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Parkinson’s Disease

There are a lot of supplements and lifestyle practices that can have a beneficial effect on Parkinson’s Disease. Remission of symptoms have occurred, but a more realistic expectation is to arrest or slow the progression of the disease.

 

Here are a few potentially causative factors:

  • Statins increase the likelihood of onset of Parkinsonism in people who have a tendency.
  • People with type 2 diabetes have a 21 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
  • Environmental causes.Exposure to farming chemicals, pesticides and herbicides like Paraquat, Vietnam-era exposure to Agent Orange; working with heavy metals, detergents and solvents have all been implicated and studied for a clearer link.
  • Household mold
  • Gluten: after 3 months of abstinence from gluten, a 75-year-old patient reported an almost complete remission of symptoms, subsequently confirmed by a neurological evaluation. Even 18 months later, he was reexamined and was found to have improved further.

 

Diet: For men, the Mediterranean diet seems to have an impact, delaying the onset of Parkinson’s symptoms for an average of 8.4 years, according to one study. The most important dietary factor is to completely avoid sugar.

 

Supplements:

B vitamins: It’s important to do a blood test for homocysteine. Homocysteine levels should be decreased in order to prevent Parkinson’s, cardiovascular diseases, and bone loss in those taking l-dopa, a medication which tends to raise homocysteine levels. This can be achieved through supplementation of certain B vitamins with folate, which should ideally in conjunction with B-12 injections (B‑12 as methylcobalamin). In addition, vitamin B-6 may reduce the severity of l‑dopa-induced dyskinesias (involuntary movements) in Parkinson’s disease.

 

Velvet bean extract (Mucuna pruriens) has a long history of use for treating Parkinson’s because of its natural dopamine content. Tests revealed that this herb had better effects, including a longer relief from dyskinesia, than those taking l‑dopa. If you want to try it, it is wise to find the ready-made extract.

 

Coenzyme Q-10 has shown a neuroprotective effect in an experimental model of Parkinson’s disease. CoQ-10 protects neurons and slows the degenerative progress.

The ubiquinol form is better absorbed and utilized than the cheaper ubiquinone. (Source: Life Extension Foundation)

 

Pregnenolone is a hormone. It stimulates brain stem cells and can help with the depression associated with Parkinsonism. (Source: Designs for Health)

 

N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) is a compound that is used by the body to help the liver produce an antioxidant called glutathione; researchers report that it may improve dopamine function and ease Parkinson’s disease symptoms. The study, “N-Acetyl Cysteine Is Associated with Dopaminergic Improvement in Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

 

Green Tea: EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is an antioxidant that penetrates the blood-brain barrier and acts as a neuroprotector in Parkinsonism. Theanine, another component of green tea, may be able to prevent dopaminergic cell death typical of Parkinson’s.

 

Curcumin: Curcumin is anti-inflammatory and also shown to prevent Parkinsonism in test animals.

 

Melatonin: This is a brain hormone, an antioxidant and also helps with sleep, which is often a problem for people with Parkinson’s disease.

 

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is a neurohormone with neuroprotective effects throughout life. It also prevents Parkinsonism in test animals and is known to be deficient in many patients with the disease.

 

Carnitine: Acetyl-l-carnitine prevented experimentally-induced Parkinsonism in monkeys. Nutritional scientists in Shanghai found that acetyl-l-carnitine combined with lipoic acid prevented pathological changes in cell cultures and that the combination was effective at concentrations 100 times lower.

 

Here are a couple of pharmaceuticals that are used by some alternative physicians:

Cabergoline (Dostinex): Cabergoline helps to improve the brain levels of dopamine by stimulating D2 receptor cells. It’s approved for use in Parkinsonism.

 

Low-dose Naltrexone (LDN): Low doses of Naltrexone appear to be effective in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including Parkinsonism.

 

Photobiotherapy

 

Photobiotherapy is a treatment with light that has been effective for reversing symptoms and arresting progression of Parkinsonism. I believe it’s necessary to carry out lifestyle changes and effective supplementation to get the best result.