"Where Life Meets Parkinson's." A blog for Parkinson's education, research advances, treatment strategies, and personal reflection. The goal is to provide support and resources to anyone either with Parkinson's disease or with any neurodegenerative disorder.
"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before." Elizabeth Edwards "Health is wholeness and balance, an inner resilience that allows you to meet the demands of living without being overwhelmed." Andrew Weil Introduction: The goal is to review the role(s) played by dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine (also …
Continue reading "The Complex Role of Neurotransmitters in Parkinson’s"
"Your brain is your greatest weapon. Connect it to your heart, and you can go anywhere." Angelique Kidjo "Don't believe everything you hear - even in your own mind." Daniel Amen Précis: A big fear for anyone with Parkinson's is the development of dementia. It is predicted that a large percentage of those with Parkinson's …
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin "The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." Oscar Wilde Introduction: I have been reading and learning about the "normal heart" in Parkinson's, ultimately trying to better understand the autonomic nervous system. While reading, I ran …
Continue reading "Sudden Unexpected Death in Parkinson’s (SUDPAR)"
"Let the bird sing without deciphering the song." Ralph Waldo Emerson "Wild sings the bird of the heart in the forests of our lives." Mary Oliver Introduction: Our move to South Carolina has us living in a 55+ (years of age) gated community with golf courses, tennis and pickleball courts, swimming pools, gyms, many other crafts/activities, …
Continue reading "Birds and Bird Feeders: Journey with Parkinson’s"
"It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor." Marcus Tullius Cicero "Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being." Plato Introduction: I have been convinced for a while that exercise is medicine. This blog post summarizes two publications: Crotty, Grace F., and Michael A. Schwarzschild. "Chasing …
Continue reading "Exercise and Neuroprotection in Human Parkinson’s: The Long and Winding Road"
"A myth is a lie that conveys a truth." C.S. Lewis "Myths are made for the imagination to breath life into them." Albert Camus Introduction: Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Thus, Parkinson's occurs relatively frequently in adults. Unfortunately, it can be a complex disorder for physicians to make a proper diagnosis, and it …
Continue reading "Fifteen Myths and Common Misconceptions About Parkinson’s"
"Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use." Ruth Gordon "Commitment is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets." Chalene Johnson Introduction: Along the way to receiving the diagnosis of Parkinson's, you may have to undergo several different kinds of tests/procedures to help your physician(s) learn what …
Continue reading "Part 4: Journey to Parkinson’s and Electromyography (EMG)"
"The great events of the world take place in the brain." Oscar Wilde "The brain is wider than the sky." Emily Dickinson Views of the Brain:Â Â The usual photos and depictions of the brain typically show it to be smooth. However, in contrast, the reality of the brain is that it has a very different look. …
Continue reading "Views of the Brain: Journey with Parkinson’s"
"Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong." Richard Armour "No one party can fool all of the people all of the time; that's why we have two parties" Bob Hope The National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (H.R.8585) in the …
"There is no medicine like hope." Orison Swett Marden "If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today" Nhat Hanh Introduction: I have been putting the 100th change/addition/modification to a manuscript that was just submitted for publication. The manuscript concerns the role of SARS-CoV-2 (aka, COVID-19) to promote neurodegeneration in Parkinson's …
Continue reading "World Parkinson’s Day 2022: Hope Has Not Been Canceled"
Journey with Parkinson's 