My favorite book about Parkinson´s.

I am often asked what to read to better understand the various treatments for the disease, both orthodox and so-called alternative or complementary. I never hesitate. The answer is simple:

"Tratamientos heterodoxos en la enfermedad de Parkinson" (Heterodox treatments in Parkinson's disease) (2004, 2013), by neurologist Rafael González Maldonado.

It is difficult for me to write about what seems to be the most important book that has been written in these 203 years of Modern History of Parkinson's. For those who find it exaggerated, I recommend that you read it. Of course, before recommending any book of mine, I recommend this one a thousand times more. Thanks to it I woke up inside the parkinsonian maze that we were living with my father's disease. And I continue to learn every day in its pages, by the information it provides and the author's judgment on each subject covered.

Another of the endless paradoxes in the world of Parkinson's: that this book is no longer translated into English, French, German, Chinese

I'm going to play one page, page 44, because it's full on Google Books. If it's not the key to Parkinson's, it's one of several that might be. And it's written in 2004. Without any more words.

(Translated from Spanish to English).

«FOLIC ACID (VITAMIN B9).

It is necessary for the metabolism of nucleic acids and haemoglobin formation but folic acid has another very important function: to remove homocysteine from the blood, a substance that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, dementia and stroke, 734,1307 as well as Parkinson's, depression and 737 and even some cancers. 736 In adults, folic acid is neuroprotective, prevents physiological aging 732,735,736, and decreases the risk of Parkinson's. 290,737 Mice with Parkinson's MPTP make fewer dopaminergic lesions if they were given folic earlier. 290

To pregnant women i, the elderly ii and parkinsonians treated with levodopa should be given folic acid supplements.736,795 Levodopa increases homocysteine levels, which, in addition favouring other diseases is a possible cause of the progression of Parkinson's. 795,1278 Give folic acid supplements to Parkinsonians counteracts dangerous homocysteine and is a cheap and very recommended. 737,771,795

ii Older people often have elevated blood homocysteine that can be lowered with folic acid supplements.959».

Omega 3 and Turmeric against Depression.

OMEGA-3 AGAINST DEPRESSION.

 
A great article from the magazine "Discovery Dsalud" in Spanish about omega 3 fatty acids and depression. Impressive findings by Dr. Basant Puri when doing MRIs of the brains before and after omega 3 treatment (EPA and DHA and show positive changes and growth in certain areas of the brain. It turns out that they are also very beneficial against Parkinson's.

We always recommend caution and never discontinue or reduce treatments without specialist approval. In general, omega-3 are compatible with most medications, but consultation is important.

In English, we have this other truly interesting article from "Lifeextension":
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2016/7/how-omega-3-fights-depression

Efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs in depression: A meta-analysis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31383846

TURMERIC AGAINST DEPRESSION

Studies on the medicinal virtues of turmeric continue to appear. There are already thousands. And also powerful against Parkinson's. How could it not be if it is an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory, crosses the barrier that protects the brain, protects the liver, is anti-tumor, etc.?

Always remember to consult your doctor and your pharmacist. There are products on the market that can be too powerful (capsules of 10 grams of turmeric). I think it is more prudent to use it as a spice with fried tomatoes, for example (turmeric needs heat, fat and a little piperine from the black pepper to assimilate it well).

 

 

This interesting article from "Dr. Mercola":
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/05/18/curcumin-depression-treatment.aspx

 

Clinical Use of Curcumin in Depression: A Meta-Analysis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28236605

 

Curcumin for depression: a meta-analysis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31423805

 

The two faces of L-dopa. Vitamin B3 against psychosis.

The two faces of the L-dopa.

 

(Note: We do not question the use of levodopa, but seek scientific studies to help us reduce its adverse effects and improve its effectiveness. Always with the guidance of a specialist).

It is always recommended that you consult your doctor. Even more so in the case of vitamin B6 so as not to interfere with the action of levodopa and in the case of B3 to give the right dose that provides all its benefits without adverse effects.

