Is Parkinson's a disease of the substantia nigra or dysfunction of the hypothalamus?

[SilentEchoes]

Autonomic dysfunction is often one of the earliest manifestations of PD. Symptoms of autonomic failure can be cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital, thermoregulatory, pupillary, respiratory, sexual, or sleep related.

I would argue that in neurodegenerative disorders, all of the above eventually occurs. Does anyone else suffer with kidney stones? [also related to autonomic dysfunction] 🙋🏼‍♀️

Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. It's a neuro-hormone that is released by the hypothalamus.

Deranged immunological mechanisms have been found in PD patients including the presence of autoantibodies against sympathetic ganglia neurons, adrenal medulla and caudate nucleus. On the evidence of pathological studies demonstrating the early vulnerability of the hypothalamus in PD, and the known role of the hypothalamus in immune modulation, we expect that it will be shown that primary damage to the hypothalamus leads to subsequent secondary degeneration of structures receiving direct projections from the hypothalamus. We also demonstrate that virtually all other areas well known to be impacted upon in Parkinson disease receive significant hypothalamic peptidergic projections.

My DaTScan was negative for dopamine depletion in the substantia nigra (normal) but showed abnormal brain atrophy. I also tested neurotransmitters with a blood test, dopamine was below the level of detection.

Dopamine deficiency isn't restricted to the substantia nigra in PD, nor is dopamine deficiency restricted to Parkinson's disease.

While dopamine is produced in other areas of the brain, the release of dopamine is controlled by the hypothalamus. How does supplementing with c/l impact this critical process?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5...

link.springer.com/article/1...

SE

[CaseyInsights]

Quite an interesting argument, but do fix the link. 🤔

[SilentEchoes in reply to CaseyInsights]

Done!

[Hidden]

“Peripheral dopamine controlled by gut microbes.” Not all dopamine is produced in the brain. frontiersin.org/articles/10...

[Nd94]

My husband has Parkinson’s and kidney stones. He has a genetic kidney disease similar to RTA (renaltubularacidosis).