Technology to relieve Gait Freezing

On January 23, 2018 By skrischerIn Alternative Therapy, Living Well, Parkinsons Disease, Research & Clinical Studies1 Comment

I was contacted last month by Walk With Path, a company that makes devices that attach to your shoes to alleviate Freezing of Gait (FoG). The device, Path Finder, provides visual cues with lasers attached to the front of your shoes. This gives the wearer a visual cue to step across, and acts as an external stimulus to trigger walking. Path Finder is available in the UK and in Europe, but not yet in the US.

A study conducted by Professor Bas Bloem and Dr. Murielle Ferraye at Radboud University in The Netherlands has been published, validating the concept of Path Finder for alleviating Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s. In the article, using a visual cue projected from footwear, demonstrated a significant reduction in ‘freezing episodes’ and the time spent ‘frozen’.

I was asked to try Path Finder, but since I do not have a problem with freezing, I asked if two of the men in my boxing class who do have FoG could give it a try. Walk With Path sent a prototype for them to use for a few weeks. So far, Dan has tried using Path Finder with very good results. He wrote:

“As for my own experience: the units are potentially transformative. For example, I had to go to the bank a few days ago, and had to stand in line with a bunch of people in a small space. Ordinarily, this situation would put me into a full-on freeze. But because I had the units on, I was able to navigate it without incident! Also, when my meds have completely worn off, I can use them to go a short distance (say, 50 feet) and it will take one minute instead of ten.

Limits: they’re not useful outdoors during the day because you can’t see the lasers.”

Here are two videos of Dan in Boxing Class. The first shows him freezing. In the second, he walks easily, with the lasers to guide him. The results were remarkable, as you can see. In the first, the lasers were turned off. You can see Dan is having a difficult time walking, and his arms swing wildly.

In the second, he turned on the lasers and his walk is more natural, and his arm swings have calmed down as well.

This is a prototype for testing Path Finder in the US. It is not available for purchase yet.

Dan will continue to work with Path Finder for another week before turning it over to Vince to try. More to come in a few weeks.

Can you increase Dopamine in your brain without medication?

On September 26, 2017September 29, 2017 By skrischerIn Alternative Therapy, Inspiration, Living Well, Parkinsons DiseaseLeave a comment

The internet is a treasure trove for discovering new music to new videos. A simple dopamine booster is browsing Pinterest or even Amazon for new products and items. – endless events

While surfing the internet I ran across an article titled 10 WAYS YOU CAN INCREASE DOPAMINE LEVELS IN THE BRAIN WITHOUT MEDICATION on the website dailynaturalcures.* I eagerly read the article to find out what magic tricks would help release some more much-needed dopamine into my poor brain.

Basically, the author says that we get a release of dopamine when we receive a reward of any kind. The more we are rewarded, the more dopamine is released. And what are those rewards? One obvious example: a trip to Vegas can give you a big dopamine rush, especially if you win. My MDS (Movement Disorders Specialist) once told me that the reason we get addicted to games on our phones, tablets or computers is because of the instant feedback (think reward) that causes a small dopamine rush. But rewards don’t have to be something measurable. It can be the satisfaction of getting something done, creating something, etc.

The article goes on to differentiate between addiction, where you need to seek more and more rewards to feel fulfilled, probably as a result of some past trauma in your life, and working towards rewarding actions to create fulfillment and achievement.

Another article from Endless Events lists 10 WAYS TO INCREASE DOPAMINE TO BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY. The author suggests many of the same things from a different point of view. The bottom line is that there are many things you can do to increase the dopamine release in your brain, but please, do not look at this as a substitute for medical care.

A little more internet surfing (and many more dopamine releases later) turned up numerous articles and some hilarious videos – one narrated by a robotic voice (watch here )- on how you can increase the dopamine in your brain. Everyone has some “snake oil” cure for you. Read at your own risk.

So here are some of things the two articles mentioned above suggest to increase dopamine:

Make a checklist for your small stuff each day. Just getting through the list each day is a reward
Exercise
Do something creative – draw, paint, write, etc. Many Parkie’s have found new creative outlets which really do make them feel better.
Listen to music
Meditate
Increase your Tyrosine – foods like Almonds, Avocados, Bananas, Chicken, Chocolate, Coffee, etc.
Take supplements – but be careful with these. Some may interact with your medications, so check with your doctor first.

I would like to add a few more ideas:

Eat more chocolate- it contains small amounts of a compound called phenylethylamine, stimulating your brain cells to release dopamine. (And it’s a reward! Well, sort of.)
Laugh a lot (thank you Yuma Bev)
Hug your spouse, your children or grandchildren
Take your dog for a walk
Curl up on the sofa and read a good book
Finish the Sunday crossword puzzle, or solve that really hard Sudoku game
Learn something new: a new language, music lessons, a new skill
Celebrate each birthday, anniversary or other special date with those you love.
Finally, just make time for yourself and do what ever you want. Pamper yourself. With chocolate of course.

*The original article was written by Stephan Gardner and was published in Collective Evolution on January 20, 2016

Finally, some guidelines for a Parkinson’s Diet

On September 11, 2017September 13, 2017 By skrischerIn Alternative Therapy, Living Well, Parkinsons Disease, Research & Clinical StudiesLeave a comment

Dr. Laurie Mischley, of Bastyr University, has been tracking People with Parkinson’s (PwP’s) for several years for her “CAM Care in PD” study. When I spoke to her at the World Parkinson’s Congress last fall, she explained that this is the only study looking at how people are living with PD now and following them to see who is having a more positive outcome and why. Data is collected with twice annual surveys sent to the participants. Multiple models were used to examine the association between diet, lifestyle factors, and PD severity, with Patient Reported Outcome (PRO-PD) scores used as the outcome variable. She just released an abstract published in “Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity” on September 10.

I will not try to summarize the entire report. You can read it here. However, I will give you some of the key findings.

The Good:

A plant- and fish-based diet, similar to a Mediterranean diet, is associated with the lowest PD severity score. Fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts and seeds, fish, olive oil, wine, coconut oil, fresh herbs, and the use of spices were all associated with statistically significant lower rates of disease progression.

The Bad:

Ice cream, cheese, and yogurt intakes were associated with higher rates of PD progression.

DIET SODA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A FASTER RATE OF PD PROGRESSION

Consumption of canned fruits and vegetables was a strong predictor of PD progression. Stick with fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

Soda, specifically diet soda, was also associated with a faster rate of PD progression.

A few other things to stay away from include meat and fried foods.

Nutritional supplements: Only coenzyme Q10 and fish oil were associated with statistically significant reduced rates of PD progression. The use of Melatonin for sleep produced inconclusive results. Iron supplements increased PD progression.

And finally, organic foods were associated with a lower rate of progression.

What does this mean for us? I have basically followed a Mediterranean diet for years, however, I am allergic to fish, so I often each chicken instead. I haven’t eaten red meat in years. I never buy canned fruit and vegetables. My downfall is cheese. I am not sure I can eliminate that completely from my diet, but I can certainly cut back on it. I recently substituted almond milk for milk to use with coffee and cereal. Years ago I switched to Tom’s toothpaste and deodorant to avoid the excess aluminum exposure. The good news is that the progression of PD has been relatively slow for me.

This study will be continuing and more PwP’s are still being recruited. If you are interested, contact Dr. Mischley at neuroresearch@bastyr.edu.

For more information on living with Parkinson’s, read Natural Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease by Dr. Laurie Mischley

Computer Games as Therapy for PD????

On July 11, 2017 By skrischerIn Living Well, Alternative Therapy, Research & Clinical Studies, Parkinsons DiseaseLeave a comment

I recently read an article from Parkinson’s News Today that explores the use of Computer Games as a non-drug therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. Being an addictive person who spends way too much time on the computer anyway, I had to check this out. Can I really justify the minutes – ok hours – spent playing games on my iPad as therapy for my brain? This sounds too good to be true.

The scientific study titled, “Early stage feasibility assessment of a non-pharmacological intervention for motor slowing and fatigue in Parkinson’s disease,” will be conducted by researchers from Bangor University’s School of Psychology(BUSP), the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), and Walton Centre in Liverpool.

They say that the project will record Parkinson’s disease patients’ movement ability before and after playing touch screen “spatial reasoning games” to assess motor function and potential improvements.

That sounds great, but shouldn’t there also be a study looking at complex reasoning tasks and cognitive ability in games such as Sudoku and Word Brain, where the puzzles get more and more challenging as you progress? I have been playing these games for a while, and can judge how well I am doing cognitively by how well I do on the games on any given day. Being able to solve the most difficult Sudoku games is an accomplishment and a measure of cognitive ability. Some days, I have no problems solving the games. On those days, I feel that my brain is working the way it should. Other days, it is just plain difficult and I have to work harder to achieve my goals.

Screen Shot 2017-07-11 at 7.56.40 AM

Word Brain is a word search puzzle, which starts out very easy with a 2 X 2 puzzle and progresses through 20 levels 0f 20 games each, most of which are 6 X 6. The difficulty increases with each level. Like Sudoku and other games, it requires higher and higher levels of problem solving as you progress.

Do you have a favorite computer game that stimulates your brain? Please share it here:

Odds & Ends

On March 1, 2017 By skrischerIn Alternative Therapy, Education & Advocacy, Living WellLeave a comment

Lots of things to share this week.

First, about sleep problems. I found a Yoga Nidra meditation by Jennifer Piercy that I really like. It is called Yoga Nidra for Sleep and can be found on a website called DoYogaWithMe. I don’t think I have stayed awake until the end of the meditation yet. Now I just need my dog to sleep later in the morning so I can sleep in. Someone else mentioned that they like Jennifer Reis’s Yoga Nidra CD. I have not checked that one out yet.

Second, Lisa Boyd, whose story I featured last summer, titled Did Trauma During Childbirth Set off her YOPD?, had an article published on the Michael J Fox Foundation website. You can read it here.

Cheryl Kingston, another member of the women’s group that I run, has also had several articles published on the MJFF website in the last year. They are Moose vs. Mouse, The Many Masks of Parkinson’s, and To Tell or Not to Tell: Secrecy and Privacy

This past weekend, the Michael J Fox Foundation hosted the Parkinson’s Policy Forum mjf-advocating in Washington, DC. 200 members of the Parkinson’s community from across the US had the opportunity to meet with their congressperson and/or Senators after an intense day of training. Darcy Blake has written about her experience in her blog post Parkinsons Women Support. Thank you Darcy for your summary of the forum. If you would like someone to speak to a group about advocacy and lobbying for PD, check with MJFF to see who attended from your area.

Finally, I will be working with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation for the next two years on a program titled “Women and PD Teams to Advance Learning and Knowledge,” or Women and PD TALK . PDF received a $250,000 PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) award for this program in an effort to address long-standing gender disparities in Parkinson’s research and care. The press release went out yesterday and you can read it here.

I am very excited to be a part of this project. Multidisciplinary teams, which include experts in the patient, research, and health care communities, will be charged with identifiying women’s needs and prioritizing solutions. 10 regional forums, designed to educate and collect the insights of women with Parkinson’s, will drive the project. Experts will utilize these insights to develop an action plan to change the landscape of Parkinson’s care.

I am looking forward to sharing more with you as we proceed over the next two years with this exciting project.