Causes of Parkinson's disease & Alzheimer's disease

Until recently, medical scientists had no idea what caused Parkinson's disease, but they entertained theories involving genetics and aging itself.

But slowly, scientists have discovered that, like so many diseases afflicting modern man, Parkinson's is an inflammatory disease.

Many experts have noted a link between cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis) and a number of age-related neurological disorders.

And, as in cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease are linked to other inflammatory conditions:

• Diabetes
• Autoimmune diseases
• Obesity
• Consumption of omega-6 fats
• Trauma
• Exposure to certain toxic metals
• Infections

We have discovered that regardless of the event or condition that triggers the disease, the damage is caused by intense activation of the brain's immune cells, called microglia, that destroy parts of the brain (such as the striatum).

One of the strongest links to Parkinson's disease is exposure to pesticides and herbicides, especially paraquat, pyridaben, fenazaquin, dieldrin, and rotenone.

This and other discoveries have led to some amazing new treatments for Parkinson's — and a new breakthrough approach to preventing it.

For example, one of the consistent findings in Parkinson's disease is that victims have very low levels of glutathione in their cells, especially in the areas of the brain most affected. Just how does glutathione affect your body?

Glutathione — which is a protein that becomes a powerful antioxidant enzyme — plays a major role in protecting all cells, especially brain cells. This miracle molecule is found in its highest concentrations in the mitochondria of the neuron, which is where 95% of free radicals are produced.

Some suspect that people with low glutathione levels are at the greatest risk of developing Parkinson's.

The Problem Is, Most Doctors
Don't Have Time to Keep Up With
the Latest Scientific Research! Here's just a small sample of the crucial, potentially life-saving information:
 

• The important role that excitotoxicity plays in the development of neurological disease . . .

• The growing evidence that vaccinations can dramatically increase one's risk of developing a devastating neurodegenerative disease . . .

• Why diseases such as Parkinson's begin attacking your brain cells decades before any symptoms develop . . .

• The hidden link between a high protein diet and Parkinson's . . .

• The importance of washing fruits adequately to remove pesticide residues that may be destroying your brain cells . . .

• 11 major supplements known to reduce inflammation, increase brain energy, improve brain blood flow, reduce free radical damage, and promote repair of the damaged brain . . .

• The most important vitamin you simply must take to avoid or repair damage caused by neurological diseases . . .

• The truth about bioidentical hormones and their role in preventing neurological problems . . .

A little-known fact about chocolate — and why it can increase your risk of getting Parkinson's disease . . .

As I said, I'm a M.D., a board-certified neurosurgeon and have been a practicing physician for more than 30 years.

I'm part and parcel of the medical establishment . . . and for that very reason, I know the strengths and the weaknesses of conventional medicine. I lived through the weaknesses when I saw how little mainstream medicine could do for my own parents!

Every year, our government and a number of private institutions spend billions of dollars on research, yet a great deal of this research goes unread.

Worse, the information gleaned is often never utilized in treating and preventing human disease.

Most doctors never read more than a few articles in popular medical journals, and they almost never read studies of basic science. This is why they think so-called alternative treatments do not work.

But the truth is, today's "alternative" treatment often becomes tomorrow's standard of treatment.

One example: For decades, so-called alternative and nutritionally-oriented physicians like myself have advocated the omega-3 (fish) oils as a proven preventative for cardiovascular disease, and as a vital component for neurological development in the young.

Yet for years many doctors dismissed such recommendations — and mainstream medical journals went out of their way to attack believers in fish oil supplements as misguided. (Now, of course, they all sing its praises as a preventative . . . yet it started out as an "alternative" treatment.)

Mainstream Medicine Often
IGNORES the Evidence!

When it comes to neurological disorders such as Parkinson's, my parents' suffering spurred me to investigate ALL the conventional forms of treatment available.

To this day, traditional treatments include a host of drugs and surgeries.

• L-dopa — Mainstay treatment (most patients will get worse after two to five years, and it appears to speed deterioration)
• Carbidopa — A form of L-dopa that increases brain levels of the medication
• Drugs that inhibit MAO-B (an enzyme)
• Drugs that inhibit COMT (an enzyme)
• Drugs that mimic dopamine
• Drugs that block glutamate receptors
• Anticholinergic drugs (nerve impulse inhibitors)
• Surgical treatments
• Stereotaxic unilateral pallidotomy (destroying a small portion of the brain that Parkinson's has damaged)
• Stereotaxic ablation of subthalamic nucleus (burning or freezing a small portion of the brain damaged by Parkinson's)
• Deep-brain electrical stimulation
• Stem cell placement in substantia nigra

The problem is, these treatments are only marginally effective — and the side effects can be devastating.

Fully 70 percent of patients suffer from sleep disturbances. Many also suffer from dyskinesias: uncontrolled, writhing movements, constantly moving.

Other side effects include nausea and vomiting, low blood pressure, hallucinations, and disturbing incidences in which patients vacillate between "normal" and fully afflicted symptoms of the disease.

We hear a lot about "evidence-based medicine," but just how much of traditional medical practice is evidence-based?

Studies have shown that as little as 30% of conventional medical practice is backed by science.

Most medical procedures, treatments and recommendations are based on nothing more than accepted custom . . . anecdotal evidence of what works . . . and recommendations from drug company reps.

The term "evidence-based medicine" was invented largely to discredit all alternative treatments, since it implies that everything outside traditional medicine is not "evidence-based."

In fact, most alternative treatments have a tremendous amount of scientific evidence for their mode of action. What they often lack is large epidemiological studies, since such studies are prohibitively expensive and the government will not fund well-conducted studies.

the dark side of conventional medicine as practiced in the United States:

• Medical students and doctors being "indoctrinated" merely for financial gain . . .
• Giant pharmaceutical machines spewing out their billion-dollar propaganda for drugs of dubious benefit — or, even worse, for drugs they knew had dangerous side effects . . .
• Unnecessary surgeries being performed when more conservative, less dangerous treatments were available . . .
• Expensive, invasive diagnostic tests being administered to patients who didn't need them merely for "liability" reasons . . .
• Insurance companies telling doctors how to practice medicine . . .