Scientists have accrued a large body of evidence confirming that mitochondria play an important role in the development of Parkinson’s disease. The most prominent symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are muscle trembling and weakness, which then progress to muscle immobility. These symptoms are the result of a decline of Dopamine in the brain, which occurs as a result of loss of neurons that produce this vital neurotransmitter.
Which led me to this:
Life Extension Magazine November 2011
Report
Reverse Brain Cell Death by Growing New Mitochondria.
The decay of mitochondria in brain cells is a primary cause of all neurodegenerative disorders, from Parkinson’s to dementia.The encouraging news is that a novel strategy exists to replenish aging cells by triggering them to grow new mitochondria. The result is that many disorders related to brain aging may be halted and reversed.
In this article, you will discover how a compound called Pyrrolo-Quinoline Quinone or PQQ triggers aging cells to grow new mitochondria. This process, called mitochondrial biogenesis, can prevent age-related cell death that accelerates brain degeneration.
You will also find evidence of PQQ’s power to stimulate nerve growth factor, combat stroke, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, and speed regeneration of damaged nerve cells.
PQQ’s powerful redox cycling abilities help it to chemically modify receptors for the most potent excitotoxic neurotransmitter, known as NMDA (N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid).Under the influence of PQQ, the NMDA receptors literally “quiet down” and stop producing the toxic effects that lead to neuronal dysfunction. In related actions, PQQ protects against environmental neurotoxicity as well, as in the case of deadly mercury poisoning.
This Pyrrolo-Quinoline Quinone or PQQ looks a really interesting supplement that is non-toxic.
Thank you for this information. I always like reading your posts and this one is particularly heartening in that it mentions the mitochondria. Dr. Terry Wahls who has reversed many of her own MS symptoms through nutrition has written a book titled 'minding my mitochondria'. There are one or two PwP who have improved their parkinsons symptoms by following her diet regime. Whether or not the PQQ supplements can Reverse symptoms in the same way remains to be seen; however both appear to be on the right track.
Thank you for this link which I have seen before. This lady is a marvel and deserves the Nobel prize in my opinion. I have her book incidentally and followed it for a while, but did not experience the same results as some other PwP have done. Look at a couple of reviews on Amazon.co.uk.
As you know, you introduced me to Terry Wahls, and I religiously try to eat 3 plates of fresh cooked vegetables every day.
What concerns me is that you once made a public vow to stick with treatments instead of jumping around, but I sense you are still jumping around. I say this as a friend, with the utmost of respect. It has been my experience that any of these more natural treatments takes years of commitment, not months.
Thank you for your post which I do not take offence with. Yes, I have tried and dropped a couple of regimes. My most memorable one was the Ketogenic diet. I tried it for several weeks and found that even the moderate amount of protein kept me awake to the extent that I was only getting two hours sleep a night and was constipated for about four days at a time. What also occurred to me was that I lost one stone in weight whilst on the diet which I was not unhappy about. I have read reports from people who have tried the Ketogenic diet and done well on it. I was not one of them. The Dr. Terry Wahls diet I have tried the longest time since I bought her book many months ago. Again, I read of about three PwP who have experienced a reversal of symptoms on her success stories page, also one or two people have written positive reviews on Amazon.co.uk, but unlike them, I did not experience any reversal of my symptoms, so I have eased off. Yes, I do have many faults and one of them is that I am a little impatient in wanting to get results. It does not help that there are several diet/health writers 'out there' who are pushing their particular regimes which all sound so plausible, but often at odds with others who hold other views. In my opinion Dr. Wahls has walked the talk and well worthwhile listening to. I admire what she has achieved not only for herself, but with others as well. I may try it 100% again in the future.
One dilemma I have is whether to inform others of my experiences and your post today has made me even more wary of doing so in case other people follow me, but get different results. This is likely to happen as we are all different. The coconut oil treatment posts tend to back up what I am saying. Some people are doing OK taking it, but others experience no benefits at all and get disappointed. I dropped that too, because it seemed at one time that people were increasing the amount they took frequently. As I recall was it you Who mentioned that someone was taking 12 tbsps a day? To me, that seems far too much, but anyone who wants to follow suit, that is their prerogative so long as they re prepared to take the consequences.