Niacin reduces the side effects of l-dopa medication. Says Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD: [L-dopa becomes] "L-dopamine {which] is oxidized into dopachrome in the brain; this is toxic to cells and is an hallucinogen. Many patients given too much became psychotic. And because it is toxic to brain cells, it also hastens the onset of more degeneration and even death. Therefore it is not surprising that, like adrenochrome, it can cause psychotic reactions. Niacin protects the body against the toxic effect of adrenochrome. For this reason I have used it in conjunction with the l-dopa to protect these patients. The presence of dopachrome (oxidized dopamine) increases the need for niacin, which must be replaced. The other nutrient that is now standard treatment is coenzyme Q10, using up to 1200 milligrams daily." (Foster HD and Hoffer A: The two faces of L-dopa: benefits and adverse side effects in the treatment of Encephalitis lethargica, Parkinson´s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Medical Hypotheses 62; 177-181:2004.

Studies on vitamin B3 (niacin, nicotinic acid) and Parkinson's (from the article on coffee and Parkinson's)

- A diet rich in vitamin B3 reduces the risk of developing the disease (Fall 1992).
- A diet poor in vitamin B3 increases the risk of Parkinson's (Hellenbrand 1996).
- Vitamin B3 produces an improvement in the symptoms of the patients (Kuhn 1993).
- Taken with levodopa, it raises dopamine levels and prolongs its effects longer (Black 1986).

More information:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/parkinson.html

https://parkinsonhereandnow.blogspot.com/2019/11/coffee-and-parkinsons-disease.html

Do we know enough to change the face of Parkinson´s

DO WE KNOW ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE FACE OF PARKINSON´S?


                    "The only true journey of discovery is not to seek
                       new landscapes, but to look with new eyes."
                                                                         Marcel Proust

Ketogenic diet (VanItallie 2005), intense physical exercise by bicycle -in tandem with a healthy person- (Alberts 2011) and vitamin B2 (Coimbra 2003) are able to improve symptoms by 40 to 77 %. Do we still expect a study with all three together, 9 years after the last one?  

Would something similar happen to the study of Powers in 1988, which found 87 % prevention of Parkinson's risk with the combination of tobacco, coffee and NAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)? I'll put it into words to make sure there's no mistake: eighty-seven  percent! (Powers 2008).

                                

Could be Parkinson's a lack of mainly B vitamins?

IS PARKINSON'S A MULTI-CARENTIAL SYNDROME IN WHICH THE B-GROUP VITAMINS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE?

"The truth is the truth, whether it's said

by (the king) Agamemnon or his servant."

Antonio Machado

Could be what we call Parkinson's a lack of mainly B vitamins?

Could a good part of what we know as Parkinson's be a syndrome of multiple deficiencies (especially, vitamin C and glutathione, as well as magnesium, zinc and all the B-group vitamins?

If we look at the functions of each B vitamin and the symptoms that lead to its deficiency - which are all of the symptoms of Parkinson's - suspicion begins to arise. And considering that Levodopa-Carbidopa affects vitamins B3, B6 and B9 at least, it increases suspicion.

Let's focus on the B vitamins. These studies show the highest risk of Parkinson's when there is a deficit (a Dutch study, led by De Lau, states that a low level of vitamin B6 -less than 0.25 mg per day, when the recommended daily amount would be around 1 or 2 mg per day- increases the risk of Parkinson's by 54 %) and the lowest risk when there is the highest intake within the recommended range (up to 51 % with vitamin B2 or 49 % with B9).

PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH AND EVERY B VITAMINS TO PREVENT, SLOW DOWN AND IMPROVE SYMPTOMS.

  Studies showing the benefits of each vitamin for Parkinson's:

  Vitamin B1 -

  Food (Iber 1982, Mousseau 1996);

  Supplements (Luong and Nguyen 2012; Costantini 2016)

  Vitamin B2 -

  Food (McCormick 1988 - 51 % lower risk -; Powers 1999)

  Supplements (Coimbra 2003 -symptom improvement 44 to 77 %-,      Jornayvaz 2010, Marashly 2017).

