Robert Li

There is a significant amount of research pointing to mitochondrial damage as a root cause of long-term post COVID symptoms (long COVID).  Three years ago I didn’t know what mitochondria were, and my brain would have shut off if someone told me.  But mitochondria are really important in all long-term illness.

Mitochondria are a part of every c…[Read more]

Thank you Fred for the kind comment, it helps motivate me to work on the website, which is a bit daunting.  I will let you know if I find more information about foot inversion!

There are a wide variety of printable visual puzzles, like Sudoku, at krazydad.com for free.  Watch out though – for some of the puzzles labeled “easy”, sometimes they take a bit of practice before they are easy.   They are a lot of fun.  I personally like the Cow and Cactus puzzles, when printed in color.

Impulse control disorders or behavioral addiction reported in Parkinson’s disease include pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive buying and binge eating.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22921247/

Hello Krit Singh Chand, I wanted to share this, which may help you reframe your conclusions and perhaps feel a little more positive, looking…[Read more]

John, someday people will solve it, but not if they’re financed by the pharmaceutical industry.  I’ve been working with some of the top metals toxicity researchers in the world but it’s going to take a grassroots effort of people like you and me and many others.

After I found out that I had high manganese, I was shocked to discover that every…[Read more]

Hi Fred, I am writing a website just about this subject.  I don’t know much about foot inversion.  However, I have seen it mentioned in passing with respect to too much manganese deposited in the basal ganglia (we’re talking micrograms).  Manganese can come from surgical implants, liver issues, or industrial air pollution exposure years ago, es…[Read more]

Since you were exposed to pesticides, have you been checked for dysbiosis (imbalance of gut bacteria)?  Dysbiosis is a common driver for neurologic disease, and also has to do with immune system and genetics (such as natural vitamin D production rate).

Elizabeth, I’m so sorry to hear how you were treated by the original neurologist!

It does seem you’ve tracked down many of your likely risk factors for PD, which is hard to do.  They definitely tend to be interrelated and none alone is likely to cause PD or severe systemic disease.  In terms of Factor 4: metabolic, have you found a doctor who c…[Read more]

Paulette, there’s definitely multiple genetic factors and I see disabling dystonias on one side of my family line.  However, I got over my disabling dystonia by changing my lifestyle habits including diet, sleep, reducing stress etc.  For example, I take Melatonin both to help me sleep and because it is an antioxidant against manganese-induced d…[Read more]

John, I think you’re right about several things – the higher risk factors in the high tech industry up to around 2010 include lead in solder and many of the chemicals used for making PC boards.  Lead and mercury not only cause various kinds of damage, they also disrupt the homeostasis of essential metals like manganese.

In terms of genetic…[Read more]

John, if you’re taking vitamin D, you might want to consider asking for your iron levels/stores to be checked as well.  Vitamin D tends to increase the number of metal transporters we produce (by allowing RNA transcription), which is good.  However, if iron is low then absorption of manganese may increase because they share the same transporter u…[Read more]

John,

You have my deepest respect for following the evidence and working so hard to find what you need. Thanks for sharing your journey, it is helpful for me and I’m sure others to find solutions.

With respect to heavy metals, they mostly deposit in the bones and tissues after a few months so they are not readily measurable in the blood.  I…[Read more]

Hi Christine, the slept little, high stress, brain always going lifestyle sounds familiar.  I don’t have PD, I have dystonia, finger twitching, balance issues, reduced sense of smell, etc.  I got over my constipation with the help of a doctor fixing my gut.  Fixing the constipation has potential to help dopamine production because you need to be…[Read more]

Kevin, since you worked in a steel mill, have you ever had your Red Blood Cell manganese (not magnesium) levels checked?  Manganese is a component of most steels, and inhalation of airborne manganese can cause accumulation in 2-4% of individuals.  The RBC manganese test is not perfect for detecting if you have a deposit in the basal ganglia, but i…[Read more]

Alan, if taking levadopa helps, then that’s a good sign that at least some of your dopamine-producing cells are working. Levadopa, or L-dopa is normally produced by the body from tyrosine:

<b>Tyrosine hydroxylase</b> or <b>tyrosine 3-monooxygenase</b> is the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the conversion of the amino acid<…[Read more]

I looked at the ingredients of Restore Gold and it makes a lot of sense for neuroprotection, gut health, and mercury removal.  So the dystonia or other improvement is not likely to be just placebo effect.  By the way, tyrosine is the natural precursor to L-dopa.

Thanks for sharing the info.

Hi Mary,

Clonazepam enhances the action of GABA neurotransmitters, which we think of as “calming” neurotransmitters.  If Clonazepam is effective for you, you might ask to get your vitamin D levels checked.  Vitamin D deficiency, which is significantly more common in Parkinson’s Disease, can mess up how GABA is released in the brain: h…[Read more]

Mary Beth,

I have had around 12 rounds of IV calcium EDTA and a round of DMSA.  These are pretty heavy duty chelators and cause risk to the kidneys if there is a lot of redeposit.  So I would not recommend unless there is a sure history of lead, mercury or other exposure.

My NDs’ much preferred method is to go the slower route – cilantro, c…[Read more]