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Prevention of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's is a degenerative neurological disease. It affects the part of the brain that controls motor senses -- the part responsible for body movements. It is most commonly found in the older population. The most visible signs are difficulty and slowness in movements, slurred speech and stiffness of the trunk and limbs. Parkinson's is known to affect about 3 percent of the American geriatric population. As of 2009, no cure exists. However, scientists have been searching for ways of preventing its onset and progression.

  1. Omega-3s

    • Since Parkinson's is basically a result of a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, the key to prevention lies in rejuvenating these cells. Although the precise efficacy of prevention by this mode is unclear, increasing your intake of food and substances that carry dopamine or related substances may help prevent the disease or its progression. In particular, an Omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may help prevent the disease. Found in fish oil, this substance may have the ability to insulate the neurons from this disease.

    Folic Acid

    • Folic acid is being studied in 2009 as another option for preventing Parkinson's. A National Institute on Aging report showed that in an experiment on mice, there was a link between folic acid deficiency and the cell degeneration that leads to Parkinson's. In the experiment, mice who were shown to be starved of folic acid had high doses of the substance that damages the DNA of the nerve cells in the system that causes Parkinson's.

    Other Aids to Prevent Parkinson's

    • The age-old belief that exercise is the best prevention for any illness may hold well for Parkinson's, too. Evan L. Thacker, of the Public Health school at Harvard University, presented a study in May 2009. This comprehensive study followed nearly 150,000 people of the mean age of 63 over nine years and showed that those who exercise are likely to be less affected by Parkinson's. Moderate exercise consisting of walking and dancing to heavy exercising, swimming, jogging, biking, etc., was demonstrated to be a possible inhibitor of dopamine degeneration. As a result, it is believed that there may be a strong link between sporting activity and the brain's ability to produce dopamine naturally.

      A kind of choline, GPC, is also being experimented as a possible preventive. It is believed to increase production of acetylcholine and phospatidylcholine, which are essential for enhancing communication between neurons.

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