There’s nothing that will help everyone.
But there’s probably something that will help you.
This is the emerging paradigm of individualized medicine. We are in transition from a past when we looked for “the cure” (antibiotics, vaccines) that would work universally to a future in which blood tests and computer analysis will determine exactly the right treatment for your individual metabolism. While in that in-between space, the key will be personal experimentation. Seek out reports of “miracle cures” in which something worked spectacularly well for just a few patients, while failing to help the others. Find ten such miracles, and try them on yourself, one at a time. Experiment to see what works for you.
Today’s column is motivated by news I received Friday about a long-time friend whose Parkinson’s is creeping out from medical control. At 68, George is active and young in outlook.
Parkinson’s Background
Symptoms of PD include tremors, slow and uncertain movements, loss of motor control, shuffling. There often is cognitive impairment, especially at later stages.
The cause of PD is the loss of neurons in a particular region of the mid-brain called the substantia nigra (SN), where nerve signals are translated into chemical signals. One of the functions of these nerve cells is to secrete dopamine, a neurotransmitter.
We’re all losing neurons, but we don’t all have symptoms. Maybe at age 50 our hand isn’t quite as steady as it was at age 30, but it’s nothing we would talk to a doctor about. By the time “symptoms” appear, over 70% of the dopaminergic neurons are gone.
[LEF article on Parkinson’s]
[Background and new ideas from the Buck Institute’s SAGE web site]
It is agreed that the cause of PD is the loss of these nerve cells. We might assume from the fact that that they are nerve cells in the brain that they perform their secretion function in a way that is smart, in response to activity and stimuli. And yet, the standard medical treatment for Parkinson’s does not address the loss of this population of nerve cells, with the many functions they perform, nor does it even attempt to deliver dopamine in a smart and targeted way. The best treatment medicine has to offer is to flood the brain with supplementary dopamine.
A few decades ago, it was thought that no new nerve growth takes place in the brain after adolescence. We now realize that nerve growth continues lifelong, although neurogenesis slackens with age and does not keep up with nerve loss. There are stem cells in the brain, and these can mature as neurons, or as glial cells or astrocytes that contribute vitally to brain chemistry.
A real cure for PD would be to re-grow the lost nerve cells of the SN. Why not use stem cell therapy to regenerate the nerves? This was a promising line of research about a decade ago [in rats, in people]. But when stem cells were injected into the brains of Parkinson’s patients, they withered on the vine. They were perfectly good stem cells, but something was telling them to slack off.
This is the converse of a theme that researchers have encountered in many contexts. Put an old cell in a young environment, and it acts young; conversely, put a young cell in a old environment and it acts old. There are signal molecules–presumably carried in the blood plasma–that carry messages about age. (This leads us back to the work of Amy Wagers and Mike and Irina Conboy and Tom Rando and Saul Vileda and Tony Wyss-Coray, all building a foundation for anti-aging therapies based on blood factors. I have repored on the subject here, here, and here.)
Although enthusiasm has waned for stem cells as a one-stop cure for PD, the research community is continuing to refine the technology. A transition is in effect from fetal stem cells, limited in availability by Bush-era regulations, to stem cells derived from the patient’s own cells, which have the advantage of being a perfect genetic match. Stem cells do not have to be injected into the brain, because they have a remarkable ability to find their way to the place they are needed. The most effective delivery at present is through the nose, or (more invasive) guided via a catheter that is threaded through arteries that lead to the brain.
Cell Senescence and PD
Are the lost brain cells that cause PD dying simply because their telomeres run out? This would not seem a likely connection to make, since telomeres shorten with cell replication, and in the brain, cell replication is slow compared to blood, skin or even muscle cells. But in a new article from Buck Institute last week, Megumi Mori reviews an unexpected connection between cell senescence and PD, documented by Judy Campisi’s research group. Astrocytes are star-shaped glial cells, the background support substrate for the brain which create the proper chemical environment for neurons. Astrocytes grow and are replaced continually during a lifetime, and hence their telomeres shorten with age. Aging astrocytes become senescent cells, and secrete inflammatory toxins–the so-called Senescent-Associated Secretory Phenotype, or SASP. Senescent astrocytes and these toxins have been linked to PD.
What can be done to prevent and to treat Parkinson’s Disease?
Returning to the theme at the top of this page, I ask what options can people try to prevent PD or to slow its progression.