I repeat, you are doing a great job bringing this to our attention. I'm sure there will be many PwP who will be excited by the information you have found out. If you don't mind, please find out any if there are any testimonials from people who have taken the PQQ supplement . Thank you and well done again.
A little slow in responding here...mitochondrial dysfunction is also a major problem in fibromyalgia according to some geneticists who found one gene variation (sorry I don't have the references in front of me) involved in mitochondrial energy production is the same as in Parkinson's. There is a three gene change that is the same in fibromyalgia and mitochondrial disease. A few geneticists are thinking fibromyalgia is the good end of that hereditary and often very severe disease.
It has been found that Lipitor, and probably other statins, significantly depress mitochondrial function so many people with FM wind up on the couch on Lipitor (the statin used in the study). It has recently been found that the mechanism is depletion of the enzyme ubiquinone - CoQ10 - within the cell (but not in the plasma which tests much higher) by the statin. Certainly not every one with FM winds up with PK like I have but it is interesting. I wonder if people with PK have statin problems? I saw info some time ago about CoQ10 in very large (and expensive) doses helping PK somewhat. Does it cross the blood/brain barrier?
You may be interested in some main stream research being done in Toronto, Canada, but I believe it is at least 10 years away. A little too late for some of us.
We are all aware that the misfolding of alpha-synuclein is the cause of the mitochondria failure. We also know that GDNF repairs the damaged cells and makes them work properly again. GDNF is produced in the brain, when we do certain types of exercise. Why do we spend so much time talking about products that can possibly help the mitochondria, when we can overcome the problem naturally, by doing some exercise? I know that doing exercise does not put any money into the drug manufacturer's pockets and nor does getting better put any money into the neurologists pockets, but it does help us patients to overcome our problems and keep a lot more of our money in our own pockets. Come on guys, let's talk about helping ourselves to overcome the effects of Pd by doing more exercise!
You have hit the nail on the head! The unfortunate truth of the matter is that medication does nothing to slow down the progression of the Pd, whereas, exercise does. If we really want to overcome the ravages of Pd, we have to get off our butts and do regular exercise! It's tough, I know, but there it is.
Hi Norton. You can understand my frustration at not being able to get anyone to even consider what I have been trying to tell everybody. I am not looking to sell anything, other than my book, which tells the whole story and that story is difficult to convey in any other form. It contains so much information and words of encouragement. Yes, I am very lucky. Today my partner and I walked up the back of Table Mountain, without missing a beat. It is wonderful being able to live a normal life again, after having had to give up my work and nearly my hold on life, in 1992, when I was diagnosed. I was in a real mess, and nobody wanted make allowances for my physical and mental condition. My life started to get better in 1994, when I started doing a walking program, with my late wife. That walking and my monotherapy of Eldepryl are the two main things that I was doing that nobody else was doing.
I'm pleased you mentioned your book. I have the Kindle version and it's about time I read it again (third reading); it contains some good tips.
Re walking exercise, apart from physically doing the body good it is also psychologically beneficial and heavens knows we need to do things which divert our attention away from our PD symptoms!
Hi Norton. I'm glad there is someone else out there who has read my book. Somebody else tells me regularly that she has to read it over and over again, because she cannot remember everything she should be trying to do. It makes it sound a little bit like a bible!
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I personally experience complete stoppage of a disabling hand tremor each day for an hour after walking 5 km. At the beginning of the walk the tremor gets worse, but as I continue the tremor starts to fade. I also found that the duration of tremor stoppage after walking is very gradually increasing.
I'm not so sure, however, that I could have made this achievement without CO.. My right foot was starting to drag badly before CO. CO enabled me to overcome that barrier. That said, I now get complete relief from my tremor for an hour through walking at the beginning of my day before any significant ingestion of CO.
I know this blog is about coconut oil, but you raise a point, to which I feel oblliged to respond. Have you considered that the foot you drag can be lifted up, consciously, and moved forward so that it does not touch anything before landing on the heel? Your conscious brain is capable of overcoming any movement problem, whereas the subconscious brain is affected by the Pd. Coconut oil has got nothing to do with the subconscious brain not communicating properly with your legs. Try it!
My right foot no longer drags but leads without thought. Before CO I used to concentrate as you say but felt I was losing the battle. CO allowed me to surpass this obstacle with ease.
