Pantethine Prevents Injury to Dopamine Neurons

Dopamine is the key transmitter in your brain associated with motivation and drive, and is linked to reward.  Alterations in dopamine function manifest in different ways and can be as basic as excessive food cravings or stress intolerance or as advanced as major depression, addiction, Parkinson’s, and even psychosis/schizophrenia. A new study shows that pantethine¹ has the ability to directly protect dopamine neurons.

In this particular experiment the researchers used the MPTP neurotoxin (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) that causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by damaging neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. Scientists have known for a long time that various ketones, an important metabolite of calorie metabolism – especially of fat, have a highly protective effect on nerves.  Because ketones need CoA to form and because pantethine produces CoA, they sought to test whether pantethine could work to protect against toxic-induced nerve degeneration that mimics Parkinson’s.

Pantethine was able to stop the decline in ketones that otherwise occurs with MPTP exposure and in so doing was able to completely arrest the destruction of dopamine neurons.  This is one mechanism of pantethine’s significant ability to help metabolism and is a very significant finding when you consider how many health problems, both physical and mental, are associated with disruption of dopamine function.