- Selegiline (aka deprenyl, or Emsam) was a standard treatment for PD in the 1980s. It has since fallen out of favor because of inconsistent results, but I think it deserves consideration and personal experimentation, especially since there are no outstanding alternatives. Selegiline acts in two ways, addressing both the symptom and cause of PD. Its primary action is an MAO-B inhibitor, which slows the chemical breakdown dopamine, so that the existing dopamine remains available longer*. Secondarily, Selegiline is neuroprotective.
The main reason I am enthusiastic about Selegiline is because of its potential as a life extension drug. Selegiline is on the short list of drugs that have succeeded in extending life span of rodents. [my blog in the subject from 2 years ago]
- Stem cell therapies are working well for some patients, and new experiments are likely to make the treatment more effective for more people.
- Glutathione (standard abbreviation=GSH) is the only one of the body’s natural anti-oxidants that I believe has anti-aging potential. Levels decline with age. GSH depletion is both a cause and an effect of the loss of neurons in the SN [ref, ref].
GSH is a short protein molecule, a tripeptide. It does not survive digestion in the stomach, but the molecule is small enough that with finesse it can be delivered orally. There are new products with liposomal encapsulated GSH that purport to survive the stomach so that more GSH is delivered to the bloodstream. GSH can also be absorbed in a nasal spray. A more traditional product is to ingest N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) which is a precursor to GSH.
I have a friend, a vibrant 86-year-old MD who tells me he has a Parkinson’s tremor which is well managed and controlled with liposomal glutathione. One small study of intravenous GSH for Parkinson’s showed inconsistent benefits that were not statistically significant overall, but might be interpreted as promising for a larger study.
- There is anecdotal evidence for benefits for PD from telomerase therapy (cycloastragenol, TA65, Product B, etc). No study has been done. Here is a video from Ed Park.
- Most people living above the tropics don’t get enough vitamin D. There are large individual differences in absoption and need for Vit D. Low vitamin D levels are statistically associated with Parkinson’s. [another ref]
- Exercise is good for every aspect of aging, including PD.
- Rapamycin is a powerful anti-aging drug with powerful side effects. It has been effective in vitro and in preliminary animal trials against Parkinson’s. It is probably a powerful neuroprotector, and has been proposed for trials delaying progression of PD.
- Melatonin might help some people.
- Curcumin (from turmeric) has been used with some success.
- It’s a long shot, but Magnesium Threonate might be neuroprotective.
- If you are taking statin drugs, consider alternative means to lowering your risk of heart disease. Statins double the risk of PD.
- Not to harp on the issue, but intermittent fasting and caloric restriction are powerfully neuroprotective. This article from Johns Hopkins Med School reviews the evidence.
Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore said they had found evidence which shows that periods of stopping virtually all food intake for one or two days a week could protect the brain against some of the worst effects of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other ailments.
“Reducing your calorie intake could help your brain, but doing so by cutting your intake of food is not likely to be the best method of triggering this protection. It is likely to be better to go on intermittent bouts of fasting, in which you eat hardly anything at all, and then have periods when you eat as much as you want,” said Professor Mark Mattson, head of the institute’s laboratory of neurosciences.
…
Cutting daily food intake to around 500 calories – which amounts to little more than a few vegetables and some tea – for two days out of seven had clear beneficial effects in their studies, claimed Mattson, who is also professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
…the growth of neurones in the brain could be affected by reduced energy intakes. Amounts of two cellular messaging chemicals are boosted when calorie intake is sharply reduced, said Mattson. These chemical messengers play an important role in boosting the growth of neurones in the brain, a process that would counteract the impact of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. [The Guardian]
Experimenting on yourself–the one-person trial is the only one that matters
If you have Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinsonism or early Parkinson’s symptoms, then each one of the above suggestions offers some small chance of improving your condition. Start by keeping a daily diary of symptoms, a baseline of at least two weeks. Then try the above suggestions, one at a time. Continue the diary so you can look back and determine what works and what doesn’t. If you believe you have found a benefit, go off the treatment for a week, then back on, to see if your diary reflects a response to the treatment, or if it was just a fluke.
Don’t give up. It is unlikely that any given treatment will work for you, but it is likely that patience and persistence and controlled experimentation will be rewarded with something that helps.
————
* Dopamine, like all neurotransmitters and many other hormones, is continually being manufactured and simultaneously destroyed by the body. The body regulates the amount of dopamine from moment to moment by adjusting both the rate of production and the rate of breakdown.
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Great article as always. I wish you publish your take on statins, cholesterol, atherosclerosis and CV diseases in general.
