Parkinson's disease: 'Don't become your disease!'

Parkinson's disease is a common idiopathic neurodegenerative disease affecting an increasing number of elderly people. The disease usually manifests with a classical triad of symptoms (tremor, rigidity, and akinesia) and is considered to be the result of dopamine deficiency in the brain. Among the theories to explain the ethiopathogenecity of Parkinson's disease are some endogenous mechanisms, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, action of excitotoxins, deficient neurotrophic factors, and dysimmunity, and some environmental factors, such as undesirable nutritional status. The cornerstone of Parkinson's disease therapy is the exogenous supplementation of levodopa, the amino acid precursor of dopamine. For most patients, however, this treatment fails over time and other alternative therapies are pursued. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lines of evidence suggesting the roles for Mind-Body medicine, nutrition, and vitamin and herbal supplements in the integrative approach to the medical care of patients with Parkinson's disease. It is proposed that many parkinsonian symptoms can be treated, controlled, and even reversed by adopting such an integrative and comprehensive approach. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.