  Vitamin B3 -

  Food (Fall 1999, Hellenbrand 1996, Vrecko 1993);

  Supplements (Kuhn 1993, Black 1986)

  Vitamin B6 -

  Food (Frankl 1977, Lau 2006 -lower level, 54 % more risk, Murakami 2010);

  Supplements (Baker 1941, Lewis 2002, Vainstok 1979, Tan 2005)

  Vitamin B9 -

  Food (Lau 2006);

  Supplements (Duan 2002, Mattson 2003, Postuma 2006, Schwartz 1992,

  Religa 2006 - 49 % less risk).

  Vitamin B12 -

  Food (Lau 2006, Quershi 2011);

  Supplements (Rajabally 2013, Christine 2018, McCarter 2019,

  Schaffner 2019 - a major improvement in mobility).

                       (Jesus Marquez Rivera. Parkinson here and now).

Could excessive oxidation, excess iron or aluminum, neuroinflammation, malfunctioning of mitochondria, problems with alpha-synuclein, the inability to "correct" the genes that predispose to Parkinson's with the nutrients with greater epigenetic potential (vitamin D, B12, magnesium, vitamin C ...) be normal with such deficiencies?

Marashly says verbatim in her 2017 study:

"Riboflavin protects against neurotoxicity by improving oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neurogenic inflammation, glutamate excitotoxicity and homocysteine neurotoxicity. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neurogenic inflammation, glutamate excitotoxicity and homocysteine neurotoxicity are all implicated in neurodegeneration and neurotoxicity."

Vitamin C activates folic acid and recycles oxidized glutathione, vitamin B2 is needed to activate vitamin B6 (WITHOUT WHICH DOPA CANNOT BE CONVERTED INTO DOPAMINE) and produce glutathione.

Another piece of the puzzle…

Not a single Parkinson's patient who doesn't watch this extraordinary video.

HOW CAN THERE BE A SINGLE PARKINSON'S PATIENT LEFT ON THIS PLANET WHO HAS NOT YET WATCHED THIS WONDERFUL VIDEO?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZqWAlBc5q0

Help me correct that, please.
As I promised you last year, this year, 2020, is going to be a very big year for the "Parkinson's revolution".
I invite all patient associations to show this video to all patients, on the Internet and at the association´s premises.
Hope is the best medicine.
We are going to do everything possible (and the impossible) to stop this real tragedy from happening: that these roads of hope remain unknown, buried beneath thousands of trivialities and smoke, which are part of the maze of the Parkinson's world.

Dr. David Perlmutter is a renowned neurologist who focused on the use of intravenous glutathione (through bags like those of serum) years ago. Although he later participated in a study that found no such mobility benefits (Hauser 2009), today we know a possible explanation for this apparent contradiction. The same as supplementing patients with vitamin E without giving them fat is useless because it is not assimilated (it is a fat-soluble vitamin), likewise large amounts of glutathione intravenously or parenterally require high doses of vitamins B6, B9 and B12 to be properly assimilated and even not interfere with levodopa-carbidopa (Lewis 2002). 
Perlmutter's patients followed a strong treatment of vitamins and other nutrients. This I have to confirm and look for other studies, etc.
But for now it is worthwhile as a possible explanation. 

In addition, recently a study with NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine), a precursor of glutathione, injected and oral raised glutathione and the amount of dopamine transporters (DAT, from 3.4 to 8.3 %), improving mobility significantly (Monti 2019).
Of course, prudence is also an important medicine. Don't forget to always consult your neurologist. 

-----

"Glutathione is one of the most potent antioxidants and, in its intravenous (IV) form, the most dramatic result I have ever seen in some Parkinson's patients. Neurologist David Perlmutter is perhaps the best known physician who provides such therapy. The videos available on the Internet are invaluable in bringing hope to patients and their families. A study involving Dr. Perlmutter in 2009 shows less dramatic results for intravenous glutathione therapy (Hauser 2009).

A study entitled "Parkinson's Disease: A Disorder Due to Glutathione Deficiency in the Substance Nigra? (Perry 1982). It appears that Parkinson's patients have very low levels of glutathione in the brain (Arakawa 2007) and that this would be related to the severity of the symptoms (Sechi 1996). Sian (1994) found only 40% glutathione in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's patients. In advanced stages of the disease, the level of reduced (active) glutathione may be as low as 2% of normal (Adams 1991). 