Average age of onset for PD age 62 years old
Male to female ratio 1.5 to 1….
what might this suggest? not enough progesterone..
progestero0ne is most neuroprotective substance known to man….and women’s high levels are what allows them to recover from brain injuries much easier and more quickly than men..
Women have a lifetime of higher progesterone levels than men…Until menopause when it crashes to almost 0.
I bet if one looks into it….after age 60 the sex ratio of male to female PD patients drops to 1:1
just as occurs in ALS patients….before menopause men get ALS 4X more than women..but it reverts to 1:1 after age of menopause in women….the commonality? lack of progesterone.
Melatonin might help PD as it causes you to produce more progesterone.
Finally a recent ALS mouse study confirms the progesteorne ALS link- progesteorne injections of the right dose..extended ALS mouse lifspan the human equivalent of 17 years where most ALS patients die in 2 to 4 yyears after diagnosis..-
the study:Neurobiol Dis. 2013 Nov;59:80-5. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2013.07.011. Epub 2013 Jul 26.
Autophagy activation and neuroprotection by progesterone in the G93A-SOD1 transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Kim J1, Kim TY, Cho KS, Kim HN, Koh JY.
Thank you for the excellent article.
Loss of neurons in Substantia Nigra is the cause of Parkinson’s disease. But, what is the cause of this loss of neurons?
Many PD patients also have digestive issues. As some of the recent research suggests, could the problems in the gut be the cause of this?
For example, when the balance of the gut microbiome is lost, could the resulting digestive issues be impacting nervous system through the gut brain connection via vagus nerve?
Has this idea been tested yet? Anything we can read about it?
Results of some research studies suggest this connection. Here are some links that shed some light on this.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286912.php
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/842705
https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?gut-check-on-parkinson-new-findings-on-bacteria-levels
http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/12/12/gut-bacteria-dysfunction-found-in-parkinsons/78537.html
http://www.cureparkinsons.org.uk/News/leaky-gut-in-parkinsons
I agree with Dr Fossel that Neurons are lost due to their supporting Glial cells becoming dysfunctional though telomere attrition. The telomeres change gene expression as their size changes (relative to their starting length) and this causes changes in gene expression. Dr Fossel’s studies suggest that this is why Neurons (and other non dividing or slow dividing cells) diminish with age. If we can bolster the supporting cells which do divide and return their telomeres to their initial youthful size the gene expression will revert and should mitigate the effects of at least AL and probably the same for PD.
I believe like he does that cellular re-programming via telomeres is one of the best ways we have to deal with the dysfunction of aging.
I would also add that PD has seen some good success via the use of stem cell replacement and that technology is only going to improve as we can now create neurons from blood cells. I am seeing stem cell technology improving across the board and progress is being made by people like Irina Conboy in rejuvenating the stem cell niche to better allow for replacement stem cells to take root where needed too.
At least two companies are taking the gene therapy approach to AL which may overlap and work for PD too. Dr Fossel is doing the Telocyte project to being telomerase therapy to the FDA to treat AL, this may have crossover utility for PD.
The other company is Bioviva who are about to start testing similar technology.
My acupuncturist believes that ‘bolting food’ ie eating too quickly can cause PD. In ayurvedic medicine they hold great store by having a healthy digestion first and foremost in order to promote a healthy mind and body ( and soul!) Food for thought!
Or rather, food for research. I believe that there is a lot of wisdom and experience in traditional medicine, but each recommendation should be validated by modern empirical standards before we act on it.
On the other hand, there’s no harm done in eating slowly and enjoying our food.
John Gray (of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” fame) claims to have reversed his own Parkinson’s. And of course he will sell you some supplements to replicate his own program.
http://www.marsvenus.com/blog/john-gray/how-i-reversed-my-parkinsons-disease-symptoms
What can I say other than Thank you and keep on feeding us valuable info on neurodegenerative diseases.
Thank you Josh, Jeff and Ramana!
God bless you all
Caffeine and nicotine may be helpful.
“Both retrospective and prospective epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated an inverse association between cigarette smoking and PD…Nicotine has been shown in animals to stimulate the release of dopamine in the striatum, and to preserve nigral neurons and striatal dopamine levels in laboratory animals with lesioned nigrostriatal pathways. Coffee and caffeine consumption have also been shown in epidemiological studies to be inversely related to PD risk.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772120
Of course, the difference between coffee and cigarettes is that modest intake of coffee is associated with a slight decrease in overall mortality, whereas cigarettes are associated with a large increase in overall mortality.
