Providing resources and ideas for therapies and medical developments for Parkinson's disease:
This study included 7,130 people with head injury data.
A study of more than 300,000 US veterans of which half were diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to explosions, found that more than 50% of them were at increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease even after adjusting for age and other demographics. Those more severely injured were associated with an even higher risk.
Reference Mild TBI and risk of Parkinson disease: A Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium Study
Parkinsonism is any condition which causes any of the movement disorders associated with Parkinson's Disease such as tremors, slow movement, impaired speech or stiff muscle movement. Parkinson's Disease is a single and a prevalent cause of Parkinsonism, but not the only cause. There are two forms of a stroke, an ischemic stroke which is caused by blood vessel blockage and hemorrhagic strokes caused by internal bleeding. About 87% of strokes are ischemic, the rest being hemorrhagic. Strokes including "small vessel strokes" can cause Vascular (Multi-Infarct) Parkinsonism by directly affecting the substantia nigra or the basal ganglia regions of the brain. It is important to note that this form of Parkinsonism is different than the traditional neurodegenerative Parkinson's Disease in that the symptoms appear more suddenly but are the same. It is estimated that approximately 3% to 6% of all cases of Parkinsonism may have a vascular cause. It is typical that Vascular Parkinsonism affects walking and gait and the lower limbs. When trying to diagnose Vascular Parkinsonism, the neurologist will typically find a normal Dopamine transporter (DAT) scan but an abnormal and damaged striatum. Stroke symptoms of any magnitude are generally characterized by sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body, trouble seeing, speaking, walking or a head ache. Vascular parkinsonism does not respond as well to the typical medications used to treat Parkinson's disease and is treated as a vascular rather than neurological problem. The brief mini strokes are called an Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), having the same symptoms as a stroke but last less than 12 hours and more commonly less than an hour, often resolving themselves. A TIA episode should not be ignored as it is often an indicator of a larger stroke to follow.
The atherosclerotic blockage and lesions are composed of cellular material, blood vessle muscle, macrophages, lipid particles, cholesterol crystal, calcification, fibrous overgrowths and connective tissue.
Vascular health can be improved with Omega-3 and Niacin (vitamin B3) supplements. Studies have shown that the combination produced additive effects. Niacin reduces serum triglyceride (fat) levels and LDL (bad cholesterol) while raising HDL (good cholesterol). Omega-3 also reduces serum triglyceride levels. Omega-3 food sources include fish (choose low mercury, short lived, low on the food chain varieties like sardines, salmon, tilapia and avoid tuna, swordfish, shark) and avocados. A statin like Lipitor can be added to lower cholesterol with a doctor's prescription. Low dose aspirin or prescription blood thinner can be added to avoid the coagulation of platelets which can block blood vessels. Anti-coagulants can only be used for ischemic strokes and will only worsen the condition of a hemorrhagic stroke. Also note that while aspirin is an over-the-counter medication, it can cause internal bleeding. Its misuse is not without consequences. In cases of extreme atherosclerosis, chelation with EDTA (specifically the NaMgEDTA variant which is preferred for targeting calcium and treating vascular disease ref) can clear out calcium deposits and plaque. Refer to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) studies (ref). All medications should be taken under the guidance of a health professional.
References:
Strokes can cause movement disorders which mimic Parkinson's and affect motor neurons but are treated as a stroke. Therapies include pharmalogical, electrical and physical therapies.
Brief list of stroke rehabilitation therapies:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems will have the capability to take a high resolution scan of the brain, revealing areas affected by stroke. MRIs can produce higher resolution images than Computed Tomography (CT) scans.
One can obtain a CD or DVD of the MRI images or datasets which can be viewed with viewing software included or with the Java based (runs on MS/Windows, Apple Mac, Linux) open source software Medical Image Processing, Analysis, and Visualization (MIPAV) developed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Information Technology (CIT).
MIPAV: point it to the top image directory on the DVD and select the "Parse Directory" icon, then just click on the various images to view them.