PARKINSONS DISEASE

The disease first described as the “Shaking palsy” by James Parkinson in 1817

Jean-Marie Charcot proposed its current name honoring James Parkinson.

Synonyms:

· Parkinson disease

· Idiopathic disease

· Hypokinetic rigid syndrome

· Paralysis agitans

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neuro-degenerative disease associated with substantial morbidity, increased mortality, and high economic burden.

Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age, and but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50 years.

Men are one-and-a-half times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

• Primary motor symptoms

• Secondary motor symptoms

• Non-motor symptoms

Primary motor symptoms

This type is also sometimes called idiopathic Parkinson’s, meaning that the specific cause of the disease is unknown. This type tends to respond well to medicines, such as levodopa and its derivate that work by increasing or substituting dopamine molecules in the brain.

Resting tremor: a shaking of the hand, and arms, or leg, and especially when the limb is at rest

Bradykinesia: gradual loss and slowing down of spontaneous movement

Rigidity: an abnormal stiffness in a limb or part of the body

Postural instability: impaired balance or difficulty standing or walking

Walking/Gait problems: bradykinesia and postural instability both contribute to walking-or gait-difficulties in Parkinson’s.

Secondary motor syndromes

Secondary Parkinsonism is when symptoms similar to Parkinson disease are caused by certain medicines, a different nervous system disorder, or another illness.

· Shuffling gait (rhythm of walking)

· Micrographia ( abnormally small and cramped handwriting)

· A mask-like expression

· Speech difficulties

· Dystonia (painful muscle cramps)

· Stooped posture (a tendency to lean forward)

· Impaired gross motor dexterity and motor coordination

· Impaired gross motor coordination

· Reduced movement ( decrease arm swing)

· Akthisia ( tendency to keep moving)

· Speech problem ( such as soft voice or slurred speech)

· Sexual dysfunction

Non-motor Symptoms

Parkinson’s experience Non-motor symptoms, those do not involve movement, coordination, and physical tasks or mobility.

Other non-motor symptoms are:

· Loss of sense of smell

· Constipation

· REM behavior disorder ( a sleep disorder)

· Mood disorders

· Orthostatic hypotension ( low blood pressure when standing up)

· Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease

· Free radical and deficient in energy metabolism

· Programmed cell death

· Genetic factors

· Environmental factors

· Protein aggregation

· Aging

· Drug-induced parkinsonism

Diets for Parkinson’s disease

Antioxidants:

• Current research focuses on proteins

• Gut bacteria for improving Parkinson’s symptoms

• In the meantime, eating a diet high in antioxidants reduces “oxidative stress” that aggravates Parkinson’s and similar conditions

Antioxidants by eating:

• Tree nuts, like walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, and pistachios

• Blueberries, blackberries, goji berries, cranberries, and elderberries

• Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and other nightshade vegetables

• Spinach and kale

Fava beans:

• Some people eat fava beans for Parkinson’s

• they contain levodopa — the same ingredient in some drugs used to treat Parkinson’

• There’s no definitive evidence supporting fava beans as a treatment at this time

• The fact that how much levodopa you’re getting when you eat fava beans, make them susceptible for use

Omega-3s:

• secondary symptoms of Parkinson’s, like

• dementia and confusion,

• Start consuming more salmon, halibut, oysters,

• soybeans

• flax seed

• kidney beans

• Soy in particular is being studied for its ability to protect against Parkinson’s. These foods contain omega-3 fatty acids, which might improve cognitive function

Recommendations:

· Eat a diet that will stabilize your blood sugar (known as the Low GL diet) this means eating low GL carbohydrates, as well as combining your low GL carbohydrates with protein in a ratio of 1:1

· Eat at regular intervals: including snacks that include low GL carbohydrate and protein such as fresh fruit with a handful of nuts, oatcakes or celery and cottage cheese.

· Sweet Foods: only eat sweet foods as a very occasional treat and only after a meal or healthy snack

• Check your homocysteine: your homocysteine level is an indicator of your B vitamin needs.
• If level is above 9mmol/l take a combined ‘homocysteine’ supplement of B2, B6, B12, folic acid, zinc
• If your homocysteine score is above 15mmol/l double this amount.
• Eat B vitamin rich whole foods: whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables.
• Folic acid is particularly rich in green vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds,
• B12 is only found in animal foods — meat, fish, eggs and dairy produce.
• Add a multivitamin supplement providing optimal levels of B vitamins, which means 25mg-50mg of B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine) and at least 100mcg of folic acid and 10mcg of B12 and biotin.

Complications of Parkinson’s disease

o For constipation caused by Parkinson’s try seasoning your food with turmeric or yellow mustard to encourage bowel movements

o One study suggested that consuming caffeine might help slow down the progression of Parkinson’s

o For muscle cramps caused by Parkinson’s, consider drinking tonic water for the quinine it contains or upping your magnesium through diet,

o Epsom salt baths, or supplements

o Dehydration: Medications that treat Parkinson’s disease can dry you out.

o Not only can dehydration leave you more tired, over time, it can also lead to confusion, balance issues, weakness and kidney problems.

o Be sure to drink plenty of water and other fluids throughout the day.

o Medication interaction:

o The drug most commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease, carbidopa-levodopa, is absorbed in your small intestine absorption can be disrupted if you take your medication shortly after eating a high-protein meal

o To help maximize the medication’s effects, eat high-protein foods at other times of the day

Foods to avoid:

o Dairy products

o Dairy products have been linked to a risk of developing Parkinson’s

o Something in dairy products might negatively impact the oxidation levels in your brain, making symptoms more persistent

o This effect was shown to be stronger in men than in women and not seen in those supplementing with calcium

o If you’re going to stop consuming dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt

o you might want to consider a calcium supplement to make up for the loss of calcium in your diet

o Food high in saturated fat

o The role that foods high in saturated fats play in Parkinson’s progression is still under investigation and is often conflicting.

o We might eventually discover that there are certain types of saturated fats that actually help people with Parkinson’s.

o Some limited research does show that keto-genic, low-protein diets were beneficial for some with Parkinson’s.

o Other research finds high saturated fat intake worsened risk