Propertytyphoon made a comment on an old post of mine regarding the coronet red hat. A PD support group (No Silver Bullet) in which Propertytyphoon is involved conducted a one hour interview with Dr. Catherine Hamilton, an Australian doctor and co-owner of Wellred, which sells the coronet. Like Dr. Hamilton, I was originally very skeptical about the ability of red lights to positively affect Parkinson’s symptoms. I am no longer skeptical because I truly believe it has helped me significantly. I highly recommend that you click the link below to see the interview with Dr. Hamilton and I recommend that you consider buying a coronet after googling "red light therapy for Parkinson's", "Professor John Mitrifonis red light research", "Dr. Catherine Hamilton Red Hat", and "Photobiomodulation for Parkinson's Disease" to learn even more. It may sound too good to be true, but a sensible cost/benefit analysis led me to make the purchase. I am glad I did. The red hat may not be a silver bullet, but it's pretty darn close. 😊
FANTASTIC interview with Dr. Catherine Ha... - Cure Parkinson's
FANTASTIC interview with Dr. Catherine Hamilton, co-creator of the Coronet Duo Red Hat.
Engaging and informative (although not new for me - I had encountered much of that whilst researching my coronet purchase)As you know, I am of the faith and use mine daily.
Based on yet more rodent research and the results of the recent, limited human trials the 'Strines have conducted, regarding red lights beneficially changing the bacteria of the microbiome, and being Winnie the POO, I also use a red light pad on my abdomen while wearing the coronet. 😊
Hard to put together?
I know you asked Winnie, but I think he will agree with me. The coronet duo comes with very simple and straightforward instructions. My wife and I shaped it and put it together in minutes. I thought it was very easy.
WTP, Does the pad on your abdomen help with constipation?
Probably. I think my constipation, mostly, has been much less severe than many on here report anyway. Maybe that's just luck of the draw.
I've had mild constipation at times since using the pad, but mostly its much better. I've had a completely normal unconstipated week.
So a long winded "Yes" (I do like to talk poo!)
Hi, Jim! I'm having some good luck with mine too, but so far it's a mixed bag. I can walk much better and do other things that I could no longer do, but I've also had to increase my meds. Have you been able to reduce your meds yet?
I began taking medication about a month before wearing the red hat, so my medication dose was somewhat in flux. At one point, my neurologist thought I should take 1.5 or maybe even 2 sinemet 25/100 tablets three times a day, but I have been very pleased with just 1 pill per dose. I can't say that the red light led to the reduction, but I have not had to increase it. For reference, I was diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago and have been on medication for almost one year.
Jim,
I remember you wrote that you had plateaued with the red light therapy.
My husband started it December 2020. The improvements were tremendous, but it appears that improvements have plateaued like you wrote.
Yes, I think that's true. I haven't noticed any more major improvements, but I also have not noticed any decline. I honestly feel totally normal more than 95% of the time.
I guess I would say that I ve plateaued too, but as I commented before - what a plateau. Likewise 3.5 years since diagnosis, the big benefit is that general feeling "I don't have PD". I met a couple yesterday, walking the dog, who divide their time between our tiny pyrenean village and their "main" home in california. Because of covid they hadn't been able to get over here and hadn't seen me for 18 months. They commented how pleased they were to see how much BETTER I looked. I confirmed that I expected to be skiing black runs again once the snow falls. Providing I can get a shaky hand through the pole loops.If you had told me 3.5 years ago that I would plateau here... 😁
You raise an excellent point, Winnie. I have many friends and family members I hadn't seen for quite a while due to the pandemic who have commented on how much better I look now. My first thought was, "Geez, did I look that bad before?" I never even thought to attribute it to the red light hat, but that's a strong possibility, along with medication.
Mine started mid March and he is feeling so much better than he has for years but as I have mentioned elsewhere I made a few changes at once so I don’t know for sure which thing helped the most. His stiffness is much better, and energy levels ( that might have been the new supplements or the coronet) and he has been taking over all the chores he hasn’t been able to do for a few years now. He can now rearrange his cards at bridge but his hands still aren’t 100%. I think further improvements might need specific exercises to retrain his brain to use his hands but at least now he is motivated and super energetic. (More so than me some days!)
