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EDITOR’S NOTE: The podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life’s mysteries massive and small. You can pay attention to episodes here.
The “Shaking Palsy.”
Those are the phrases Dr. James Parkinson utilized in an essay greater than 200 years in the past to group collectively signs and describe a mysterious infirmity afflicting six people in London. The British doctor was the first to identify and doc the situation now often called Parkinson’s disease, a progressive motion dysfunction. Its hallmark is harm to the dopamine-producing neurons in the mind that may lead to muscle stiffness, slowness, stability points and a bunch of different issues.
Dopamine is a crucial neurotransmitter concerned in our mind’s reward system. The chemical performs a central function in motivation, in addition to executive function (which incorporates consideration, decision-making, multitasking and planning), motion and emotional regulation.
By 2021, public well being researchers reported there have been almost 12 million cases worldwide. And the quantity of folks residing with Parkinson’s is projected to top 25 million by 2050. The disease not solely substantially burdens the particular person, but in addition their household, their neighborhood and society as an entire.
“We’re now growing as a neurodegenerative disease faster than Alzheimer’s disease — that should grab everybody’s attention,” neurologist Dr. Michael Okun informed NCS Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta not too long ago on his podcast, Chasing Life.
Parkinson’s disease is a lot greater than only a shaking palsy, as scientists have come to study since 1817, however there is nonetheless fairly a methods to go in figuring out its root causes, understanding extra absolutely the development of the disease, and even developing a foolproof diagnostic check.
“It becomes obvious, just absolutely obvious, when you see the folks with disease that this isn’t just a disease of dopamine; it isn’t just a disease of the brain. We see it in the gut. We see it in the skin. We see it in multiple organs,” mentioned Okun, who cofounded and codirects the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, and is the medical director and medical adviser for the Parkinson’s Foundation. “So, it is super important that we ask the why: Why does it start? Why does it progress? Why does it spread?”
Genetics performs a key function in between 10% and 15% of instances. For many others, Okun mentioned, the underlying trigger of the disease is likely to be extra mundane and insidious: environmental toxins — through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the meals we eat and the chemicals with which we frequently are available contact.
“We have such an opportunity now to understand, hey, we don’t have to live in a world where we think it’s inevitable to get Parkinson’s,” Okun mentioned. His newest e-book on the disease, “The Parkinson’s Plan: A New Path to Prevention and Treatment,” cowritten with Dr. Ray Dorsey, partly explores the associations between the disease and a bunch of chemical compounds that quietly assail our our bodies.
You can pay attention to the full episode here.
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What are you able to do to reduce your probabilities of getting Parkinson’s? Okun has an inventory of 25 tips in his e-book, and these are his 5 favorites.
Invest in a carbon water filter for your kitchen sink, Okun mentioned through electronic mail.
“A simple carbon filter can reduce the invisible toxicants that sneak into drinking water and may stress vulnerable brain systems,” he mentioned. “Clean water lowers the everyday chemical load your gut and brain must handle.”
These filters can reduce publicity to pesticides and chemical compounds like trichlorethylene, or TCE, a typical chemical used to dry-clean garments, decaffeinate espresso and degrease metallic, in addition to different impurities. (In December 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency introduced an nearly complete ban of TCE, however lawsuits have to date stayed the rule’s efficient begin date below sure circumstances.)
Use air purifiers each at residence and work.
“Removing fine particulate matter from indoor air protects the nose-to-brain pathway that may seed Parkinson’s,” Okun mentioned. “Cleaner air means fewer triggers entering through the brain’s front door.”
Make positive to use an air air purifier with a carbon filter designed to take away risky natural chemical compounds, or VOCs, reminiscent of TCE. Volatile organic compounds are gases that may be emitted from stable or liquid merchandise, in accordance to the Environmental Protection Agency. These chemical compounds could cause issues reminiscent of eye, nostril and throat irritation and harm to the liver, kidney and central nervous system, the federal company mentioned.
Take the time to wash your fruit and veggies, even when they’re natural.
“Rinsing and scrubbing your produce … helps remove pesticide residues that can quietly injure mitochondria over time,” Okun famous. “This simple daily habit lowers the exposure load your brain and nervous system must manage.”
And simply as you’d when washing your fingers, it’s best to rinse them for greater than 20 seconds, Okun added.
Keep your physique shifting
Exercise daily. Regular motion is thought to stop or delay the onset of Parkinson’s disease — and it is additionally essential for individuals who already stay with the dysfunction.
“Exercise every day, using four 20-minute walks (~7000 steps), or an equivalent routine that keeps you moving throughout the day,” Okun mentioned through electronic mail. “Movement wakes up natural dopamine circuits, improves mobility, and may possibly slow symptom progression.”
For those that really feel unsteady on their ft, Okun famous {that a} recumbent stationary bike is a secure and efficient different.
Prioritize constant, high-quality sleep to give your mind an opportunity to get better each evening.
“Deep sleep activates the brain’s built-in cleaning system, flushing toxins and helping symptoms improve the following day,” Okun mentioned. “Protecting sleep is protecting brain health, especially when living with or aiming to prevent Parkinson’s.”
Then, while you stand up in the morning, take pleasure in a cup of caffeinated espresso or tea. Research has constantly related caffeine consumption with a decrease risk of Parkinson’s Disease ; it is believed to defend the dopamine-producing nerve cells from harm attributable to environmental toxins.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We hope these 5 tips assist you to reduce your publicity to environmental and chemical toxins related to Parkinson’s Disease. Listen to the full episode here. And be part of us subsequent week for a brand new episode of the Chasing Life podcast.