You may be interested in reading “Preventing Parkinson’s: How to Cut Your Risk by Strengthening your Multiple Shields” (available on Amazon). It is based on a comprehensive literature review of over 10,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles. The book details steps that people can immediately take to lower their risk of developing Parkinson’s.
Dr Weinstock – you have investigated this subject far more deeply than I have. Can you comment on anything I might gotten wrong in this brief column, or any misplaced emphasis?
Thanks…
– Josh
Dear Josh,
I think your article is excellent, but I would like to emphasize the following:
1. Parkinson’s Disease is a multifactorial disease, often years, and sometimes decades, in the making;
2. Recent research shows that on a molecular level, diabetes and Parkinson’s are closely linked;
3. Vitamin D (from sunshine) plays a major role in preventing Parkinson’s. For example, one study showed that people with the highest levels of Vit D have a 67% reduced risk of Parkinson’s. Of course, one needs to avoid sunburns;
4. Taking supplements may not be a good idea, as they throw off the body’s natural levels of antioxidants. Supplements have been shown to worsen diabetes, for example;
5. A Mediterranean diet appears to be the best for preventing Parkinson’s (and many other conditions) as it is anti-inflammatory, provides high levels of antioxidants, provides fiber, and creates a pH level in the blood that inhibits alpha-synuclein;
6. Avoid sedentary behavior, avoid obesity, avoid head trauma;
7. More emphasis needs to be placed on prenatal and perinatal health. Dopamine-producing cells form during the first month of a pregnancy. If a pregnant woman is malnourished or exposed to toxins, the baby may be born with a lower number of those cells–thus raising the risk of Parkinson’s.
You may want to see my blog at http://www.preventingparkinsons.com
Sincerely
Ben Weinstock PT, DPT
Ben –
I very much appreciate your expertise. The comment about vitamin D is especially welcome. I mentioned vit D rather tentatively because there are arguments in the literature that the association between low blood levels and PD risk are not causal.
– Josh
Josh, are you aware of the Dunedin study?
http://dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz/news-and-events/article/41
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/07/01/1506264112
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/06/old-before-your-time-people-age-at-wildly-different-rates-study-confirms?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
It’d be interesting to see if there are any correlations between those that aged more slowly and some of the actions that they took.
I have had Parkinson’s for 16 years and I can’t agree more that you need to find out for yourself which meds and therapies work for you. This conclusion is reinforced by individual stories I hear at Parkinson’s support groups — meds and dosages that are effective and tolerable vary dramatically from one person to the next.
A drug for Parkinson’s that deserves wider attention is amantadine. After encountering problems with side effects of the dopamine agonists, I fell back on levodopa and DBS surgery, but I was experiencing severe motor fluctuations between dyskinesia at peak medication and tremor when the meds wore off. Amantadine was quite effective in smoothing out these fluctuations and giving me more useable time.
Amantadine may act by increasing noradrenergic signalling from the locus coeruleus (LC) to dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). LC noradrenergic neurons are depleted in PD, and noradrenergic signalling is neuroprotective to the SN in certain animal models of PD.
Dave Ring
I developed Parkinsonism shortly after a pesticide treatment in my home. Emory University recently published a study that shows a magnified risk of Parkinson’s disease for people who carry a certain gene when exposed to the common household insecticides called Pyrethroids. I am certain these pesticides triggered my condition.
You forgot to mention Cannabis in your article. Cannabis helps with the rigidity, pain, depression and sleep issues. At the cellular level it reduces inflammation. According to US Patents the Department of Health and Human Services the cannibinoid CBD is both an anti-inflammatory and a neuroprotectant.
There is Living Cell Technologies Limited (LCT) from New Zealand that is developing NTCELL for Parkinson.
http://www.lctglobal.com/
they also develop DIABECELL for Type 1 Diabetes.
Josh,
Can you comment on the recent article on the internet regarding the Malaria drugs Chloroquine and Amodiaquine and their effect on Rats with PD? Apparently the Rats were treated with the Malaria drugs and their PD symptoms abated. The article was titled, ” Scientist Discover Potential Treatment For Parkinson’s Disease “.
Thanks,
Gene
Thank you! This looks like a great find. Here is the original article in PNAS. They did their biochemistry, and they tested it in rats and both look very promising. The drugs Chloroquine and Amodiaquine are very similar to each other and have modest side effects; (they’re not the monster malaria drug that causes nightmares).