LAJ,
That is great! My husband never stopped his chores (dishes, ironing, etc.) and he goes out shopping without me. But his apathy is still a problem. . .
Have you tried rhodiola rosea? I have an inkling that might be also helping him with energy and apathy but it was hard to tell as he started cinnamon and low dose ambroxol at the same time. And of course he had been using the red hat for a few months too at that point.
No. I dare not adding more "pills" to his already big list of supplements. I will casually mention to him. I, however ordered Passion Flower, but I haven't divulged it to him. . .see how I can have him start it.
Does yours have a weekly pill pack for the supplements? I just pack it once a week. If I want to try something new I slip it into the pack. I have full approval to try things out this way. He does not want to do the research himself. That way I can tell if something new is having an effect as he doesn’t know he has started it . Lots of those botanicals look the same.
I am also starting to trial cycling things ie missing a few days a week of each supplement on different days to give him a few less to take. When you think of food you don’t take the same chemicals in food every day so I think it makes sense to treat at least herbals like a food that is not taken every day.
Plus some of the things have similar types of effects and affect the same enzyme processes so I figure rotating similar things might be better than taking the same one all the time.
Yes, we have one pill box for am and one for pm, and they are the largest size in the drug store. He as well has no interest in researching, he left that to me. . . Just kidding, I do all the researching because I am who I am and I want to find answers!
Every WE, he is off vitamins and supplements, that is the way he recycles. It also has a psychological effect on him--a break is always so welcome.
This is Michel2020's project and he posted links to this and a few other videos a while back. As it happens I have prepared a transcript for this video. It takes up a lot of room. I will post it separately
Sorry Jim but it didn’t work for me and I spent bloody ages under the thing.
Dang. I just can't help believing that what we now call Parkinson’s Disease is not a single disease at all. There are so many factors and variables at play, including how we react to various interventions and medications.
Some say (including jimcaster also, am I correct?) that for best results in reducing PD symptoms, you have to be using the coronet together with the therapad.. Those who have reported positive results including park_bear and WinnieThePoo say they use both
I don’t know what the therapad is. 😕. I built one of the earliest bucket hats, must be 3/4 years ago now. It had 670 nm strip but not the 810. I wish I could buy the coronet from Redlightsonthebrain but their price is 995 Australian dollars. This struck me as a lot of dosh.
Thanks for posting this Jim, I keep up researching about red lights and recently have noticed in the U.K. the University of Durham is trialling a device which uses infrared light technology. They state it has potential for Alzheimer’s and PD! scitechdaily.com/infrared-l...
I have written several posts about Red light therapy helping my husband with PD. He has been diagnosed for 6 years and started using the red lights just over a year ago.
Although it’s hard to quantify I think it helps slow the progression as well as helping him feel more able to cope with PD.
He has managed to cut his dose of C/L.
Hi Zella23, yes I saw an article on the Durham project and @Michel2020 shared it on our No Silver BulletforumThis was it
news.sky.com/story/infrared...
Quite expensive compared to wellred.com.au or vielight.com IMHO but great that there is more research and choice
Great interview, worth a watch.
Dorset Men's Shed on Facebook sells hand made ones as well. The shipping over the world.
I definitely think the duo coronet has helped me. I have recently added the intranasal unit from Vielight
Can you speak to why you added intranasal.? We have coronet duo and I have wondered about getting vielight intranasal. Thanks!
FYI. Wellred/Coronet are working on an intranasal device that is designed to be plugged into the Coronet. The manufacturer told me that the coronet already comes equipped with the plug for the future intranasal add-on. There is no timing as yet re the availability of the add-on.
the intranasal unit effects the underside (ventral area) of the brain, which contains important areas otherwise unreachable transcranially
Hello missy, so you are using both the coronet and vielight on a daily basis. Are the two compatible? How do you ensure that you don't have redlight overload?
