Nutritional Therapy in Medical Practice

[Farooqji]

Book: Protocols and Supporting Information

2003 Edition

Author: Dr. Alan R Gaby, MD Jonathan V. Wright, MD|

Following is the excerpt from the above book related to Parkinson's Disease

1. Diet: Ingestion of a very-low-protein diet in the morning and afternoon (restricting dietary protein to the evening meal) has been used to enhance the effectiveness of L-dopa therapy. This diet may require a reduction in the dosage of L-dopa.

2.L-Methionine supplementation relieved a wide range of symptoms in 10 of 15 patients with Parkinson's disease after 2 months of treatment (uncontrolled trial). The initial dose was 1 g/day, increased gradually to 5 g/day. Consider tapering the dose after several months, as the long-term safety of high doses of methionine has not been systematically studied.

3.Octacosanol (a component of wheat-germ oil), 1-2 mg/day, may reduce symptoms, without causing side effects (anecdotal evidence). A larger dose of octacosanol (5 mg, 3 times per day) was effective in 3 of 10 patients in a double-blind trial, but caused side effects or exacerbated L-dopa/carbidopa-related dyskinesias in some patients.

4.D-phenylalanine, at a dose of 200-500 mg/day for 4 weeks, relieved the rigidity, speech difficulties, and depression associated with Parkinson's disease. Tremor did not improve (uncontrolled trial).

5.NADH (5 mg every other day) was reported to reduce disability in about 75% of cases (uncontrolled trial).

6.Vitamin C (3,000 mg/day) plus vitamin E (3,200 IU/day) may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease (uncontrolled trial).

7.Vitamin B6 (50 mg/day) may enhance the effectiveness of L-dopa/carbidopa (Sinemet). Vitamin B6 is contraindicated for patients taking L-dopa without carbidopa.

8.Coenzyme Q,0: Supplementation with 300-1,200 mg/day had a moderate beneficial effect on some symptoms; higher doses appeared to be more effective than lower doses (double-blind trials)

9.Intravenous glutathione is reportedly beneficial (clinical observation - Perlmutter D).