lobata, on both the basal body temperature and pyrogenic fever in unanesthetized, restrained rats. Intraperitoneal administration of puerarin or crude extracts of Pueraria lobata elicited hypothermia. Direct administration of a small amount of puerarin into the lateral cerebral ventricle produced the same extent of hypothermia. Systemic or central administration of puerarin causes a decrease in both colonic temperature and hypothalamic 5-HT efflux in rats. The puerarin-induced hypothermia and decreased 5-HT efflux in the hypothalamus were attenuated by selective depletion of hypothalamic 5-HT produced by intracerebroventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine. Furthermore, the puerarin-induced hypothermia was almost completely abolished by treatment with a 5-HT2A-receptor agonist (DOI or quipazine) or a 5-HT1A-receptor antagonist [(-)-pindolol]. A 5-HT2A-receptor antagonist (ketanserin) or a 5-HT1A-receptor agonist (8-OH-DPAT) had additive effects with puerarin. Intracerebroventricular administration of interleukin-1 caused an increase in both colonic temperature and hypothalamic 5-HT efflux. The interleukin-1-induced hyperthermia and increased 5-HT efflux in the hypothalamus were attenuated by treatment with systemic administration of puerarin. The data indicate that puerarin exerts its hypothermic and antipyretic effects by activating 5-HT1 receptor and/or antagonizing 5-HT2A receptors in the hypothalamus.

(Thanks floridian)

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Kudzu root
Long-term prevention may also be assisted by Kudzu root, known as Pueraria root in Chinese medicine. Pueraria was tested for activity against migraine in the late 1970s in China in an uncontrolled study. (Kiuzian, Xiuqin) Out of fifty-three persons tested, thirteen had complete remission of their migraines for at least three months. Another twelve persons reported at least an 80% reduction. Nineteen others had a lengthening of the time between attacks. Altogether about half the subjects had a complete or major reduction in migraines, and more than three-fourths gained some benefit. The Kudzu vine is ubiquitous in the American South. It is also a cooling herb, and a guiding symptom in Chinese medicine is stiffness of the upper back and neck. It is used as a long-term tonic herb, and probably acts on the vascular system through it flavonoid content.

http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Nervous_-_Remedy_Differentials_in_Mi graine.htm

(Thanks floridian)

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NPI-031G (puerarin) reduces anxiogenic effects of alcohol withdrawal or benzodiazepine inverse or 5-HT2C agonists.
Overstreet DH, Kralic JE, Morrow AL, Ma ZZ, Zhang YW, Lee DY.
Skipper Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, 3009 Thurston-Bowles Building, CB #7178, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7178, USA. dhover@med.unc.edu

Because extracts of kudzu have been used as a hangover remedy in China for many centuries, we tested the ability of NPI-031G (puerarin), an isoflavone isolated from kudzu, to counteract anxiogenic effects associated with withdrawal from chronic alcohol exposure. NPI-O31G (50 and 150 mg/kg ip) significantly increased the social interaction and locomotor activity reduced by withdrawal from 17 days of alcohol (7%) diet. The effects of NPI-031G resembled those of the benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil (5 mg/kg), and the 5-HT(2C) antagonist, SB 242084 (1 mg/kg). In a separate study, control rats were pretreated with NPI-031G (30 min) and then given the anxiogenic compounds DMCM, a benzodiazepine inverse agonist, or Ro 600175, a 5-HT(2C) agonist. NPI-031G significantly counteracted the reduction in social interaction induced by either compound. To identify a potential mechanism of action of NPI-031G, synaptoneurosomes were isolated from the cerebral cortex of untreated rats and chloride uptake assays were carried out. NPI-031G did not have any effect on the stimulation of chloride uptake by muscimol, a GABA(A) agonist. However, it reduced the potentiation of muscimol-stimulated chloride uptake by flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine agonist, at a concentration of 100 microM. A reduction in [3H]flunitrazepam binding was also seen at this concentration. These findings are consistent with NPI-031G being a weak benzodiazepine site antagonist.
PMID: 12895679 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

(Thanks Ozzy)

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I saw in another post a suggestion that Kudzu was the “Ultimate Placebo.” I personally do not believe there is any possibility of any type of placebo having any effect on CH sufferers whatsoever. If a placebo is said to work on CH, I contest that the trial patient never in fact suffered from CH. Kudzu is not a placebo, it, as many other meds or alternatives, will probably help some people, but not everyone. I plan to continue use long enough to determine if it does in fact prove to be helpful or not.
Dave Emond
That would've been me, Dave. I'm hoping we get enough unrepentant sinners to try this stuff, and catch the eye of some serious researchers. I agree........there's no such thing as a Placebo for Clusters.... it's just that I find it a hoot that Kudzu may be a viable alternative. Next thing you know, all OUCH conventions will be held in Kudzu infested regions. Hundreds of CHeads out all night, gnawing their way thru miles of Kudzu, welcomed by all. We finally have a natural predator for Kudzu.

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Ye Olde Disclaimer - This site is just for fun at this point. The domain was secured only to protect it for possible use in the future, and to poke fun at Bob W and Clusterbusters.com, who have worked so hard over the past years to provide insight into an alternative method of treating Cluster Headaches. Many thanks to Clusterbusters.com





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