I am using them both together twice a day. I had a lengthy conversation with Vielight explaining the helmet that I use and they ensured me the frequency of their intranasal unit and their helmet matches the one of the Duo Coronet and mixing and matching was perfectly fine.
Are you getting the expected positive results like reduction of PD symptoms?
Watching this now. I'm a little sceptical but if it works out for y'all, then, great! It's way too expensive for me to monkey around with. My fear is that it induces the placebo effect, which is great but short term.
Correct me if I'm wrong , but I'm not sure if dopaminergic neurons divide and multiply. I can, however, buy into the mitochondrial enhancement aspect, though. This is the premise for Dr Costantini's Thiamine therapy as well, which I have been doing for quite some time with good results.
Everybody doing it , please follow up with your experience!
I think it is definitely more than placebo as my poor guinea pig has been subjected to so many trials he now doesn’t expect anything to work so when something does it is obvious.
has anyone actually had tremor improvement, and/or been able to reduce meds? (Zella states c/l was reduced, but anybody else?)
I loved that interview - what a wonderful personality! I am inspired - thank you so much Jim (and Michel2020).
Very interesting, Thanks Jimcaster. John Mitrofanis has just moved to Clinatec in Grenoble. Clinatec is a relatively recent company which develops technology coming out of research done by what used to be the French Commisariat d'Energy Atomique, CEA, the Nuclear Arm of French State research. The CEA in Grenoble is now denuclearised and has grown massively in the past 20 years. It is part of a huge science park now called Giant to the north of Grenoble that also now encompasses the European Synchrotron (ESRF) and the International Neutron Facility (Institut Laue Langevin) where I used to work. Both of these facilities are by a large margin the world leaders in their field. The CEA has been very successful in turning research into profitable businesses of which one of the most successful has been Soitec which makes very power-efficient chips that are in almost every mobile phone. I have no doubt at all that now that the CEA is behind this Red light project it will have been very carefully examined and shown to be valid. The CEA has enormous financial backing from the French State.
Given that this project is based on using red light to pulse energy into mitochondria by interacting with the absorption band of Fe3+ in Cytochrome proteins in mitochondria and the activation of Nrf2 by sulforaphane in Broccoli seed tea also seeks to increase the energy of mitochondria, we are in fact trying to resolve PD through the same gateway but by different mechanisms.
I have therefore written to Prof John Mitrofanis today to find out if he would be interested in looking into possible synergies between the 2 approaches.
If he replies, I'll let you know.
Albert
Albert,
I hope he responds! If he does, tell him "Hello" from me! I was trying to find his bio, but I can't. Just wanted to find out where and what universities he attended.
AlbertYou've seen the light! 💡
A nd as Shrödinger's cat discovered, if I see the light, I am no longer the same person!I hope this guy replies because then we might get some answers concerning the mechanism.
You're only round the corner from him, you can pop round for a cuppa. The interesting point in the video interview for me was migrating mitochondria as an explanation of the indirect benefits. The possible stimulation of GDNF production in the brain may be another explanation. The clinatec project is obviously looking for a direct benefit to motor symptoms by using a DBS style probe to the SN region. Sometimes I think I need those therapies like I need a hole in the head. It's certainly a fascinating and hopefully area of PD research which has the potential to do more than just relieve symptoms.
thanks for your post Jim -- and i'm glad that you personally have benefitted from the red light therapy -- i remain very skeptical because 'if' it truly worked... Michael J. Fox would be heralding this treatment.
I understand your skepticism because I was also skeptical. I was lucky to be able to buy the coronet red hat without the expense being a real burden. Thus, for me the cost benefit analysis was very straightforward. The risk of side effects is negligible and I found the experience of others on this site and others I found on YouTube and Google to be fairly encouraging. I have repeatedly acknowledged that I may be benefitting from placebo effect, but there have been several studies, including this one sponsored by the Michael J Fox Foundation, which gave me reasons to be cautiously optimistic: