Therapies to Reduce the Symptoms of Parkinson's

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological condition.  Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year and as many as one million Americans live with it.

Mucana Beans

With all of the modern advancements to treat diseases, it is surprising that the most common treatment today is based on ancient Ayurvedic medicine, which was used to treat Parkinson's disease over 4,000 years ago.

There is still no known cure.  Treatment has primarily consists of therapies that increase dopamine levels in the brain, which in turn improve the transmission of nerve impulses. The chemical dopamine itself can’t be given because it can’t cross the blood-brain barrier. A compound called L-dopa can pass through this barrier and gain access to the brain. Once there, L-dopa is converted to dopamine.

Doctors Damodaran and Ramaswamy of India, discovered in 1936 that the mucuna bean is an excellent plant source for L-dopa, but this discovery didn’t receive much attention because the Parkinson’s and L-dopa connection wasn’t made by scientists until the 1960s. Once that connection was made, thousands of plants were screened in the search for those with high levels of L-dopa.  Since mucuna beans can't be patented by pharmaceutical companies, L-dopa was made synthetically and efforts to extract the compound from plants were abandoned. The synthetic form of L-dopa has since become the accepted way to control the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

One of the problems with the use of synthetic L-dopa is that over the long term, it appears to lose its effectiveness. Another problem is side effects. Included among these are nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, fainting, increased thirst, and tremors. These same side effects were noted in ancient Ayurvedic writings, but only as problems associated with overdosing with plant extracts of L-dopa.

In Ayurvedic medicine, mucuna beans are ground into powder and given to treat not only Parkinson’s, but also cholera, snakebites, worms and intestinal parasites, nerve problems, tumors, mumps, paralysis, cancer, impotence, fertility problems and tuberculosis.

While the list of ailments treated with mucuna bean powder might seem quite varied, there is growing scientific rationale to support this form of treatment. Unlike the drug L-dopa and other synthetic medicines, powdered mucuna beans contain dozens of different compounds that appear to exert a strong synergistic effect, which is an effect far stronger than if each isolated compound was used independently.

The mucuna beans is a member of the legume family and when the whole seed is used, it not only provides a rich source of vitamin E, but also roughage. The roughage helps combat the constipation commonly associated with Parkinson’s.

If you or someone you know suffers from Parkinson’s disease, you should talk to the treating doctor about mucuna powder.  Do not self medicate or substitute mucuna powder yourself for any medication, because Parkinson’s is a disease that needs monitoring.

One U.S. supplier of mucuna-based L-dopa is International Supplements. They sell a product called L-Dopa, and a 60-day supply (500 mg L-dopa per day) costs approximately $50.

Wii Therapy

Wii games can be an effective form of physical therapy.  Some patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease have seen dramatic improvements in their symptoms after just a month, from playing the Wii tennis game for only three hours a week. They report experiencing fewer tremors and also being able to move and walk better with increased coordination.

In one small 20-patient study, Dr. Ben Herz, an occupational therapist at the Medical College of Georgia, found that when Parkinson patients regularly played Wii games such as tennis, bowling and baseball, their physical conditions improved significantly.  

No one is suggesting playing these interactive video games will cure Parkinson’s, but it certainly seems reasonable that it could slow the progression of the disease.

Parkinson's patients should consult their doctor, prior to starting a Wii or any other exercise program.

Creatine

Creatine also shows promise in treating patients with Parkinson’s disease. Patients with Parkinson’s have been shown to have lower levels of creatine in their muscles.)

The McMaster study involved 80 patients with muscular dystrophies and other neurological diseases. Participants were given either a placebo, or 5 grams of creatine a day for five days and then 10 grams of creatine a day for an additional week. All of the patients taking creatine experienced significant improvements in overall strength and muscle mass. For example, those on creatine had an 11% increase in knee strength, compared to only 2.3% in the placebo group.

Creatine is available in capsules and powder in just about any health food store. While it’s not the precise dosage used above, the general recommendation is a “loading” dosage of 15 to 20 grams a day, and then a maintenance level of 5 grams a day. You should begin to see a difference in muscle strength in as little as 10 days.

Creatine is considered to be quite safe. Some people experience dehydration, which is solved by adding an extra glass or two of water a day.    Parkinson's patients should consult their doctor, prior to starting a creatine supplement program. 

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