It is research that was completed in 2013, but review was delayed, probably because the senior author Ho Sup Yun was working in Korea. The paper was re-submitted to PNAS by a Harvard researcher, and received prompt attention.
Great article as well as insightful comments left by all. My mom has Parkinson’s for 3-1/2 year now, (she’s 81). I thought the disease couldn’t be diagnosed through lab testing; only through symptoms. But if scientists are using PD rats, they must be injecting them with something that causes PD which leads me to believe the diagnosis in humans can be confirmed through testing. Is there a definitive test for Parkinson’s, and if so, what is it? Thank you.
Hi, do you have any observations regarding Dale Bredesen’s protocol in his paper on reversal of cognitive decline?
http://www.impactaging.com/papers/v6/n9/full/100690.html
I have a dog suffering from canine cognitive dysfunction, or rather I did have. I adapted this protocol somewhat for his size and species and now I get to see him relearning all the things he had forgotten. From lying on a bed howling his head off all night, sleeping all day and falling over upon walking, he made a gradual recovery. I ended up laid on the floor this morning, exhausted – from a full 20 minute tug of war game around the house with him, which I lost.
Not bad for a dog the vet was planning to euthanise due to ‘poor quality of life’.
Anyway the protocol is a long one with many lifestyle modifications and supplements. 9 out of the first 10 patients had a sustained recovery and they had various types of dementia, including Parkinsons.
Thank you for this reference to Bredesen’s program. I will study it and write about it in coming weeks.
– Josh
Excellent news!
I thought I would follow up and say the dog continues to improve. There appears to be nothing wrong with him now but disk disease and sarcopenia. I’m working on these. It is nice to see him just getting through doorways actually. He used to stare at the hinge side of the door waiting for it to open and he is a big dog if you have to lift him to the open side. I’m glad we’re done with all that hassle.
Incidentally, I too have cognitive issues. I seem to be slipping into some kind of mild cognitive dysfunction – the main problem being forgetting nouns while recalling the associated adjective just fine. If I want a sweeping brush, for instance, I’ll ask for “the brushy thing” yet can’t remember the word “brush”. Inrecall what something does, but not what it is.
Actually maybe that’s my mild Autism taking over..
I decided to try the dogs herbs and supplements – the ones I mixed for him from the Bredesen Protocol. They seem to be working on the language issue, and I’m only on a tiny dose – maybe a tenth of what the dog gets. I have no idea which ones of the approximately 45 ingredients might be helping and life is too short to find out, so I just take them all.
Incidentally, Dr Bredesen mentioned the leaky roof scenario and inspired by this, – this is what I tell people with these age related conditions.
Imagine you have a house so old the roof has 50 tiny leaks causing a flood whenever it rains. Traditional pharmacology, with its ‘one pill for one ill’ and it’s reliance on synthesizing then patenting just one ingredient from a herb – plugs one hole (removes plaques, downregulates inflammation or encourages differentiation into a nerve cell phenotype etc.) This ingredient might do well in a test tube but when given to real patients the house still floods. There are 49 other holes! The drug is labelled a failure and the search continues for the next miracle.
But it wasn’t a failure really. It did plug the hole. Now you plug the 49 others.
A bit off topic but encouraging about a neurological disorder…
My 81 year old father has had Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) for 5 or 6 years. There is no known cure and its debilitating, leaving one spinning and unable to function for hours, even days. He’s tried various things, including Epley maneuvers. Once he increased his Vitamin D3 level, his BPPV episodes declined to about 2 to 3 per month and unable to function… He also has one eye that shifts direction rapidly from time to time and results in dizziness. Not sure what that’s called.
From time to time over the years, I have done google scholar searches for a cure. About 2 months ago, I found the following study from 2014.
Vestibular rehabilitation ameliorates chronic dizziness through the SIRT1 axis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941041/
We immediately ordered a good quality Resveratrol product because Resveratrol increases SIRT1. I can’t recall which Resveratrol product we ordered.
He began taking it about 7 weeks ago now. He hasn’t had a BPPV episode since he began taking it and I’ve noticed lately that his attitude and energy have very dramatically improved since then too. He’s going to increase the Resveratrol dose to see what happens. He was up on a ladder in the garage a few days ago fixing the auto garage door system… The rapid eye symptoms have continued but their effect has been much less negative.
The exponential increases in knowledge we are experiencing are worth keeping up with for the life saving and life enhancing implications they provide!
