Dopamine (HVA) excess

[Suzanne Ellison]

Hi,
I have a middle aged female patient with very high HVA level, as in 28, so the HVA/VMA ratio is 16. The patient has had five years of significant fasciculations in the lower extremities only without weakness or any progression toward ALS. I don’t yet know the DOPAC level, as the result was on the older OAT test.
Three questions: With such a high HVA, isn’t a genetic SNP variant more likely? Secondly, would using the SAMe (mentioned in your Q&A session today) to move DOPAC down to HVA lessen the actual dopamine levels at the synapse, and possibly the destruction of the post-synaptic receptors? And thirdly, can you see a connection to the fasciculations?
Thank you for any insight.
Suzanne

Topic

[Kurt Woeller]

Suzanne,

1 – Yes. It is likely a genetic variant. You can run the Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase test from GPL.
2 – SAMe use – it might help. Is her Quinolinic high, Pyroglutamic or 2-Hydroxybutyric?
3 – Fasciculations – would normally be driven by imbalances in Acetylcholine which is the neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction. Have you done a GPL-TOX profile yet to see if there are elevations of certain chemicals like 2,4-D?

Dr. Woeller

[Author]

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