Franlee

I remember a post about Astaxanthin and benefits for PD patients but can't find the post. Can anyone shed some light on this please.

[Bitsy]

Hi Fran, The post I saw didn't list advantages just that it might be good for pwp. Astaxanthin is found in wild fish like salmon and enables them to carry out great feats of physical or muscle exertion like swimming up rivers and rapids against the flow. Since it makes the muscles more powerful the person in question thought it might do the same for anyone with Parkinson's. I haven't personally tried it yet. I think you can buy it online at places like iherb.com - 'Life Extension' is a good brand but read the reviews. There is quite a lot about it on the internet. Cheers

[answerseeker]

Hi Franlee,

I didn't see the post, but I am a nutritionist and thought I would share a bit of what I know. Astaxanthin is a nutrient that acts as an antioxidant in the body to prevent cell damage. If you take it in as part of your diet (e.g. eating salmon) or as a supplement, you may notice as I do a definite improvement in the texture of your skin. It is also used for the eyes and some people do use it as part of a package to help slow cell death in dopamine producing cells in the brain. As with most other nutrients, studies done are mostly in the lab or on animals.

Here's one study as an example found on pubmed: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... which shows results with this supplement.

My husband has had PD for almost 11 years now. He is 78 and still works. His symptoms have progressed over the years and though it can be challenging at times because everything takes longer, he is only finding in the last couple of years more difficulty physically in doing all of the stuff around the house that he was very handy at.

He is somewhat unusual because he has chosen not to take meds being very reactive to some he has taken in the past. My observation is diet, sleep and exercise make a big difference for him on a daily basis and some of the supplements he takes do as well. (If he skips taking them for whatever reason we do notice the difference.)

There's a lot out there Franlee. Keep an open mind and try what makes sense to you outside of relying only on meds. As I'm sure you'll notice, lifestyle factors make a tremendous impact on quality of life for everyone, including those with PD.

[Donzim]

You are incorrect. What works for you may not be sufficient for avoiding the dreaded 'anchor effect' in others. Supplement use for us has been extraordinarily beneficial. Zandopa (standardized and approved by FDA for early PD) worked for years. PDers usually have significantly decreased D levels so need to get light and supplement. The use of amino acids has helped dramatically. We now use the newest drug, Rytary, with success but it probably doesn't work on everyone as well.

If your doc thinks you should not be on antioxidants which is so basic for all older folks and most with degenerative disease, maybe you should find one who knows about supplements and reconsider your choice. There is a split in drug philosophy among PD docs: some think one should go right on drugs. The problem with that is that most PD drugs wear out (not usually mentioned) and one must turn to stronger drugs with possibility of negative side effects. The second approach is to delay drugs as long as possible by using products like Zandopa with little or no side effect. We chose the latter approach. We have both a neurologist and a complementary doc and have found a good number of supplements to sub for pharmaceuticals with a lot of negative side effects, including hallucinations (common). Ant hallucination drugs made them worse.... Niacin stopped them cold.

Stage one is a honeymoon compared to stage 4.

[Hidden]

I am 61 and stable at stage one. I take no meds. Dx 2012.

I agree, too much hope placed in products that have no affect at all.