GAIM technology has shown very good progress in removing various plaque types. Michael J Fox foundation have funded development of this since 2011 and all signs are very good, it removes various plaques and amyloidosis too by targeting a common link, mis-folded proteins. Some plaque treated has seen a 40% reduction in tests.
http://neurophage.com/science/protein-misfolding-diseases/
NPT088 is their new candidate based on their older version
https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/grant-detail.php?grant_id=1245
NPT001 is the previous version which was good but improvement has been made
https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/grant-detail.php?grant_id=884
Can something be done about PD, ALS, AD and similar conditions? Yes and GAIM seems to be a good contender. I checked with a friend who works with Alzheimer’s at UCLA and he says the research behind this is legit and MJF is faster than most foundations on research. GAIM is a very interesting indeed.
Hi Josh,
Another high quality blog by you…many thanks. I enjoy reading them.
As another contributor wrote; PD is multi-factorial. What works in one person may not work in another.
However, in at least some cases, neuronal death in the substantia nira is due to metal-catalysed free-radical (FR) production. The radicals react with Met residues in proteins. When this happens to enzymes such as catalase and S-Metionine Reductase, a positive feedback loop of FR destruction follows.
One possible solution is to supplement with a sacrificial Met analogue.
For example: S-Methyl-L-Cysteine. This soaks up the FR’s, sparing the Met at critical sites.
Interestingly, SMLC is found naturally in the “Allium” family of vegetables…garlic, onion, etc.
It is quite harmless and available in pure form from scientific suppliers.
Cheers,
“Dr Tom”
I’ve been doing GSH nasal spray and liposomal GSH for 2 months. My GSH went from below the normal range to the very top of the high normal range. For parkinsons should I get it higher than the top of the normal range?
Thanks
What is your experience? Can you feel any difference in Parkinson’s symptoms when GSH is high?
Hello Kathy
Great news! Do you know what kind of herbs they were?? I would like to look at the chemical structure of their active ingredients
thanks
I have suffered parkinson’s disease since 2014 my symptoms were mainly tremor, shaking and rigid muscles, I was given levodopa and other medications to slow down the progress of the disease. I suffered from this disease till my wife’s co-worker told my wife about a herbal clinic from Johannesburg (Ejiro herbal clinic) who sell herbal medicine to cure all kind of disease including Parkinson’s disease. We contacted this herbal clinic via their email and purchased the parkinson’s disease herbal medicine we received the herbal medicine within 7 days, I started using this herbal medicine and gradually my condition improved till i was totally cured of parkinson’s disease. All thanks to Ejiro herbal clinic, Contact Ejiro herbal clinic via their email ejiroherbalclinic(at)gmail(dot)com or call +27617403481
My grandfather is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. One year before his symptoms was going worse and was affecting his memory adversely. One of my friends suggested me to send him to boxing classes. I sent him to rock steady boxing classes of Kansas City. After that, I saw hard to believe improvements in his Parkinson’s symptoms. I would recommend going rock steady boxing classes at Kansas City to people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Thanks for this – I know this is somewhat a belated comment. I am 46 and am experiencing some parkinsonian style symptoms – orthostatic hypotension (which has been going on for over a year), some constipation issues, sudden decline in handwriting (my signature is all over the place), and I believe a loss of sense of smell.
My first approach will be to try quite a few of these approaches to see if they make any difference along with fasting/calorie restriction.
Hello Alex
not sure if this was addressed
You might want to look into progesterone cream which you can get without prescription, progesterone is very neuroprotective and is low in men, Vitamin d3, people who work outside tend to have less parkinsons (being outside = sun exposure and increased d3 levels, )
melatonin(at night) also neuroprotective and will boost your progesterone levels. And finally Deprenyl which is for Parkinson’s but you can also take it to fight old age>>it makes normal rodents live 40% longer . Ive been taking it like a vitamin for 20 years or so/ Also it makes Beagles live longer
I get mine from a link at Taked3.com without prescription from the UK
Thanks Jeff. Am starting with curcurmin, exercise, Coq10, melatonin and calorie restriction. After a couple of weeks I will add the progesterone cream and possibly deprenyl.
Oh and one more thin
you might add some pregnenolone also known as the memory hormone
and it declines dramatically with age
it is the first hormone that your body makes from cholesterol
your body then converts pregnenolone into progesterone as needed and into other hormones from there
and keep us posted!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26004911
Int J Neurosci. 2016;126(7):630-6. doi: 10.3109/00207454.2015.1051046.
