Bromocriptine: An Old Drug with New Uses
About this book
Bromocriptine is a dopamine agonist drug (meaning that it acts like dopamine in the brain) that has been used for over three decades for the treatment of a number of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, acromegaly (the disease Andre “The Giant” had), and overproduction of the hormone prolactin. You may be wondering what this has to do with the topic of body composition.As I discuss in many of my articles and other books, the body regulates factors such as body weight, composition and appetite through a variety of hormones such as insulin and leptin. It turns out that those hormones exert at least part of their effect through dopamine levels in the brain. When people diet, dopamine levels drop in the brain and this is responsible for many of the effects (such as lowered metabolic rate, increased hunger, etc.) that occur.My book Bromocriptine starts by outlining the systems that regulate body weight and fat levels before explaining how the drug bromocriptine can ‘trick’ the body into thinking that it’s not dieting so that metabolic rate doesn’t slow, hunger is decreased, etc. Side effects, dosing and everything else related to the drug and how it can be used for various purposes related to body composition are outlined in detail in the book.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Defining the ProblemChapter 2: How your Body KnowsChapter 3: Leptin ResistanceChapter 4: BromocriptineChapter 5: What Bromocriptine DoesChapter 6: How Bromocriptine WorksChapter 7: Using Bromocriptine, Part 1Chapter 8: Side-effects and RisksChapter 9: Using Bromocriptine, Part 2Chapter 10: Miscellaneous MiscellanyAppendix 1: The FDA and BromocriptineFrequently Asked QuestionsReferences Cited