From: Peter C. McCluskey (pcm@rahul.net)
Date: Wed May 21 2003 - 17:51:21 MDT
Carnosine is a dipeptide composed of the amino acids histidine and
beta-alanine that has been sold as a 'life extension' supplement. Studies
have recently shown that it reduces the problems associated with autism
in children:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12585724&dopt=Abstract
There have also been a few scattered reports of it helping adults who
have autistic tendencies: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=autism+carnosine
Since my personality has features that seem somewhat autistic, I've tried
Carnosine, and noticed that within a few days it seemed a bit easier for me
to start conversations with strangers. I haven't noticed any other effects.
Others have noticed more effects.
Mike Darwin has mentioned some other cognitive enhancements that he thinks
may be due to Carnosine (http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/dsp.cgi?msg=19975).
Here's a strange theory which might explain why people with atypical
personalities might have atypical amino acid needs (among the many things
it tries to explain) - a few of our ancestors are Neanderthals:
http://www.rdos.net/eng/asperger.htm (The Neanderthal theory of autism,
Asperger and ADHD).
Some of the arguments in that essay are pretty suspicious, and the author
is clearly expressing more certainty in places than is reasonable. There's
some recent mitochondrial dna evidence that seems to rule out the theory
that Neanderthal females contributed mitochondrial dna to our gene pool:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3023685.stm
But it may be that human females with larger pelvises than Neanderthals
were able to interbreed with Neanderthal males, without Neanderthal females
being able to bear children resulting from interbreeding with humans.
Can anyone here come up with a stronger criticism of this theory?
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter McCluskey | "To announce that there must be no criticism of http://www.rahul.net/pcm | the President, or that we are to stand by the | President right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic | and servile, but morally treasonable to the | American public." - Theodore Roosevelt
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