Reduced plasma taurine level in Parkinson’s disease: association with motor severity and levodopa treatment.
snip
CONCLUSION: Our study supports that taurine may play important roles in the pathophysiology of PD and the disturbances caused by chronic levodopa administration.
Well things have progressed. Whilst I could live with a bit of handwriting degeneration, waking up in the night and some intermittent dizzyness when walking the start of a tremor really brought it home that this could be real.
It was like the scene in Jurassic park where the puddle starts rippling ominously. At this stage, like waiting for the arrival of the T-rex it was time to not hang around.
Looking around the internet (and this site a lot) the only thing that gave real hope was fasting and exercise, with an emphasis on a keto diet. Also when I could stand it get cold – go out in a cold evening in a T-shirt to do some outside jobs.
The thing about Parkinson’s is that is also mental – a positive attitude can help – that is why there are so many initial promising treatments that subsequently fall foul of the placebo effect. This may also be why my mother’s friend who married a nasty sociopath developed the disease and died relatively young.
Regime
1. I have a fitbit – 10,000 steps a day 5 days a week. Can be running or walking
2. Did fast for a period – and lost a bit of weight (though by no means overweight). Was very hungry.
3. Low glycaemic dinner, typically salads/ broccoli and meat. If possible no carb foods etc in the evening.
4. CoQ10 400 mg with meals
5. Vitamin D and curcumin when I can remember it.
6. Wear minimal clothing even when cold outside.
7. Exercise where possible before eating any carbs.
8. Coconut oil – this was off the internet. May be coincidence but it does seem to have stopped the tremors for now. Maybe there is a yeast/parkinsons connection. Did have a bit of balinitis which may be indicative of a yeast problem.
9. One Hoppy Ale most nights. This is for the female hormones which may be protective. Also I like Ale! Though don’t think that would be good for yeast.
In general my approach to high gi carbohydrates is to approach them with extreme caution now.
Worst thing at the moment is the sleep – always wake up 2 hours after going to sleep and the rest of the night is touch and go whether I sleep much at all.
Anyway will report back with progress either way.
Thanks for this report, Alex. Many will benefit from reading your ideas.
Try meditation to teach yourself to relax while awake during the night. You can learn to wake up more rested from a night of meditation than a night of sleep.
Try NAC or liposomal glutathione to increase glutathione levels in your brain.
Hello Alex
FYTI
I was a skeptic about coconut oil helping Alzheimers patients because of the small chain fatty acids were easier to burn theory.
I always assumed that there must be some sort of hormone changes going on.
I convinced a 30 year old make who had never taken supplements before to eat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil each day for 1 month I tested 3 of his hormones before and after . His Vitamin D3 level did not change nor did his progesterone. However his pregnenolone increased by 250%!~I dont know if coconut oil contains pregnenolone or just causes your body to make more of it. But also keep in mind that pregnenolone is the direct precursor to progesterone. Also pregnenolone has been called the memory hormone as it makes old rats remember as well as young rats. Pregnenolone declines with age. Progesterone is known to be neuroprotective.
You might want to take melatonin at night as it should help you sleep and it causes your progesterone levels to rise which also should be neuroprotective. I have a book out that describes a number of high dose melatonin experiments (The book is about Alzheimer’s about 50% but about aging and hormones another 50%) It is titled ALZHEIMER’S TREATMENTS THAT ACTUALLY WORKED IN SMALL STUDIES! (BASED ON NEW, CUTTING-EDGE, CORRECT THEORY!) THAT WILL NEVER BE TESTED & YOU WILL NEVER HEAR ABOUT FROM YOUR MD OR BIG PHARMA ! by Jeff t bowles you can get it on amazon
the ebook is only 2.99! paperback 9.99
Also do not be lazy with the vitamin d3 as it has been shown that people who work outdoors (and get lots of sun and make more d3) have a lower rate of getting PD!
Thanks Josh and Jeff. Am taking liposomal glutathione now, as well as melatonin at night. The tremors have gone for now. Have downloaded a hypnosis relaxation mp3 to listen to at night, which seems to work – am generally sleeping much better, which I think may be key.
Saw the doctor – she stated that I was too young for Parkinson’s ( I am really but equally there have been some disturbing symptoms which it would be wise not to ignore) and gave me some sleeping pills, of which I have taken 1, but not the rest.
So I am really not sure what works and what doesn’t but to recap my regime which is working for now:
1. Coconut oil (generally a spoonful in tea or coffee)
2. 1 hoppy beer/ale (pint of) per day.
