Stating the Obvious: Parkinson's symptoms are caused by more than a lack of Dopamine

[Bolt_Upright]

You all know that I only have a high school degree, but I did have a pretty successful career in Process and Training for a huge international telecommunications company.

I just mention this because one of the things I brought to the table at work was a willingness to state the obvious. A lot of people avoid stating the obvious. I don't know why that is.

So... on our Sunday Zoom call (you all should join us!) we had a new member telling us about how his Parkinson's started. I think it started with a stress tremor in one hand. Then it progressed to other parts of the body and other symptoms.

So... this is my obvious observation: If PD symptoms are caused by a lack of dopamine in the body, caused by dopamine creating cells in the substantia nigra dying or shutting down, then why do symptoms start in one place?

I think the symptoms start in one place because there is a lot more happening that the substantia nigra not creating enough Dopamine. This is probably why Dopamine replacement does not alleviate all symptoms (because the symptoms are not all due to lack of Dopamine).

If you Google "structural brain changes Parkinson's" you will find a lot of not pleasant information on changes to the brain with PD. If we are biohacking, this stuff is probably worth thinking about. Can we address these specifics?

I don't have the research in front of me, but I have read about how PwP brain frequencies tend to homogenize at around 13 HZ. This is why I use brainwave entrainment every day at 40 HZ.

I just noticed I wrote a decent post on brainwave entrainment and PD: rbd-pd-protocols.blogspot.c...

I also have a file if anybody wants is (I made it myself!): Monaural Beats Files: There is only one. This is my favorite file now. It is 250 HZ pulsed at 40 HZ (Gamma). I chose 250 HZ because I think that is the frequency of the Tass gloves. Here is the file: 250hz pulsed at 40hz Isochronic.mp3 drive.google.com/file/d/14X...

But this post is not just about brainwave entrainment. It's about thinking about more than lack of dopamine as we try to stop progression.

Okay, I will shut up now.

[bassofspades]

neurons have long thread-like structures that connect them electronically to other neurons. These structures are called axons and dendrites. Axons transmit information from their cell to the dendrite of another cell across a gap called a synapse. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It is passed like a message across the synapse. When neurons atrophy these dendrites shorten, axons weaken, withering away, and less dopamine is produced so communication between neurons is weakened or disrupted. Just like in telecommunications, bad connections cause messages to fail. Dopminergic neurons have dendrites that stretch all throughout the brain. Depending on the network involved, you may experience deficits in the corresponding areas, such as upper right extremity, lower left extremity, etc. This is an oversimplified explanation but I think you get the picture. .

[bassofspades in reply to bassofspades]

brainwave entrainment, as you call it, can help with neuroplasticity, which is the strengthening and regrowing of brain neurons. It can help, potentially, and at the very least slow down the progression of the damage.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to bassofspades]

I love this: "and at the very least slow down the progression of the damage"

[DogsWoode in reply to bassofspades]

Bassofspades do you believe bolt_upright is onto something here? With the monaural beats? Have you tried?

[bassofspades in reply to DogsWoode]

I believe that different things work to different degrees for different people. No two cases are exactly alike. As many people know, I play bass guitar. In my experience, the more I play, the better my symptoms get. I always thought it was the movement that caused me to feel better, but in light of things I recently read, I am starting to think it might be the sonic frequency of the instrument. The low E string vibrates at around 40 Hz. That is allegedly a healing frequency. Of course, it could also be the placebo effect.

[DogsWoode in reply to bassofspades]

Interesting!!! Or....it could be the dopamine from doing something you love.

[bassofspades in reply to DogsWoode]

But I also play drums, guitar and keyboards, and these don’t do nearly as much as the bass.

[DogsWoode in reply to bassofspades]

Oooohhh.....okay! Cool! That's exciting to hear. I'll keep on with Bolt's cool neuron generating pulses. Tx for your thoughts.

[MBAnderson in reply to bassofspades]

well put

[bassofspades in reply to bassofspades]

Typically, it takes years of atrophy to get to the point of manifesting symptoms. The Substantia Nigra is usually 70% to 80% obliterated by the time symptoms start. Neuroplasticity can be like running against the wind and uphill. If you can identify the cause of your particular case, and stop whatever it is, then maybe you can turn it around 180 degrees. Even stem cells have limited results because, although they can function as dopaminergic cells, whatever killed the original cells are going to kill the new cells as well,, and, they don’t really get a chance to develop new versions of the original connections that withered away.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to bassofspades]

Great analysis!

