My Dad has PD and my mother has Alzheimers. Her mother also has Alzheimers. I'm their caretaker and am very proactive in keeping them as comfortable as possible and also on top of all treatment modalities. BUT, I'm curious...is there anything that I can do to help prevent these diseases from reaching me at a later age (beyond general health/wellness, limiting toxins in food/home, etc.)? For example, are there supplements or things to take or do that help reduce dopamine reduction over time, etc.? Any advice? TIA!
Can you reduce risk of acquiring PD? - Cure Parkinson's
Can you reduce risk of acquiring PD?
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Akrow
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Parkinson's disease relief:
Diagnosed 2012
My regimen:
The positives: no bradykinesia, I cut my food with a knife, no button difficulties, brush my teeth now w/o needing elect brush, more strength. Getting in and out of bed, turning over is easier. No more constipation. Parkinson's progression stopped. Suppressed all motor and non-motor symptoms...
Entering my 7th year post diagnosis and have not fallen, not once, to the surprise of my neuro. Was seeing neuro every 6th month, last visit he set app one year. He said if needed we could do some changes earlier. He said my condition can change in as little time as one week.
New schedule, now I follow this regimen:
2 x day C/L 50-200 ER : 8 am, 5 pm. Because it is ER, I take with or w/o food.
2 x day (8 am 2g, and 5 pm 2g) Vitacost vitamin B1 (as thiamine HCL) 500mg, easy swallow capsules
B1 Thiamine therapy reference / stop progression, suppress motor and non-motor symptoms:
(Thiamine HCL is oral substitute to injecting B1) 2 x day (morning 2g and at lunch 2g)
Doctor Costantini strategy that I find helpful "thiamine hcl stops the progression forever...".
Parky people say the first five years is your honeymoon stage with Parkinson's. After that, progression more rapid.
I have gone from slow motion to normal motor action since joining the growing number of PwP that have started B1 regimen/protocol. –
Doctor Costantini - “Why is this? Because there is no medicine or drug that is able to affect all of the organs, whereas all of the organs function thanks to Thiamine. An important detail”, adds doctor Costantini, “the Thiamine therapy brings no collateral damage with time”.
Join my facebook group:
"parkinson's thiamine hcl"
facebook.com/groups/2322600... …
Parkinson's Relief, Questions and Answers
Akrow• in reply to
Thanks Roy. Does this mean I should take HCL or Thiamine on a regular basis? I'm 40, no diagnosis...just wanting to make sure that I minimize all possibility given that its in my family.
• in reply toAkrow
A study says those taking ibuprofen on regular basis.....
Thiamine HCL refers to a single entity - it is a version of thiamine.
It stands to reason that if high-dose thiamine HCL improves the underlying condition in Parkinson's that it would also serve to prevent or delay Parkinson's as well. But I doubt there is any data to back up this contention.
Do you have any idea whether the Parkinson's in your family is genetically caused? In any case, you can have your DNA tested at 23 and me to see if you are carrying any genetic mutations known to cause Parkinson's.
healthabc• in reply to
In 'healthy' pre-diagnosed people, its recommended to take a B complex especially if you are taking a specific B supplement (ie. B1). If I were pre-diagnosis, thats what I would do. B vitamins are so valuable to our nervous system.... they are also water soluble, so excess washes out in urine.
Should I start taking B1 or a Bcomplex, or B12? There's so many to choose from. I'd probably take this every day, forever?
I, personally, would start taking a B complex kinda daily, not stressing out if a day or 2- or 3- are missed. As for B12, it is best delivered sublingually (in the mouth) or by injection. Taken in a capsule, B12 never makes it past the stomach acids. Generally speaking, Its healthy to take B's, even if you are a regular person with no risk of pd or alzheimers. Again, personally speaking, I wouldn't add in extra B1 until the very 1st sign of pd.
Since exercise is at the top of the proven list for slowing progression. I walk 3 miles each Monday thro Friday and do two days, 90 minutes each of those days, of stationary bike. I have been doing this since 1974 (34 years of age).
There is no clinical trial proof of WHAT causes brain diseases, but we all do what we can.
