Your Greatest Wealth Is Your Health

"The greatest wealth is health" Virgil “The first wealth is health” Ralph Waldo Emerson Introduction: When I recently met my new Family Practice physician (the third one in less than 2 years), she said "My health was my wealth." I left that medical visit with her comment stuck in my brain. Thus, the topic here, …

Ten Summary Points From Mitchell AK, Bliss RR, Church FC. Exercise, Neuroprotective Exerkines, and Parkinson’s Disease: A Narrative Review. Biomolecules. 2024;14(10).

"To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise." Gene Tunney "Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being" Plato Introduction:  When we were growing up, we had shortcuts to reading the big classic books; we had "Cliff Notes." Our teachers hated them because it was one person expressing their opinion. Personally, …

Update on My Strategy Using Supplements in Treating Parkinson’s

"Be the kind of person who takes supplements - then skip the supplements." Michael Pollan "One, I am skeptical of the effectiveness of nutritional supplements." Michael Shermer Supplementing Our Treatment Plan: We all contribute to this collective knowledge, using various supplements and over-the-counter compounds to manage our Parkinson's. Besides exercise, what other strategies can we …

Journey With Parkinson’s: The Rolling Stones

"[joking about the length of the Rolling Stones' career] You have the sun, you have the moon, you have the air that you breathe - and you have the Rolling Stones!" Keith Richards "There are some Rolling Stones songs that are just stunners." John Lydon Introduction: We embarked on a musical journey to Atlanta, Georgia, …

A Brief Description of Parkinson’s Disease

“Parkinson’s can be the wake-up call to transform yourself into a better person.” John Baumann “No matter what science can do for people living with Parkinson’s, we must prepare our brain and body to face all difficulties.” Nikolas Koukoulakis Introduction: All of the quotes used in this blog post are by people with Parkinson's. On …

The Importance of Exercise to Help Manage Parkinson’s

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." John Wooden A New Paper Describing the Benefits of Exercise in Parkinson's: Corcos et al., (Corcos, D.M., G. Lamotte, N.S. Luthra, and …

Parkinson’s: Some Jazzy Blues Holiday Music

"Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life." Art Blakey "There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind." Duke Ellington Intro to the Introduction: This blog primarily focuses on Parkinson's and (hopefully) gives helpful advice about various aspects of the disorder. Along this journey, I have shared a lot about myself, and …

Brief Report: Comparison of the COMT Inhibitor Opicapone to Entacapone in Parkinson’s

"When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'" Sydney J. Harris "Comparison is the death of joy." Mark Twain Overview: Recently, I have presented two blog posts on COMT (Catechol-O-methyl transferase) Inhibitors: "COMT Inhibitors in Parkinson's: Tell Me More, Tell Me More" (click here) and "Addendum …

Words Worth Living in the Presence of Parkinson’s

“You can observe a lot just by watching.” Yogi Berra “Though the road's been rocky it sure feels good to me.” Bob Marley Introduction: Since my diagnosis with Parkinson's, I seem to have become a collector of quotes and sayings. Some make me smile, like the one above from Yogi Berra. Some make me take …

Why Monitoring Every Parkinson’s Symptom Matters

"We must never neglect the patient's own use of his symptoms." Alfred Adler “A sick thought can devour the body's flesh more than fever or consumption.” Guy de Maupassant Painful Leg Cramps with Parkinson’s: I bent down to put some extra toilet paper rolls into a bathroom cabinet this morning. Suddenly, the hamstring muscles in …