I especially appreciate this: "When neurons atrophy these dendrites shorten, axons weaken, withering away, and less dopamine is produced so communication between neurons is weakened or disrupted. Just like in telecommunications, bad connections cause messages to fail. Dopminergic neurons have dendrites that stretch all throughout the brain. Depending on the network involved, you may experience deficits in the corresponding areas, such as upper right extremity, lower left extremity, etc." and the corresponding "they don’t really get a chance to develop new versions of the original connections that withered away".

Good stuff. Thanks!

[TracyLaine]

And I might add… If PD symptoms are caused by a lack of dopamine in the body, caused by dopamine creating cells in the substantia nigra dying or shutting down, then why am I able to (with considerable effort) calm my mind and body to the point where my tremors stop? And then once my mind kicks in again, they start up immediately. There’s gotta be more to it than just a lack of dopamine.

[Bear1927 in reply to TracyLaine]

Exactly!Best example is driving car while engaged in conversation

[Harshmellow in reply to Bear1927]

I have wondered the same thing. I can still my tremors with calm breathing and peace. How/why does it work that way?

[Sydney75]

My HWP uses the red light that is 40hz alternating with another light. I assume this is different. So if we want to get started with this treatment is there a dummy version on what to buy and how it works?

Thank you.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Sydney75]

There is nothing to buy if you want to try this. I posted the link to the audio file above and you can listen to it on headphones or on a speaker or really any way.

This is not any type of approved treatment. Just me taking a shot at something that is no cost and, based on some research, might have a benefit. Please check out these two posts:

Binaural Beats Vs Isochronic Tones Which Is Better For Brain Wave Entrainment healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Evidence early, but emerging, that gamma rhythm stimulation can treat neurological disorders healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Any questions, just let me know. I am happy to chat or maybe you want to join one of Marc's Zoom calls and we can discuss there.

[india245 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

I’m very interested in brain training having done neuro feedback in the past. I don’t actually like the sound of the file you have created, so do I have to listen to it loud, or can it just be very quiet and in the background?

Also, if we were running at 13 Hz, wouldn’t we all be chilled out and in the flow as in an alpha state?? I know from previous brain training I was at high beta hyper vigilant most of the time, and was trying to train my brain to get to Alpha to reduce anxiety 🤷🏻‍♀️ thank you for helping me to understand this further.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to india245]

As to the volume of the file (and thanks for checking it out):

- I am a HS graduate on the fringe of fringe research pretty much just spitballing ideas.

- My guess is the volume does not make a difference. Quieter is probably fine or maybe it is not fine or maybe none of it makes a difference. I would bet that a researcher would say quieter is fine.

Also, I listen to 50 minutes every night. For some of the research they had people listen (going from memory here) to like 10 minutes 3 times a week or something lame like that. Being a man, my strategy is more and louder, but that is just me.

Apologies for going from memory, sometime I will document this better, but the woman leading the MIT mouse study that use a combination of 40 HZ light and 40 HZ audio over a speaker, mentioned that some day we might incorporate the 40 HZ audio into other forms of entertainment or background sounds to support brain health. That makes me think more might be more. I have taken public domain audio books and added the 40 HZ tone to the background and I listen to those also sometimes. I'd be happy to share those if you like. If you have a favorite public domain audio book librivox.org/ and let me know, I'd be happy to add the tone to an audio book for you.

I don't know a lot about those different brainwave states. I know that when I first started I was making lower frequencies then I read about PD homogenizing at lower frequencies and how gamma entrainment gets your brain to gamma and meditation gets your brain to gamma and most of the research seems to be at 40 HZ so 40 HZ it is for me.

[JayPwP in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Gamma light and sound were tested for AD some years ago.

youtu.be/O_p4QWkE2Ls(Not working as expected?)

[tiredpuppy in reply to Bolt_Upright]

My father was only a high school graduate. He retired from the army as a Lt. Col. and went to work for Martin Defense Company as a senior engineer designing communication systems for ICBMs. He worked with PhDs and their computers and frequently had to tell them their computer answers didn't make sense. It's not how many years you sat in school (though he got plenty of schooling in the army), but how you use what you already have. Keep on using!

[Pixelpixie]

very fascinating. Why monaural not binaural?

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Pixelpixie]

I started with binaural beats but I really could not hear them. Then I saw the MIT study that used monaural beats with mice ad some other things and I started thinking monaural was better and simpler.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Pixelpixie]

Binaural Beats Vs Isochronic Tones Which Is Better For Brain Wave Entrainment healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Evidence early, but emerging, that gamma rhythm stimulation can treat neurological disorders healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Any questions, just let me know. I am happy to chat or maybe you want to join one of Marc's Zoom calls and we can discuss there.

