Month: March 2019

University of Miami researchers have discovered that beached dolphins appear to be suffering from a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease caused by BMAA toxins from common algae. The environmental toxin beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) has long been suspected of playing a role in some cases of neurological disorders. Hints about the potential health threat of BMAA date back to the aftermath of World War II in the remote Pacific island of Guam. U.S. Army physicians encountered an outbreak of a strange syndrome that the native people called lytico-bodig—the term lytico signifying paralysis and bodig dementia. Some victims had ALS-like symptoms, others exhibited the rigid posture ...

This is a recap of the most interesting news and discussions related to Parkinson’s Disease this past week. We start by looking ahead to Parkinson's Disease Awareness which starts on Monday by revisiting the funniest (and most relatable) Parkinson's Disease awareness video of all time. We then realize that we may be personally too aware of PD, so we take a look at awareness months for other diseases and health issues. Next up we try to avoid the big gun debate while reporting on an intriguing case study of "gun therapy" for Parkinson's; a hip-hop dance demonstration inspires one of ...

Please put aside any preconceived thoughts on guns…whether you are pro “gun rights” or pro “gun control”, David Smith’s Parkinson’s Disease “gun therapy”is one of the most intriguing and inspirational PD stories of recent weeks. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s 8 years ago, David found nothing that would help with his tremors. He had always enjoyed shooting at the gun range, and would shoot at least every other week, sometimes more frequently. He realized that the activity was calming for his tremors, so he decided to do it more frequently. Now, he is in the big leagues…a professional shooter who has been ...

Who decides which disease or cause can lay claim to a month as an awareness month? I’m just curious, because we’re about to enter April, which for some reason is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month. It's not that I don't believe that PD deserves an awareness month. My issue is that I feel like a hypocrite. I am so aware of Parkinson's Disease, that I have been completely unaware of awareness months for any other diseases or causes in the past year. Therefore, I think there is no better way for those of us with PD to start Parkinson’s Disease Awareness ...

Some ideas take time to find their direction. In 2010, Jamie O’Neil, Communication Studies professor at Canisius College in Buffalo (New York) developed a project that he called Skippisox. These were socks that you wear and they would make noise. Another professor at Canisius College, Bill Sack, was working with using robotics to create music. Together, they developed Electroskip, which is is a wearable technology that attaches to shoes and detects the amount of pressure that the wearer puts on their heels or toes. The sensors use a wireless data transmitter to  send this information to a computer, which generates audio feedback ...

I’ll admit it, if I’m at a Parkinson’s conference and the speaker starts talking about music therapy for Parkinson’s Disease, my eyes roll back in my head. I know it helps people, but it just seems more geared to my grandfather’s generation. The associated picture is either a choir, or people with PD sitting around a music therapist with an acoustic guitar, singing what I can only categorize as campfire songs. Maybe I’m from a different generation, but unless you are actually sitting around a campfire, I don’t ever see a reason to ever sing a campfire song (and I’m ...

This is a recap of the most interesting news and discussions related to Parkinson’s Disease this past week. In completely made-up financial news, button industry stocks were down sharply after the Michael J. Fox Foundation announced a button boycott, as part of new initiative to tell the world to stop making products that people with Parkinson's hate. Find out what industry is the next target in our exclusive special report. Also featured this week: "I love the smell of Parkinson's in the morning!" The woman who can smell Parkinson's is back in the news, with research study results confirming that a ...

In financial news, button industry stocks were down sharply after the Michael J. Fox Foundation announced a boycott of all clothing with buttons, as part of new initiative to tell the world to stop making products that people with Parkinson's loathe and detest. Anticipating further boycotts, portfolio managers are telling investors to divest of shoelace stocks, and to invest heavily in protest buttons and velcro. A foundation spokesperson issued a warning of future activism: "Squishy water bottles...those ones that are impossible to open without spilling water all over yourself...which makes it look like you wet yourself...you're next! People with Parkinson's are ...

Most of us have tremors in our lower arm and wrist. In this video, we discuss strength training exercises targeting the forearm, wrist and grip ... simple low intensity exercises that are a great way to start the day. The equipment used in this video: TheraBand FlexBar - https://www.amazon.com/TheraBand-Tendonitis-Strength-Resistance-Tendinitis/dp/B000KGOMBC/ Grip Strengthener: https://www.amazon.com/ADMA-Strengthener-Adjustable-Resistance-Rehabilitation/dp/B07DB2QL6M/ Bowflex SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbells - https://www.amazon.com/Bowflex-SelectTech-Adjustable-Dumbbells-Pair/dp/B001ARYU58/ ...

We've created a PowerPoint video presentation detailing exercise recommendations and related research for people with Parkinson's Disease. The presentation slides can be viewed interactively below: This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office Online. The presentation slides can be downloaded by clicking on the image below: ...