Los Angeles, CA
Here’s a good research paper:
Akrow,
Vitamin D has shown the potential to reduce the risk of PD and in this particular article by as much as 65%.
Vitamin D is known to be deficient, insufficient or lower in PD than in the general population. Here is alink to that article :
aplaceformom.com/blog/2013-...
In general, being replete with vitamin D is associated with better health and being deficient is associated with disease states.
Here is a link to a post that I wrote about vitamin D as it relates to PD :
healthunlocked.com/parkinso...
Art
Art
My doctor told me that I should only take vitamin D every other day. She says vitamin D every day can damage the liver. I don’t have a study that shows that, my doctor just told me that. Do you think she has accurate information?
Thxs Chris
• in reply togaga1958
Maybe she is right. I am inclined to trust a doctor who has put in a decade or more in education than my own research.
Check this out:
chrisz,
Your doctor's advice is in direct conflict with what studies over the past ten years have shown and in direct conflict with nature. Try and find five studies in the past five years that confirm what she told you or better yet, tell her you would like to read about it if she could direct you to studies which confirm what she told you about vitamin d and liver damage. Now ask yourself about all of the people who work out in the sun everyday and consequently make vitamin d everyday during the main part of the year. In 2018 alone, there were over 4,200 vitamin d studies. You do not spend that kind of money and time on vitamin d studies if it is already proven to damage the liver with daily use. There would be no DA or daily allowance for vitamin d if it damaged the liver with daily use!
If she were correct, all these people with outdoor jobs would be having liver problems or all of the people in the world who take vitamin D everyday as part of their supplement regimen should be dead by now or having major liver problems and vitamin D could only likely be sold as a prescription med and prescribed by a doctor, but that is not the case and you can buy it unrestricted at most major markets or drug stores!
Just because a person is a doctor does not mean they are always right or always wrong. I tend to believe what the largest amount of vitamin d studies over the past ten years show and that is in direct disagreement with your doctor.
If she were correct and it could be found that 20 people got liver damage from vitamin D in one year, you would no longer be able to buy it at your local vitamin store or drug store because the FDA would pull it off of the shelves!
The only way that she might be right are at doses that nobody takes because they are known to be toxic. How high of a dose would that be? Below is a link to a study which will give you a clue. In this study, patients were given 35,000 iu per day of vitamin D-3 for 6 months, a dose previously thought to be toxic, but is now known not to be!
Here is the link:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
How come these study participants did not develop liver damage as a result of the mega dose vitamin D they took everyday for 6 months straight? A person naked in the sun at the equator does not generate this much vitamin d in a day everyday!
Suffice it to say that your doctor is going against thousands of scientific studies over the past 5 years minimum!
Art
You can start smoking. Smokers have a much lower incidence of Pd.
Of course that could lead to other problems....
Seriously though, you could start taking azilect as a possible preventative . If I was you I would ask your parents neuros.
You have quite a lot on your plate caring for three family members. Please carve out time for yourself to enjoy music, nature,good times with friends, hobbies and exercise that is fun as well as good for you. I believe that chronic stress can lower our immune systems. Eat a mostly plant based diet, cut back or better yet eliminate sugar and processed foods. Investigate options for respite care so that you can have a life!
Parkinson's disease
Exercise:
"Exercising in your 30s and 40s — decades before Parkinson's typically occurs — may reduce the risk of getting Parkinson's disease by about 30%, notes the Health Letter. "
health.harvard.edu/press_re...
Berries Blunt Parkinson’s Disease Risk
"...when researchers looked at specific sub-groups of flavonoids, they found both men and women who ate the most foods rich in anthocyanins, which are found primarily in berries and apples, had a 22% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to those who ate the least."
webmd.com/parkinsons-diseas...
BLACK TEA & PARKINSON’S
Daily Sip Delivered 71% Lower Risk in Chinese Study
(Note: in the study ONLY black tea - 1 cup of tea a day, decreased the risk of PD and NOT green tea.)
dole.com/Articles/black-tea...
Black Tea Theaflavins Inhibit Formation of Toxic Amyloid-β and α-Synuclein Fibrils
"Here, we show that theaflavins (TF1, TF2a, TF2b, and TF3), the main polyphenolic components found in fermented black tea, are potent inhibitors of amyloid-β (Aβ) and α-synuclein (αS) fibrillogenesis."