[Pixelpixie in reply to Bolt_Upright]

I listen to binaural gamma 40Hz while meditating and enjoy that.. I have tried to log into the Zoom calls but never seem to find it started.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Pixelpixie]

What time zone are you in? We are very punctual on these calls and the only calls we have ever cancelled were on Christmas day.

us02web.zoom.us/j/833522248...

Thursdays, 7 PM – 8 PM-ish, US Central Daylight Time (GMT–6.)

Sundays, 11 am – 12 PM-ish, US CDT.

[Pixelpixie in reply to Bolt_Upright]

EST

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Pixelpixie]

So for you (and me) it is Thursday at 8 PM and Sunday at Noon.

[WinnieThePoo]

I am unaware of anyone who says PD symptoms are caused by lack of dopamine in the body. Where did you get the idea?

[Bolt_Upright in reply to WinnieThePoo]

Yes, reading the responses I realized I had that backwards. Especially when I know darn well that the purpose of Carbidopa is to get the Levadopa past the BBB and into the brain.

Now maybe people will believe me when I say I am not a smart man.

[Grammy80 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Never~!💞

[reedboat2 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Bolt you’re one of the smartest people I know. Keep on posting- JG

[gomelgo]

I'm a huge fan of stating the obvious. Elephants will thank us. pinterest.com/pin/299770918...

[Bolt_Upright in reply to gomelgo]

Funny cartoon and on point!

[Edge999]

propranolol and a ketovore diet also help me. I think it’s more of a neurotransmitter misbalance which involves dopamine

[crewmanwhite]

I agree. We have known for decades that PD symptoms begin way before they appear superficially and way before there is dopamine deficiency or brain damage.

There is ample good research showing that the illness processes we call Parkinson's, MSA, PSP or any number of nasty acronyms are, fundamentally, caused by trauma, toxins and infections. Often before birth but certainly early in life.

Once we recognise this, we can deal with the causes and get well.

I write extensively about this in "Rethinking Parkinson's Disease".

[tiredpuppy in reply to crewmanwhite]

How do you deal with the cause of Agent Orange for your PD? I can find no detox for it.

[crewmanwhite in reply to tiredpuppy]

There are homeopathic antidotes for 24D and 245T (Agent Orange) available in Australia and, I suspect, elsewhere. There are also some more general detox formulas that, over time, can slowly extract these nasty herbicides.

Same with Paraquat and Glyphosate.

[tiredpuppy in reply to crewmanwhite]

Thanks for your response. I'm in the US. We tried some homeopathics for symptom relief years ago, with no results, but I have never found any that are for detoxification of these toxins. Specifics would be appreciated!

[crewmanwhite in reply to tiredpuppy]

I use specific remedies made by Martin and Pleasance here in Australia, plus others made by BioResearch. The Heel Detox Kit can be helpful at low doses.

If you want to contact me via my website (returntostillness.com.au) I can send you links and details of the companies making these remedies in Oz and you may be able to have them sent to you wherever you are. Postage is high, but the remedies last for a long time.

[mitochondria in reply to tiredpuppy]

Hi tiredpuppy , you may like this rare interview of late NIH ketone researcher Dr Richard Veech where he states ketones could protect against ionizing radiation of Fukushima kind, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and how he got funding for his research from DARPA (following a funny encounter with General Petraeus)... He does not mention Agent Orange specifically. He talks about Mary Newport (her husband had Alzheimer's). Bill Curtis a long time PD patient using ketones is also in this interview. Fair warning - the host is a business man, one of the two gurus who popularized the term 'Biohacking' - but thankful that he brought Dr Veech to his show.

youtube.com/watch?v=QO4WZIa...(Not working as expected?)

[tiredpuppy in reply to mitochondria]

Thanks for the response. I'll check it out. I have my HWP on C8MCT oil for the keton es. Wonder if that helps.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to tiredpuppy]

I don't have a position on MCT oil. I used to take it.

For what it is worth, and that may be nothing or even negative something, this is my current stack: rbd-pd-protocols.blogspot.c...

[SAGoodman]

Always appreciate your thoughts Bolt, thanks!

[PalmSprings]

I think you are definitely on to something. Stress seems to be a common thread amongst us. Degrees don’t necessarily mean smart, innovative, higher level thinking or well read.

[DogsWoode]

Okay, so this got my attention Mr. Bolt guy!! Are you saying if I listen to your attached file for 50 mins using headphones while reading it will help with brain neuroplasticity and perhaps alleviate progression of PD? Or, at the very least, slow down progression?

Should I start at 50 mins or will that fry my brain? 😀 Did you titrate up your usage?

Thank you for this stimulating article and the followup thought provoking comments by others engaging with you.

Are you others folks giving this a shot?

Appreciate too very much the ease of your providing the audio file. Thank you.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to DogsWoode]

Thank you. Please see my replies to india245 and Pixelpixie above. I will restate the points here, but I might miss something so reading this and those would be better.

