Allergy Research Group®

 Pregnenolone (Hypoallergenic)

Pregnenolone - 50 mg - Hypoallergenic - 60 Scored Tablets

Pregnenolone - 100 mg - Hypoallergenic - 60 Scored Tablets

Pregnenolone - 150 mg - Hypoallergenic - 60 Scored Tablets

A paper in 1949 by Hench, Kendall, Slocum, and Polly reported the "miraculous effect of compound E (cortisone) on rheumatoid arthritis", and opened an era of steroid mania. Hundreds of papers on the use of steroids were published, many of which showed great benefit and little harm if used judiciously.  But in the ensuing years, the damaging use of high dose cortisone resulted in a backlash against "cortisone therapy" and steroids in general, which has been indoctrinated into every physician for the last fifty years.*

Steroids are our major defense against stress.  Living on the planet Earth is becoming more and more stressful, and many diseases, as well as the overall lack of energy, drive, and sense of well-being are secondary to stress hormone (steroid) depletion.  Two adrenally produced steroids, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and pregnenolone, have major and profound effects upon our ability to deal with stress, as well as other benefits. Pregnenolone is derived from cholesterol in the mitochondria, through a P450 conversion system, and then serves as the parent hormone for all adrenal cortical steroids.  As with DHEA levels, pregnenolone levels decrease with age.  At age 75 one has on average 60%  less pregnenolone than one had at 35 years of age.  (DHEA levels decrease even more rapidly.)  Studies done in the late 40's and early 50's show that pregnenolone markedly increases tolerance to fatigue, can reverse fatigue, and that pregnenolone depletion accompanies fatigue. *

In the early 50's pregnenolone was used extensively in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and it was shown that doses up to 500 mg per day resulted in marked improvement in the degree of pain and swelling of joints.  It has stabilized scleroderma in a small number of patients, and has been used successfully in the treatment of psoriasis, lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). *

Pregnenolone is produced in both the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.  It is believed that oligodendrocytes produce pregnenolone from cholesterol.  It functions as an allosteric antagonist to the gamma-aminobutyric-acid (GABA) receptor complex which down regulates the NMDA receptor site, which is in part responsible for brain excitation.  It also acts directly on the NMDA receptor sites (animal studies).  Its physiological effects may work by increasing intracellular calcium at the NMDA receptor site level.  Multiple studies have shown its memory enhancing effects upon animals, and clinical observations support this memory enhancing effect in human beings with CFS, autoimmune diseases, as well as the elderly.  In both  animal and human studies, pregnenolone modified the sleep EEG by increasing REM sleep.  A controlled study done at the Max Plank Institute showed that pregnenolone increased the time of slow wave sleep with no change in cortisol or growth hormone production.  It acts in an autocrine and/or paracrine fashion on neurones, which may explain its ability to act as a memory enhancer. *

Pregnenolone also seems to have the potential for reducing neuronal degeneration. Pregnenolone in cerebral spinal fluid is significantly lowered in patients with depression and bipolar disorder, as compared to normal controls.  This has been hypothesized to potentially contribute to the sleep and cognitive dysfunction seen in depression.  As mentioned early, it has a profound effect upon fatigue, and has been shown to have its best effect upon workers that are nearing their point of exhaustion, as well as airplane pilots under similar situations, and greatly increases their ability to function and make decisions, as well as enhance their reaction time back to normal.  It has been concluded that the degree of stress that the subject is under is an important variable to the degree of benefit from pregnenolone.  The greater the stress, the better the results.  Overall the studies conclude that a general feeling of well being, as well as much less feeling of fatigue, result from the ingestion of pregnenolone.*

Pregnenolone has immune modulatory effects similar to those of DHEA.  Additionally, pregnenolone, by being converted to progesterone, has the effect of repairing myelin and may prove to be useful in multiple sclerosis. Animal studies have shown that the addition of pregnenolone to animals with severed or contused spinal cords resulted in improvement, if not complete recovery, from spinal injury, as compared to control groups.*

Practitioners recommend that people whose systems are very sensitive start with 100 mg of pregnenolone, 50 mg in the morning and 50 mg before sleeping, or 100 mg in the morning.  Clinicians report that if a patient is going to develop side effects, they will do so at 25 mg as well as at 100 mg, so there appears to be no difference in side effect profiles between these doses.  For the majority of individuals, they have found that a starting dose of 150 mg at bedtime and 150 mg in the morning is best. Sometimes, because of the need for more energy or a sense of well being, the total dose of 300 mg is given in the morning with food.  Depending upon the clinical outcome of this initial dosing, the dose is modified up, down, or kept the same.  Doses up to 600 mg per day, 300 mg at night, and 300 mg in the morning, have been safely and beneficially utilized. *

Practitioners also recommend measuring hormone levels prior to starting pregnenolone. They often test for pregnenolone, DHEA-S, free testosterone, total AM cortisol, estradiol, aldosterone, and progesterone.  Some insist that the pregnenolone dose be taken at exactly the same time of day, and the pregnenolone measurement be taken at exactly the same time of day, usually between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning, to minimize fluctuations in pregnenolone that can occur.  Four to six weeks after starting pregnenolone the tests are repeated, and doses are modified to maximize clinical improvement.  The normal range for pregnenolone in most laboratories is 10 to 230 ng/ml.  This is a lifetime range, the higher number reflecting a young person. Most patients report improvement in their levels of well being and fatigue when their values fall between 70 and 160 ng/ml. *

The literature since the mid 1940's to the present states that there are minimal, if any, adverse effects that occur from the ingestion of pregnenolone, in low doses and up to 600 mg per day.  There has been one report of rash occurring.  One practitioner who treated 210 patients with varying doses of pregnenolone found that in over 750 reports of results, less than 1% reported incidence of headache, bloating, menstrual irregularity, heart burn, sense of agitation, or sense of sedation.  There were no major side effects with respect to blood pressure, or any significant effects on the hormones that are derived from pregnenolone, even in high doses.  None of the hormones deviated above its physiological limit. *

In summary, pregnenolone has few, if any serious side effects, and is well suited for both men and women.  Given in a micronized, time-released form, pregnenolone enhances the sense of well being, decreases fatigue, enhances memory, may enhance neuronal connections, and may protect against central nervous system degeneration. *

References available upon request.

Allergy Research Group®, Inc.

*Hypoallergenic Defined:  According to Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary "hypoallergenic" is defined as:  "Diminished potential for causing an allergic reaction."   Allergy Research Group® defines hypoallergenic as "Free of all common allergens", specifically, wheat, corn, soy, gluten, yeast, dairy, and eggs. Many very sensitive individuals who reach to supplements in general, are able to tolerate Allergy Research Group® product.  Since our inception in 1979, we have been using only the purest, and whenever possible, the lowest allergy potential natural ingredients.  And while many of the nutrients in our formulas are synthesized from natural substances (plant sources), which as a whole may contain antigens, the synthesizing process removes the molecules of the desired nutrient from the original substance, and in the processing a great percentage of the antigens and allergens are left behind. The final material then has extremely low allergy potential.  This is not to say that no one will react to any of our hypoallergenic formulas, as some extremely sensitive people may.  However, the potential for an allergic reaction is low, and the feedback from many of our extremely allergic and sensitive customers is that Allergy Research Group® supplements are the only products they are able to tolerate.  (For further information about Allergy Research Group, click on their information link above)

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