What, precisely, is meant by the word "cure" in relation to Parkinson's?

[slapdasch4]

"Cure" Parkinson's"

[Despe]

None whatsoever.

[Hidden]

I think these are the things we can potentially do now or at some point in the future:

1. treat the symptoms of PD - we can do this now

2. slow the progression of the disease - some think we can do this now; eg, with exercise, diet, supplements...; but I think there is currently no scientifically proven way to slow the progression

3. stop the progression of the disease - we can't do this now; some people may call this the "cure"

4. stop the progression of the disease AND heal all of the damage done by the disease - we can't do this now, and may never be able to do it; some people would call this the "cure"

5. find some way of preventing people from getting the disease to begin with

[slapdasch4 in reply to Hidden]

Your answer to the question is thoughtful and appreciated. I also think the idea of simply holding the line, which matches up with your point three, fits into the discussion of a condition that has no two people with the exact same symptoms.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Hidden]

Well said Levod! Very precise.

I do think there are a couple of people on this forum who believe they have stopped their progression, so I might use the same caveat on 3 as you used on 2: there is currently no scientifically proven way to stop the progression.

[WinnieThePoo]

Simon, in the science of parkinson's, defined it as

Any ‘curative therapy’ for Parkinson’s is going to require three core components:

A disease halting mechanism

A neuroprotective agent

Some form of restorative therapy

It ain't a simple, one solution fix. Progress is being made on all 3 fronts. It is complicated by the fact that it is more like a syndrome than a simple disease, and so there may be multiple original triggers for starting the reaction that manifests as PD

[LAJ12345]

I think you need to eradicate infections, toxins, including foods that cause problems including additives, pesticides, allergens

then repair gut, repair mitochondria

feed nutrients and foods to enable enzyme processes to begin to work properly again

Exercise including aerobic, stretching and strength to help the flow of nutrients and waste removal around the brain and body and to restore balance.

Then I think next it may be possible to rehabilitate body parts that have suffered loss of use and feeling to try and retrain brain to recognise eg fingertips which have suffered nerve damage (?) or have lost function due to lack of use(?) still working in this bit so not sure if it is possible or valid. A bit like post stroke or spinal injury rehabilitation.

[Ramtops in reply to LAJ12345]

Not sure about all of that, but looking at a couple of scientific reports, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... and hopkinsmedicine.org/health/... are relevant to your points.

[Hidden]

We who wish to cure.

[bassofspades]

If you type in cure parkinsons in google search, then it would probably give you this site in the results. In other words, marketing.

unless youre a lucky mouse. Mice can be completely cured by several means!