Also, my response to Pixelpixie includes links to two other HU posts on this topic. I would review those posts also.

So... unfortunately I am not saying if you "listen to your attached file for 50 mins using headphones while reading it will help with brain neuroplasticity and perhaps alleviate progression of PD? Or, at the very least, slow down progression?"

I am saying that I listen to that file every night for 50 minutes because from what I have read brainwave entrainment at 40 HZ might improve neuroplasticity and might, as part of a range of things I do, keep Parkinson's at bay. None of the studies I read used my 250 HZ pulsed at 40 HZ (although most of them did use something at 40 HZ). None of the studies listened for 50 minutes every night. As I recall almost all of the studies, except the MIT mouse study, used short duration sessions (sessions that seemed ridiculously short to my HS grad brain).

Oh, and my protocol does not require reading while you listen. You may have taken that from my offer to combine an audio book with the pulsed tone. Librivox.org has free public domain audio books and I like to combine the book with the pulsed tone as something that could be entertaining and therapeutic. Here is a book you can try, it is Elementary Theosophy with the pulsed tone added: drive.google.com/file/d/1SX...

As to whether this pulsed tone will help anybody... I don't know. I have been in this group for almost 4 years. I have not been diagnosed with PD. I was diagnosed with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder April 2nd 2021 and informed it would almost certainly turn into PD or worse within 10 years. I also had some PD symptoms at that time: Sore left shoulder and arm and really sore neck to where it was hard to hold my head up sometimes, orthostatic hypotension, bad dandruff, crusty Seborrheic dermatitis on my face, involuntary muscle movements, an occasional twitch in my left pinky, digestive evacuation problems, formication, and some mild neuropathy on the soles of my feet.

I think I am a lot better than I was 4 years ago. My RBD is very mild and rare now. My left shoulder is still a little sore. My left arm is fine. My neck still bothers me a lot, but not as much as it used to. It seems to just slowly slowly slowly improve. I still have involuntary muscle movements, but these are much less common now (these were not noticeable movements. My wife has never noticed them).

Orthostatic hypotension, bad dandruff, crusty Seborrheic dermatitis on my face, occasional twitch in my left pinky, digestive evacuation problems, formication, and some mild neuropathy on the soles of my feet seem to all be gone (and have been gone for a couple of years).

Wow, that was a lot! So I don't know. I think they help. Based on the comments in this thread, it seems to me we need to stop progression of dopamine cell loss (I hope my diet and supplements do that) and also heal or stop the degradation of our brain. That's where the brainwave entrainment comes it.

So... it's free, it's easy, it's something.

[DogsWoode]

Lovely!!! Yes I will reread your responses and review the studies....I suggested reading as I do that every night for at least an hour and thought throwing in your jazzy pulsed tone could accompany that with added benefit. My concern actually was if reading might interfere with concentration on the tone. But I take it such concentration is not required. So I will read and let my brain be stimulated at the same time. A whole new trip! 😃Thanks again. This is the first I've read on this.....So I have some catching up to do.

And.....how wonderful that you are seeing improvement. That must feel pretty darn good.

Cheers Mr. Bolt Guy.

Talk again soon.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to DogsWoode]

About interference, I use bone conduction headphones that do not go into my ears, so my ears are open and I watch TV while listening to the pulsed audio.

[DogsWoode]

But regular old fashioned headphones Ok?

[Bolt_Upright in reply to DogsWoode]

I would think they are fine. Or you can play it on a speaker (even the speaker on your phone). Personally I think some type of headphones are better.

[DogsWoode]

Doing it as we speak (or write, as the case may be). My neurons are buzzing. 😊

[DogsWoode]

So, little update.....did the 50 min last night, slept hard, had very very vivid dreams, and woke up an hour and half past usual time! All that growth in my neurons wore me out! 😃 Just wanted to share as interesting to me and thought it might be to you. Others experience this?

[Bolt_Upright in reply to DogsWoode]

Interesting. I like visualizing growing neurons.

[DogsWoode in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Ha Ha Ha....Me Too!!!

[mitochondria]

Interesting post   Bolt_Upright – thanks.

You may like these and may have come across already:

1. David Siever’s work - Recommended by Dominic O’Brien, 8 times world memory champion who was dyslexic as a child, upon inquiry for an anxious middle schooler prepping for a national competition. His devices come with multiple AVE/gamma sessions and a LED flickering eye glass.

Explains types of brainwaves: mindalive.com/pages/brainwaves

youtube.com/watch?v=ih0DTZ3...(Not working as expected?)

2. youtube.com/watch?v=AS0K0XO...(Not working as expected?)