CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

JAMA Neurology [2014] Feb 24 [Epub ahead of print] (A.Videnovic, C.Noble, K.J.Reid, J.Peng, F.W.Turek, A.Marconi, A.W.Rademaker, T.Simuni, C.Zadikoff, P.C.Zee)
Complete abstract : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24566763

Diurnal fluctuations of Parkinson's Disease symptoms and a high prevalence of sleep-wake disturbances in Parkinson Disease suggest that the circadian rhythm is affecting these symptoms. The circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle that regulates physiological processes by various factors such as daylight. Secretion of melatonin from the pineal gland is largely responsible for this regulation. For more information go to Circadian rhythms : http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Pages/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.aspx.
People with Parkinson's Disease have been found to have blunted circadian rhythms. The differences and the range of secretion of melatonin from the pineal gland were found to be lower in Parkinson's Disease than in people that do not have Parkinson's Disease. Compared with people who had Parkinson's Disease who did not have excessive daytime sleepiness, people with excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly narrow ranges of melatonin secretion.
Overall Parkinson's Disease symptoms and duration of symptoms were not significantly related to the circadian rhythm. So it was only daytime sleepiness and not Parkinson's Disease symptoms generally that can be affected by the blunted circadian rhythm that can occur in Parkinson's Disease. 

THE EFFECT OF MILD BRAIN INJURY ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE

4th March 2014 - New research

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation [2014] 95 (3S) : S238-S244 (C.Marras, C.A.Hincapié, V.L.Kristman, C.Cancelliere, S.Soklaridis, A.Li, J.Borg, J.L.Geijerstam, J.D. Cassidy)
Researchers assessed all of the studies concerning the risk of Parkinson's Disease after mild traumatic brain injury. Sixty-five studies were eligible and reviewed, but only five of these with a low risk of bias were accepted as scientifically admissible.
One of the five studies showed a significant association between Mild traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's Disease. It was found to be 1.5 times more likely. However, the likelihood decreased when the time between the injury and Parkinson's Disease diagnosis was greater. The other four studies did not find any association. So the available evidence argues against a causal association between Mild traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's Disease.
Although Parkinson's Disease is often claimed to be due to the loss or damage of the cells involved in Parkinson's Disease not a single study has ever shown this to be true. 

L-DOPA'S EFFECT ON NON-MOTOR SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

5th March 2014 - New research

Mymensingh Medical Journal [2014] 23 (1) : 18-23 (M.M.Rahman, M.J.Uddin, J.H. Chowdhury, T.I.Chowdhury)
People with Parkinson's Disease have the characteristic motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease but also have a wide range of non-motor symptoms. Although L-dopa is a widely used basis for treating Parkinson's Disease, L-dopa (with carbidopa) has been found to have little effect on many of the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.
When assessed, the most frequent non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease were fatigue 56%, excessive sweating 54%, insomnia 54%, akathisia (restlessness) 47%, anxiety 45%, and constipation 17%. However, after five months of taking L-dopa and carbidopa frequencies of most of the non-motor symptoms decreased only slightly, showing that there was little significant effect of L-dopa and carbidopa.
Some non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease are not improved by taking L-dopa because they are due to the side effects of Parkinson's Disease drugs. Some non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease are not improved much by taking L-dopa because they are due to a combination of Parkinson's Disease and other factors that are not related to the dopamine deficiency that occurs in Parkinson's Disease. 

PIONEERS OF RECOVERY : HOW PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE REVERSE THEIR SYMPTOMS

Robert Rodgers

Publisher's description : Parkinsons Recovery Radio show guests often talk about how they reversed the symptoms of Parkinsons Disease. Now you can read nine of these amazing stories as they were first told on the radio show in this 2012 release of Pioneers of Recovery. Each chapter includes details on the steps that each pioneer took to make miracle of healing happen. Therapies that paved the road to recovery include : TMJ adjustments, Candida cleanses, Voice Profiling, sound therapy, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Qigong, Low Dose Naltrexone, forced exercise, Chinese medicine, supplements, diet, detoxes. You will be intrigued by how each pioneer went about reversing their symptoms

HEARING LOSS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

12th February 2014 - New research

European Journal of Neurology [2014] Feb 10 [Epub ahead of print] (S.W.Lai, K.F.Liao, C.L.Lin, C.C.Lin, F.C.Sung) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24506292
Hearing loss has been found to be three times more likely in elderly people who have Parkinson's Disease. This is partly due to the increased prevalence of loss of hearing with age. However, hearing loss is still 1.77 times more likely in elderly people with Parkinson's Disease than it is in elderly people who do not have Parkinson's Disease.
Hearing is perceived in the Cochlea, in the Organ of Corti, which is the sensory organ of hearing. For more information go to Cochlea : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlea
Dopamine, whose deficiency causes Parkinson's Disease, helps to protect against noise exposure in the Cochlea [1] [2] [3] [4]. Insufficient dopamine can therefore lead to damage that can result in loss of hearing. The cause of the increased likelihood of loss of hearing that can occur in Parkinson's Disease is therefore originally probably biochemical rather than structural.
[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21672572 [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11885654 [3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11595036 [4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8787031

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EARTHWORMS AND OIL OF WINGED ANTS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer. He published books, The English Physitian (1652) and the Complete Herbal (1653). The Complete Herbal contains both pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge.

Among the recommendations in Complete Herbal, he suggests sage for "sinews, troubled with palsy and cramp". For centuries prior to this, Sage had also been recommended for tremor in the hands. Amongst other plant remedies Culpepper suggested for palsy and trembling were bilberries, briony (called "English mandrake"), and mistletoe. In the 1696 edition of his Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, a variety of substances were claimed to be useful in the treatment of "palsies", the "dead palsy", and "tremblings". These included "oil of winged ants" and preparations including earthworms.
For more concerning the history of Parkinson's Disease go to the History of Parkinson's Disease : http://viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/history.htm