Hardly anyone questions the importance of glutathione in Parkinson's disease. The debate is over how to effectively administer it to raise the concentration in the neurons to normal levels.

By administering sustained release vitamins B6, B9, and B12, it would be possible for glutathione and vitamin B6 to be given without interfering with levodopa (Lewis 2002). Researchers have proposed precursors such as N-acetyl-cysteine or NAC (Schapira 1990, Martinez 1999, Shahripour 2014), which cross the blood-brain barrier more easily, or substances that restore the level of glutathione within cells (alpha-lipoic acid, milk thistle silymarin, melatonin, turmeric, vitamin C). The neuroprotective ability of the drug selegiline is due to the fact that it raises glutathione somewhat (Tanaka 2002)".

Without Exercise there can be no Effective Treatment for Parkinson's

Physical activity is essential for life, for health. But sport is as necessary for the Parkinson's sufferer as Levodopa, proper nutrition or sunbathing (vitamin D). There are hundreds of scientific studies that prove it: EXERCISE IS A "MEDICINE" FOR PARKINSON'S. The Dutch neurologist Bastiaan Bloem sends the exercise in prescriptions so that his patients become aware of its CRITICAL IMPORTANCE. Always adapted to the situation of each patient by his neurologist: progressive, prudent and safe to avoid falls, injuries, etc.

Some of the benefits of exercise. No medication or treatment can achieve this:

Intense physical exercise on a static bicycle (especially forced exercise done in tandem with a healthy person) provides an improvement in motor symptoms of about 35-40%, similar to a dose of levodopa (Alberts 2011). Exercise also promotes neuroplasticity and neurogenesis (Mattson 2000). It can even prevent it by 43% (Yang 2015), delay the onset of symptoms (Tsai 2002), and slow and stop the progression of the disease (Oguh 2014).

Exercise is the essential complement to any treatment that might be designed for this disease (Formisano 1992). Nothing can replace it. In 1992, Sasco and colleagues were the first to publish an epidemiological study on the benefits of physical exercise for Parkinson's.

    
EXERCISE, A "MEDICINE" TO PARKINSON´S DISEASE.

Some of the extraordinary benefits of the "medicine" called exercise to treat Parkinson's:

   1. Increases dopamine, promotes neuroprotection, neurogenesis

   and neuroplasticity (Lau 2011, Tillerson 2001, 2002, 2003; Mattson 2000, 2003).

   2. Improves mental or cognitive ability (David 2015).

   3. Improvement of up to 40% in symptoms (Alberts 2009, 2011).

   4. Prevents or delays the disease by up to 43% (Ahlskog 2011, Tsai 2002, Yang 2015)

   5. Stops its usual progression (Oguh 2014).

   6. Improves depression and sleep disorders (Butler 1998, Reynolds 2016)).

   7. Lack of exercise increases the risk of Parkinson's disease (Xu 2010).

   8. Improves the perceived well-being of the patient (Baatile 2000).

   9. Fewer falls occur (Allen 2011)

   In short, almost everything improves: motor symptoms (Prodoehl 2015, David 2016, Chung 2016, Bhalsing 2018) and non-engines (David 2015, Reynolds 2016).

Bhalsing's study "Role of physical activity in Parkinson's disease" (2018) seems to me to be a good summary.

From walking to aquatic exercise, aerobic, intensive, forced, dance, tango and "martial arts" like Taichi or Qigong (physical, respiratory, energetic approach).

LESSON FOR US: My father didn't accept it until his last months of life and paid a very high price. Even at the end, after 18 years of being diagnosed (1994-2012) and the last 12 years of taking levodopa, when he was doing light arm stretching, breathing exercises and walking around the house for a few minutes helped by my mother or me, his general condition improved. It's never too late, but the sooner you start, the better.

Let's not forget the basics of Parkinson's: improving nutrition (turmeric, artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, oranges, nuts, peppers, kiwis, fiber, smoothies, etc.) The opposite would be like treating a sailor suffering from scurvy with exercise and coagulants, and forgetting the vitamin C in oranges and lemons.

Jesus Marquez Rivera. Parkinson's here and now.