3. CoQ10
4. Decent amount of exercise
5. Vitamin d and curcumin
6. Melatonin at night ( 1mg)
7. Low carb, eat well – avoid sugar if at all possible.
8. Hypnosis relaxation mp3
9. Go outside in the cold wearing short sleeves.
10. Fast (at least skip breakfast and lunch) 2 days a week.
HI there just saw a breakthrough on TV one Dr is prescribing PD patients a particular form of excercise
High intensity stationary bicycling for 45 minutes a day at about 80% max speed
and it staves off the symptoms indefinitely check it out it is probably
google-able
Still some getting resting tremors at night mostly, especially if I have fallen off the no-carb wagon. Have ordered some Mannitol after some parkinsons’ sufferers have noticed an improvement in their sense of smell.
Am upping the distance I am running, but I would have to say it is difficult to do that 45 minutes a day:
http://www.outthinkingparkinsons.com/articles/mannitol
HI there
Some researchers were saying that Vitamin K2 might help Parkinson’s, an d recently i saw where people who drink a lot of skim milk/ eat no-fat dairy are at higher risk of getting Parkinson’s. Maybe too much calcium without enough Vitamin K2 is involved in Parkinson’s?? As the K2 is in the milk fat. (K2 also takes calcium out of soft tissues and puts back in bones) I also heard that skim milk drinkers also are at higher risk of prostate cancer and K2 seems to help PC as well. just FYI
Hi Jeff,
Yes I have come to the conclusion that skimmed and semi-skimmed milk are pretty evil and am trying to switch to full fat where possible.
It’s only been a week, but Mannitol has appeared to have the most impact so far, in terms of sleep and reduction in tremor. I even stress tested this on Sunday with an overly carbohydrate (chocolate, potato chips, bread) filled day and there was no tremor resulting.
Also this probably is the cheapest of the supplements I have been taking, so it is worth a try. Trawling through various parkinson’s forums, it doesn’t work for everyone, but there have been some sufferers who are noticing good improvements from using it.
It may be that you need to take it with some of the other stuff mentioned on this blog to gain the full effects.
Mannitol and coconut oil are still working for me. My sense of smell has come back (before I could detect a general perfume and wine but not individual scents). My pre-tremor has gone. My signature still isn’t great, but may be getting slightly better.
Providing I don’t drink excessive alcohol sleep is better. I am not waking up just after midnight.
Mannitol does tend to make me gassy, so I tend to take less of it if I have had a good (i.e. lots of exercise and no heavy carbs) day.
I feel very lucky to have found something that works that well for me (so far that is).
Still doing melatonin at night, and have added some hops after someone noted that Xanthohumol was working for them.
5 months later and Mannitol is still working for me. Over on healthunlocked there are also others reporting improvements using this. I don’t want to be overly cynical but I have come to the conclusion that none of the research by Pharma companies will ever find a cure. They want to find expensive treatments that show some benefit, but not a cure (which would otherwise do them out of a job). I think the same goes for type 1 diabetes ( whereas type 2 is really a lifestyle choice).
HI there
I belevie type I diabetes can be prevented by prenatal Vitamin D3 suplementation of the mother and Vitamin D3 supplementation of the infant (or lots of sunbathing)…Why? Type I diabetes occurs at much higher rates at latitides further from the equator with weaker sun. ANd the rates have been explodingb since 1980 since we were all convinced to use sunscreen and avoid sun…See my article about this pehnomemnonm it applies to most disease including to Parkinson’s (at least in rural workers)….
https://jefftbowles.com/overwhelming-proof-vitamin-d3-deficiency-causes-almost-all-human-diseases/
vigorous exercise is the latest prescription.
I’m not allowed to include the actual link. There’s a good article dated 13 Dec 2017 in the New York Times — exercise-may-aid-parkinsons-disease-but-make-it-intense. But just look in google news or elsewhere.
I am diagnosed as A TYpical Parkinson for approx. 6 to 7years am trying everything I can including multivitamins, various shakes eg. Mars/Venus & Longevity supplements to try & improve.
I dont have the usual symptoms – tremors just cant walk steadily, have very little balance can fall easily.
Drs. have given me various meds – levedopa etc. all to no improvement, am not taking any meds now just all natural health products, watch diet, have always exercised am at my whits end, walking is so very important to ones life & this has ruined my life. Help, any suggestions will be gratefully accepted.