This is a recap of the most interesting news and discussions related to Parkinson’s Disease this past week. A couple of friends commented to me that last week’s newsletter was a bit depressing, particularly the lead story. So this week, we’ve added extra snark factor to our topic introductions...and our lead story is a fluff piece that serves no purpose other than to make you laugh. The lead story arrives courtesy of a TV comedy writer who, after his PD diagnosis, decided to give stand-up comedy a go. Also featured this week: a deep dive into the decidedly low tech sorting ...

Paul Mayhew-Archer is a UK comedy writer best known for his work on "The Vicar of Dibley" and "Mrs Brown's Boys". Since his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease in 2011, he's been looking at the funny side of life with Parkinson's, performing stand-up comedy, and touring the UK in his one man show, "Incurable Optimist". For details on this tour, see his website: http://mayhew-archer.com Here are a few of his observations on Parkinson's: The funny side of life with Parkinson's diseaseComedy Writer Paul Mayhew-Archer refuses to let Parkinson's disease stop him seeing the funny side of life. ❤️ Posted by BBC ...

Why I am experimenting with intermittent fasting to see if it helps my Parkinson's symptoms... Let me state this categorically, I am not suggesting that anyone should begin fasting in an attempt to help with their Parkinson's symptoms. Amongst other concerns, many people who are diagnosed with PD experience unexpected weight loss, and fasting does not seem safe in that scenario. There also may be concerns about fasting and some prescription medications. If you are considering this at all, please discuss with your doctor first. That said, fasting, or more specifically intermittent fasting (IF) is something that I am experimenting ...

In a recent post, I sarcastically noted that dopamine agonists (such as mirapex/pramipexole and requip/ropinirole) are a category of drugs that have a surprising efficacy in destroying lives. A recent 5 year study found that 46% of PD patients that were prescribed a dopamine agonist developed impulse control disorders, including gambling addiction, hypersexuality and porn addiction. After reading the following case study from the January 2019 edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry, I can’t help but wonder if we should build a casino to raise funds for Parkinson’s Disease research. The case study presents the story of a woman who ...

I'll admit it's an odd question to ask, "Can the action of volunteering and fund raising for PD research improve your Parkinson's symptoms today?" However, I believe that there is an interesting argument for how the action of volunteering and fund raising for PD research not only helps enable research that will benefit Parkinson's patients in the future, but can also improve your Parkinson's symptoms today. Let's call this the unexpected placebo effect of volunteerism ...

Social media users in India were abuzz the past few weeks over a video posted on Facebook by Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital (yes, that is the hospital's real name)  that showed the results of an apomorphine infusion on a 50-year old patient with advanced Parkinson's Disease. Before the treatment, the patient was barely able to lift his arms and struggled to walk. After the apomorphine injection, the patient was able to walk and run, and even do push-ups. Apomorphine is a very strong dopamine agonist. The video fails to show that the drug's effect only lasts for an hour or two, ...

This is a recap of the most interesting news and discussions relating to Parkinson’s Disease this past week. Researchers delivered a sobering statistic that if you can survive more than 10 years with Parkinson's, there is a greater than 50% chance of developing dementia...and reminded us that regular exercise is the best intervention to avoid becoming a statistic. Fee-fi-fo-fum, this woman can smell the musky smell of Parkinson's...the fascinating story of a wife who nagged her husband about his hygiene for years before his PD diagnosis...20+ years later researchers are using her to sniff out biomarkers that can be used ...

For those who are either new to, or unfamiliar with Parkinson's Disease, one of the things that seems to surprise most people is that the prescription drugs have no effect one the disease itself. The drugs provide only symptomatic control. Whether you take the drugs or not, the disease progresses (gets worse), and the drugs have less ability to control the symptoms...requiring larger or more frequent doses...and/or becoming less effective. At a certain level, this seems highly suspicious. You need more and more of a drug...are we sure the drugs are not making it worse? Then, there's another issue. The ...

The Brian Grant Foundation is a great resource for information on exercise for Parkinson's Disease: https://briangrant.org/exercise/ Brian Grant had an impressive 12-year career in the NBA before being diagnosed with Parkinson's. Fellow PDer Scott Rider has a great video interview with Brian, where they talk about the BG Foundation, and life with PD, especially earlier onset PD. Scott is fundraising for the Parkinson's Foundation. Through May 1, 2019, MassMutual will donate $1 to the Parkinson's Foundation for each of the next 5,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. So head to his YouTube channel and help him reach his goal: Scott ...

Fee-fi-fo-fum, this woman can smell the musky smell of Parkinson's! When I first heard about Joy Milne, the woman who can smell Parkinson's Disease...is it sad that the first thing that came to my mind was that silly rhyme...and the second thing was a SpongeBob Squarepants episode? Do you smell it? That smell..the smelly smell that smells smelly... (try saying that 3 times fast) This story goes back several years, but a new article appeared in New Scientist, which made me wonder if there were any new developments. Here's the backstory... Les Milne was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1995 ...