- Mar 07, 2015 About half the autistic don’t do well on TMG; it over-methylates them. These will do better on DMG. Generic: Why is DMG used in the treatment of autism? Polly: DMG will often improve speech and eye contact in these kids. I don’t know which property of DMG is the most important to the autistic — methylation or the glycine.
- Aug 06, 2004 I just bought from Kirkman Labs TMG for my son, apparently it is better than DMG as it contains folate and vitamin B12 which supposedly helps with the hyperactivity which comes with taking DMG. I cant say for sure, but I think it has helped with his language (which little there is).
- Jun 01, 2013 DMG — When TMG lets go of one of its methyl groups, it deposits a substance called dimethylglycine or DMG. This is a B-complex vitamin and is used to improve speech and behavior in autism, for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy and neurological function.
Feb 19 2017 by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Methyl donors help in the production of several brain chemicals and hence improve mood, energy, wellbeing, alertness, concentration, and visual clarity. A few people notice sexual enhancement.
They may be helpful in age related cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, fighting depression, and overall health maintenance. They may perhaps also be helpful in Parkinson’s disease. However, the more is not necessarily better. As with most supplements, a proper balance is important since too high doses can have unpleasant side effects such as overstimulation and insomnia.
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Memory and Mood
Mental clarity
Concentration
Alertness & Focus
The herbs in this mind enhancing formula include: Ashwagandha, Bacopa, Fo-Ti, Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng, Mucuna pruriens, Rhodiola, and Reishi. The nutrients and vitamins in Mind Power Rx include Acetyl-l-carnitine, Carnitine, Carnosine, Choline, DMAE, Inositol, Methylcobalamin, Pantothenic acid, Trimethylglycine, Tyrosine, and Vinpocetine.
Benefit for depression
Behav Brain Res. 2016. Methyl donor supplementation in rats reverses the deleterious effect of maternal separation on depression-like behaviour. In this study, maternal separation during lactation reduced body weight gain in the female adult offspring without affecting food intake, and altered total and HDL-cholesterol levels. Also, maternal separation induced a cognitive deficit as measured by NORT and an increase in the immobility time in the Porsolt forced swimming test, consistent with increased depression-like behaviour. An 18-week dietary supplementation with methyl donors (choline, betaine, folate and vitamin B12) from postnatal day 60 also reduced body weight without affecting food intake. Some of the deleterious effects induced by maternal separation, such as the abnormal levels of total and HDL-cholesterol, but especially the depression-like behaviour as measured by the Porsolt test, were reversed by methyl donor supplementation. Also, the administration of methyl donors increased total DNA methylation (measured by immunohistochemistry) and affected the expression of insulin receptor in the hippocampus of the adult offspring. However, no changes were observed in the DNA methylation status of insulin receptor and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) promoter regions in the hypothalamus. In summary, methyl donor supplementation reversed some of the deleterious effects of an early life-induced model of depression in rats and altered the DNA methylation profile in the brain.
DNA methylation
J Nutr Biochem. 2012. Nutrition and epigenetics: an interplay of dietary methyl donors, one-carbon metabolism and DNA methylation. This is the most extensively studied mechanism of epigenetic gene regulation. Increasing evidence indicates that DNA methylation is labile in response to nutritional and environmental influences. Alterations in DNA methylation profiles can lead to changes in gene expression, resulting in diverse phenotypes with the potential for increased disease risk. The primary methyl donor for DNA methylation is S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), a species generated in the cyclical cellular process called one-carbon metabolism. One-carbon metabolism is catalyzed by several enzymes in the presence of dietary micronutrients, including folate, choline, betaine and other B vitamins. For this reason, nutrition status, particularly micronutrient intake, has been a focal point when investigating epigenetic mechanisms. Although animal evidence linking nutrition and DNA methylation is fairly extensive, epidemiological evidence is less comprehensive. This review serves to integrate studies of the animal in vivo with human epidemiological data pertaining to nutritional regulation of DNA methylation and to further identify areas in which current knowledge is limited.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2013 Dec 5. DNA methylation, a hand behind neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we have reviewed and summarized recent progress regarding DNA methylation in four major neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The studies of these four major neurodegenerative diseases conclude the strong suggestion of the important role DNA methylation plays in these diseases. However, each of these diseases has not yet been understood completely as details in some areas remain unclear, and will be investigated in future studies. We hope this review can provide new insights into the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases from the epigenetic perspective.
Trimethylglycine TMG and Dimethylglycine DMG
TMG, also known as betaine, is basically the amino acid glycine attached to three methyl groups. Dimethylglycine is similar to trimethylglycine, except it has two methyl groups. You may recall that a methyl group is a carbon attached to three hydrogen atoms (CH3). Both of these nutrients are powerful methyl donors. Methylation is an important factor in many biochemical processes in the human body. In chapter 9 I mentioned that the B vitamins folic acid and B12 lower levels of homocysteine, the harmful amino acid-like substance in blood which can cause hardening of the arteries and possibly damage brain cells. By reducing homocysteine levels, the risk for heart disease can be reduced. TMG and DMG are also known to reduce homocysteine levels and therefore could be helpful in reducing the rate of heart disease. It’s possible that as we age, the process of methylation becomes less effective and supplementation with TMG or DMG may provide health and anti-aging benefits.
TMG and DMG are underutilized methyl donors that hold a great deal of promise but unfortunately, few doctors are familiar with these nutrients. At this time the clinical uses of TMG and DMG are not well defined and whether they would be helpful in the therapy of Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease is not known. Since the body’s ability to methylate declines with age, supplements of TMG or DMG in small amounts, such as 50 to 100 mg a day, may benefit middle aged and older individuals.
SAMe S-Adenosyl-Methionine, a compound made from the amino acid methionine, is a methyl donor involved in the synthesis of dozens of important compounds in the body. SAMe has been available by prescription in Europe for many years as an antidepressant but has been available over the counter in the US only since about 1996.