Month: July 2019

An article about an exercise research study prompted me to partially rethink my Parkinson’s Disease exercise philosophy. Exercise intensity may slow Parkinson’s progression, but in the long run, exercise sustainability is essential to a better quality of life ...

Comfort food crisis in Canada: (Satire alert) How many lives must be cut short by grilled cheese related deaths before the government takes action? In Quebec, apparently, the answer is 2. Act now to ensure a fair trial! Save the grilled cheese! Save the croque monsieur sans jambon! Save the cheese toasty! ...

Diagnosed with PD in 2003, at the young age of 27, Jimmy Choi spent 8 years in a combination of denial and self-pity, until he found the strength and resolve to regain control of his life. Jimmy’s story is best told by the videos included below. We all can’t become elite athletes like him...but that’s not what makes his story special. As he says in one of the videos below, his American Ninja Warrior experience gave him his 15 minutes of fame, and presented an opportunity for people to hear his message. His advice to others is simple and succinct: ...

This Week's Highlights: Dog Days of Summer; if Parkinson's starts in the gut, what does this mean; getting the most from your remaining dopamine neurons; international PD soccer tournament; PD smartwatch is too retro for its own good; marijuana and pain; forget about hot chilis; research briefs; inspiring people with PD; Improv to Improve PD; and much more ...

It began with a gut feeling. Every week, another study provides insight into the gut-brain connection, and the possibility that Parkinson’s disease begins in the gut. What does this mean? ...

Held annually since 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Ray Kennedy Cup is an international football tournament for people with Parkinson's. Organizers expect this year's tournament on August 31, 2019 to feature 10-14 teams from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England and Scotland. There is still time to register if you have a team that is interested, with registrations accepted through August 1. (A team consists of a maximum of 10 players, of which 7 can be on the course at the same time. For lack of Parkinson's players, the tournament management may allow up to 2 players without Parkinson's to be used ...

Conventional wisdom holds that far more than half of my dopamine-producing neurons were dead by the time of my Parkinson's diagnosis in 2008. I'm guessing that death toll has risen to about 95% now. The remaining 5% (+/-) of my dopamine neurons probably don't like me much. I’m not sure they really understand that Parkinson’s isn’t my fault, and I suspect they hold me responsible for not taking care of 95% of their friends and colleagues...not to mention the increased workload. Regardless, I like all of my body parts to give me 110%, especially my last 5% of dopa neurons ...

This Week's Highlights: It began with a gut feeling, the latest on the gut-brain connection and Parkinson's; Yale study challenges a long held assumption about Parkinson’s effect on neurotransmitters other than dopamine; Merck Discontinuing Sinemet CR; is PD causing your pain, or just contributing; taking control of your PD, encouraging people with PD to exercise; plus more news and insight ...

What if there’s a way to ensure Parkinson’s never has control over us again? Is this possible? The mind is often our biggest enemy. Alternatively, it can be trained to serve... The thing with Parkinson’s is the loss of control - the slow, constant erosion of execution of our will, and resulting deferral to Parkinson’s. We want to move easily. We can’t. We want to be pain-free. We’re not. We want to sleep well. We don’t. We want to connect with the people around us. We won’t. Controlling Our Own Suffering. When we control our suffering, as opposed to letting suffering ...

The Davis Phinney Foundation (DPF) has an article on their website that is an interesting read. Apparently, one of the most common questions they receive from friends and care partners of people with Parkinson’s is this: "My person with Parkinson’s won’t do anything. I can’t get them to exercise, and I don’t know what to do." If that is the situation that you find yourself in, I can appreciate the sense of desperation and the desire to help. However, if you truly want to help, begin with some self-examination. If your friend or partner overhears you making a statement like this, you may actually ...

Is pain a symptom of Parkinson’s? Or do the motor symptoms of PD directly or indirectly cause pain? Or is pain a symptom of something else? Arthritis? Aging? Or is pain a result of lack of exercise? Over exercise? Improper exercise form? Improper exercise instruction? Some combination of factors? Those are interesting questions, but more importantly does pain contribute to the severity of other Parkinson’s symptoms? ...

The Parkinson's Disease is like a snowflake analogy was cute the first time we heard it. But after a few repetitions, it got a bit tired. Thankfully there is another Parkinson's snowflake analogy that is, perhaps, a bit more realistic. Have you heard this one? ...

This Week's Highlights: NASA sending Parkinson’s brain cells to space; Is red light therapy a potential hope for treating pain associated with PD; Understanding exercise intensity; reconnecting through rhythm; Info on Parkinson’s meds & nutritional supplements; gene therapy nears trial for PD-GBA; Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD); How long do the effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery last?; MS, ALS & PD: Cure one, cure all?; Inspiring people with PD; and more ...

We think that regardless of your age, you're always too young to have Parkinson's. When someone is diagnosed with Parkinson's at a younger age, it is called Young Onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD). Parkinson's Disease has the reputation of being a disease associated with old age, with good reason. Essentially, the longer that you live, the greater your chance is of developing PD. If you live into your 80's, you have almost a 2% chance (2  in 100) of developing PD. If you die in your 50's, you decrease your odds of getting Parkinson's, as only 0.1% (1 in 1000) of ...

64-year old Larry Grogin had planned as a 3,000-mile, USA coast-to-coast run this  summer. But a recent Parkinson's disease diagnosis prompted an adjustment to his plans. Over the course of 30 days, he is now preparing to run a total of 1,100 miles in eight different areas of the country. His route will take  him through parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Oregon and California. View his schedule here. Grogin ran in the 2013 Boston Marathon and was about 50 feet from the finish line when the first pressure cooker bomb exploded. Three people and numerous ...

This presentation explains some concepts regarding exercise for Parkinson's Disease, explaining how exercise intensity is measured and why it matters, and the concepts of vigorous intensity exercise and forced exercise ...

Parkinson's disease disrupts rhythm. And sometimes PD obliterates rhythm, battering it beyond recognition. But, we don't have to accept it this way. Working to maintain mind-body connections is well worth the effort ... if you call music, dance, sports, games, or the like, effort. I'm learning every day, but I'm grateful to be able to share my approach to coping with PD as of today. Today, now, is all I really have. I hope this video somehow helps ease your Parkinson's burden: ...

This Week's Highlights: Help us build a better website; new study says “sexercise is medicine” for men with early Parkinson’s disease; the keto diet might be a good idea for PD, but proceed with caution; Dopamine agonists might be linked to hair loss, particularly in women; saliva test for PD; open science; "off period" analysis; we ponder why a researcher thinks being able to name 38 vegetables in one minute is normal; and more ...

This latest Parkinson’s Disease research is too important not to be shared. Published in the European Journal of Neurology, a new study indicates that an active sex life is linked with lower disability and better quality of life in men with early Parkinson’s disease. Yes, it appears that sexercise is medicine. More study is needed, but word on the street is that volunteers are afraid they'll end up in the placebo group. It is imperative that it gets shared on Twitter and Facebook. This study should be widely publicized and broadcast on every major global news network. Why stop there? ...

Medications for PD fall into three categories. The first category includes drugs that increase the level of dopamine in the brain. The second category of PD drugs affects other neurotransmitters in the body in order to ease some of the symptoms of the disease. The third category of drugs prescribed for PD includes medications that help control the non-motor symptoms of the disease, that is, the symptoms that don't affect movement. The most common drugs for PD are in the first category, dopamine precursors—substances such as levodopa that cross the blood-brain barrier and are then changed into dopamine.  Other drugs ...