I used to be a long distance runner and always had strong legs, but PD without CO was bringing me down.
Hi satwar. I am pleased that you have found something that helps you. We are all different, and what works with me does not necessarily work with others. The big thing is to believe that we CAN OVERCOME this terrible condition. Go for it buddy and good luck to you!
Eureka, I think I finally know why my tremor stops after a 1 hour brisk walk. Post exercise ketosis, which was studied a lot in 1930's and 1940's. Those ketones just keep popping up !
Hi Satwar. It isn't funny, it is sad! We all need to be encouraged to do meaningful exercise, but arn't being convinced by the establishment that it can and does slow down or even reverse Pd. I know it is not in their interests that we should get better and not need their services, but there are many of them out there who don't think that way! Hopefully they will start insisting on us all doing meaningful exercise!
As far as the ketosis is concerned, Is it bad for us?
Is is not good that our muscles are getting their energy supplies from our FAT reserves and not from supplies of carbohydrates?
Regards
John
There is the possibility that most people with PD have gut dysbiosis also known as leaky gut
and that is the reason why some people do not gain the benefits from using coconut oil or when
they change their diet they still feel no improvement or even the medication that they take for PD.
This is from the Regenerative Nutrition Website
Gut Dysbiosis compromises your overall health and wellbeing. The digestive system cannot function properly and the damaged gut wall becomes "Leaky" affecting nutrient uptake and bowel action. Allergies, IBS, food intolerances, acne, chronic fatigue and depression are often linked to Gut Dysbiosis.
The intestinal flora become unbalanced due to bacteria and other micro-organisms, this can lead to excessive bacterial fermentation in the gut. Excess mucus may be triggered as the intestine attempts to flush out the microbial toxins, acidic by-products, and partially digested, unabsorbed carbohydrates. The result may be chronic diarrhea or 'mucus colitis'.
Gut Dysbiosis is promoted by
the consumption of antibiotics, which destroy 'friendly' (useful) bacteria
parasitic infestations (such as Candida Albicans overgrowth/thrush)
poor digestion
poor diet.
In my opinion the key changes to make are first:
Heal or improve gut function that leads to .
A detox of the nervous system from toxins that helps
Repair the mitochondrial dysfunction which you can do with.
Exercise which also help sweat out the toxins in your system.
A major change of diet which will help change gut flora
that will heal and lower inflammation and by that will improve digestive problems that will
help your system to take in the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need
to function properly and so on.
I know from personal experience that antibiotics and medications
do lead to your gut or digestive system being compromised.
Dr John Bergman said that prayer and meditation is key
to wellness and that is so true, i also once thought it was all hippy mumbo jumbo
but a good lesson was learnt by me later in life from it.
These are all intertwined and doing only one of the above
is like a cat chasing its tail.
Trying to work out a protocol to incorporate these major changes
would be hard but it would be a good start to getting back to health.
'Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is known as a redox cofactor. It is similar to CoQ10 (CoEnzyme Q10) in the sense that it aids with oxidation and reduction reactions and associates itself with proteins but rather than being located in the mitochondria's electron transport chain meaning it help the cells to use fatty acids ( coconut oil is one of many)
as fuel rather than having them stored or float around and It also appears to be neuroprotective.
They are both very good antioxidants
You might be able to take them together ( CoQ10 And PQQ )
And no you are not thick, we are all learning together.
Another approach to mitochondria is via thiazolidinediones or TZDs an approved diabetes drug shown to protect against nerve cell death. They also increase the number of mitochondria manufactured by the cell. They are working to find out whether TZDs could be a viable new treatment for people with Parkinsons. The work is being done at the University of London under Professor Duchen.
Hi Vjessv, Your article rang a bell for me because I remembered reading about a similar piece of research using
thiazolidinediones or TZDs to increase the number of mitochondria in a cell. TZDs protect against nerve cell death and help boost mitochondria. Researchers used the pesticide retnone to damage mitochondria and when it was treated with TZDs normal functioning was restored.
Now TZDs are used to treat type 2 diabetes. They reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity so the insulin works more effectively. What's even more interesting is that as a recognised treatment for diabetes they have obviously been trialled and tested on humans. This should make the process of producing an effective drug for PD easier.
Now are we talking about the same or different research with TZDs instead of PQQs? I'll have to scratch around some more and find out.
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