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.102...
Study shows ibuprofen may reduce risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease
“We observed that men and women who used ibuprofen two or more times per week were about 38% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who regularly used aspirin, acetaminophen, or other NSAIDs,”
hsph.harvard.edu/news/press...
Ibuprofen could stop Alzheimer's, say researchers
medicalnewstoday.com/articl...
I realize tuberculosis antibiotics are not an option but it is pretty interesting.
The tuberculous antibiotic rifampicin:
Preventive Effect of Rifampicin on Alzheimer Disease Needs at Least 450 mg Daily for 1 Year: An FDG-PET Follow-Up Study
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Association Between Tuberculosis and Parkinson Disease
A Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study
"The reduction in the risk of PD with the follow-up period in our study may indicate that the successful treatment of TB not only cures TB but also subsequently reduces the risk of PD."
"Second, first-line medications for TB include rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol. Among these medications, rifampicin has a cytoprotective role under a variety of experimental, non-TB conditions. It suppresses the formation of α-synuclein aggregates, alleviates mitochondrial oxidative stress, and reduces microglial activation, thereby improving neuron survival under inflammatory conditions. Although additional research is required, rifampicin may be used not only to treat M. tuberculosis but also to prevent development of PD for subjects with active TB."
There is nothing you can do unfortunately. Smokers seems to have a better change of not getting those 2 Demonic deceases Good Luck
Dr. Laurie Mischley has two dogs who can smell PD and are quite accurate as I understand.
educationismedicine.com/ear...
Apparently they can detect PD long before symptoms manifest. This is currently undergoing validation research so you may be interested in participating. You don't have to go there, as I understand you send a sample of earwax.
A positive result of the sniff test would give you even more motivation to take all the preventive measures others have mentioned. My dad had PD. I wish I had known back then that there were things I could do to prevent or delay getting PD.
I read that a study where bluberries were used in a trial was positive. As previous comment.
My father and Aunt had parkinsons. My Dad had pernicious anaemia. And needed intrinsic factor so suspect the B vits also important.
Bless you for all your love towards your family. Take care of yourself.
Similar history--dad with PD, Mom with Alzheimer. Both deceased 5+ years. I was diagnosed 7.5 years ago. I think the stress of caring for them, even though they were in an assisted living facility, triggered my PD. Mine is not genetic; I had the 21 & Me tests. I believe environmental. I echo taking care of yourself and exercising/vitamins B12 & D & E. CoQ10 couldn't hurt. I ran 3 miles a day and always ate well; in addition to parents, had a stressful job. I meditate and practice mindfulness now. If I could go back, would have started both practices plus yoga, which I also do now, prior to diagnosis.
Also note that Dr Oz has just recently had his mom diagnosed with alzheimers. He is now an advocate of alzheimers disease awareness, and he speaks about what can be done to potentially lower risk. You may want to look into that.
I, too had 23 &Me test that showed none of the most common variants for PD. But on breakdown of my raw data, showed several less common ones. My mother was a neurological mess back when diagnostic capabilities were limited. Grandmother died at young age, so no hx there. Possibly triggered by pesticides, exposure to lead, cadmium with pastel art hobby, lots of circumstantial stress. My PD diagnosed 4 years ago. In hindsight? Would drink more coffee, black and green tea; exercise more, cardio AND weight-lifting; meditate; practice a less inflammatory diet (minimal sugar, no red meat, lots of berries, etc); use an air filter to reduce exposure to pastel dust; and In the last 4 years I have followed many recommendations from folks on this site, including taking 1G Vitamin B-1 daily. My progression is minimal at this point, and I'm hoping this "honeymoon" will last long enough for me to take care of a spouse who has Lewy Body Dementia. As a family we have been "doubly-blessed" with Lewy Bodies!
It appears that coffee (drank in moderation) has been found to have protective elements against Parkinson's.
Another thought- with all of the advice given here, which is overwhelming,... I might suggest just getting a skype appointment with Dr Mischley . She's a naturopath/ pd researcher for the past 15 yrs or so. She would be the best person to steer you in the right direction...
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