The Thermodynamic Consequences of Parkinson's Disease

[Farooqji]

Several lines of evidence point to a pervasive disturbance of energy balance in Parkinson's disease (PD). Weight loss, common and multifactorial, is the most observable sign of this. Bradykinesia may be best understood as an underinvestment of energy in voluntary movement. This accords with rodent experiments that emphasise the importance of dopamine in allocating motor energy expenditure. Oxygen consumption studies in PD suggest that, when activities are standardised for work performed, these inappropriate energy thrift settings are actually wasteful. That the dopaminergic deficit of PD creates a problem with energy efficiency highlights the role played by the basal ganglia, and by dopamine, in thermodynamic governance. This involves more than balancing energy, since living things maintain their internal order by controlling transformations of energy, resisting probabilistic trends to more random states. This review will also look at recent research in PD on the analysis of entropy—an information theory metric of predictability in a message—in recordings from the basal ganglia. Close relationships between energy and information converge around the concept of entropy. This is especially relevant to the motor system, which regulates energy exchange with the outside world through its flow of information. The malignant syndrome in PD, a counterpart of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, demonstrates how much thermodynamic disruption can result from breakdown of motor signalling in an extreme hypodopaminergic state. The macroenergetic disturbances of PD are consistent with a unifying hypothesis of dopamine's neurotransmitter actions—to adapt energy expenditure to prevailing economic circumstances.

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

[aek222]

Hi Farooqji-this is a fascinating article--thank you for posting. The article is extremely theoretical and does not present practical advice for PwP, however the application of the concept of entropy to PD is intriguing. It brings to mind a case report of remission of PD in a 76 yo man that was attributed to an increase of neurotransmitters resulting from his extensive practice of meditation. I wonder if an alternative explanation for his remission is decreased entropic burden? Perhaps there are other ways to reduce entropy to the benefit of PwP?AEK222

here is case report:

degruyter.com/document/doi/...

[Hidden in reply to aek222]

I have no clue what you two are talking about....😀can you put it in laymans terms?