there are few medical diagnoses more life changing than Parkinson’s disease. This neurodegenerative disorder is detected in some 70,000 people in the U.S. each year; Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali are best known for having Parkinson’s disease.

As a neurologist, I find it particularly tragic that most of these patients are referred late and do not find out they have Parkinson’s until they are already suffering from the severe tremors, walking difficulties, loss of smell and other physical manifestations of the disease.

Parkinson’s occurs when dopamine-producing cells, which control aspects of movement, diminish in the brain. we know that the disease starts working its damage long before physical symptoms show up. Parkinson’s can take as long as 12 years or more to develop, and the first mild symptoms are often mistaken as part of the normal aging process.

Because there are no simple tests to detect Parkinson’s in its early stages, it can take up to two to three years to accurately diagnose the disease. By the time someone has their first physical sign (tremor, rigidity or shuffling gait), 50 percent to 70 percent of the brain cells that produce dopamine, which controls movement, have already died.

Unfortunately, there is little that we physicians can offer patients at that point other than damage control. if we could intervene earlier on, we might be able to stave off or delay the progression of disease through neuroprotection.

In Pasadena, we have the first-FDA approved radiopharmaceutical imaging agent that can help physicians evaluate patients with suspected parkinsonian syndromes (PS) and related diseases. It is called DaTscan. Despite the unavailability of a simple blood test, tools like DaTscan can offer evidence that may help lessen diagnostic uncertainty and confusion for early-stage Parkinson’s patients and their families.

When DaTscan is combined with a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain scanner, it produces visual evidence of the amount of dopamine transporter cells, allowing physicians to determine whether occasional tremors are the result of Parkinson’s or some other cause.

DaTscan has been in available in Europe for more than 10 years; the FDA approved the imaging agent for use in the U.S. in January 2011; I scanned the first patient in Pasadena with it on Sept. 6. I believe that DaTscan will revolutionize both neuroimaging and the treatment of Parkinson’s as more and more hospitals and physicians learn about this method.

DaTscan can also detect Parkinson’s Disease by detecting early risk factors (red flags) alone or in combination, that may appear more than a decade before physical symptoms, such as , decreased or lost sense of smell or certain sleep disorders, but these uses are not yet FDA approved.

Just think how much we could slow down this difficult disease and improve lives of patients and their caregivers if we are able to act before the symptoms of Parkinson’s become debilitating and ensure that treatment recommendations are appropriate. I am certain that early detection is the future for Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Jerome Lisk is a physician at Southern California Movement Disorder Specialists, 65 N. Madison Ave. Suite 410, Pasadena. 626-792-6683. socalmds.com

Thanks in advance.
Also this is for 60 years old male.

herb tablets can do nothing for parkinson's, which is a progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disorder. basically, as you probably know, it's kind of like lou gehrig's (ALS) in that the nerves in your brain and spine start breaking down as do other nerves, so you begin to lose control of your body. people typically die from it when their lungs just stop breathing.

all of that being said, you cant buy herbal supplements to fix this. about a million and a half people suffer from parkinson's, and if a few tablets were the answer then… well. researchers have found that a lack of dopamine (makes you happy too) is what's causing the failure in muscle response. theyve been able to somewhat treat patients surgically and by dosing them with dopamine, but the disease hasn't been halted as of yet.

and all of that being said, you should also know that we can't really rebuild nerves as of yet. we've seen promising results, but we cannot yet build nerves (you should look into stem cells. chris reaves, for example, funded it because he hoped to rebuild his spine). however, if youre looking for anything that you can do, try GABA. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid that acts as a neurotransmitter, so you could potentially see some marginal improvement with three pills of that a day, as well as a very strong multivitamin. beyond that, exercise is critical.

good luck, hope i was helpful.

edit: good job on the google search, but that article is complete horse ****. not only are those not herbs, but fish oil and creatine? those don't affect neurodegenesis in the least. all of that stuff is just healthy for you and will improve his overall health, period. while he's at it, he should start lifting weights, running three miles a day, cut down on fat, take in fewer carbs, get a healthy amount of sun, and drink a pint of grog a day to ward off scurvy. dr. whitaker is a ******* crock and just publishes his "newsletter" as an advertisement for holistic medicines, which he conveniently sells. don't buy into that **** and waste your time and hope, but if you don't believe me, do a search on your own, then do a search and see if dr. whitaker is someone that you'd really want diagnosing anything important.

i fully support alternative medicine, but not by a guy who isn't certified to practice it by the AMA, and also bases claims on areas he's supposedly certified in, but don't exist in the AMA's book. ignorance on both sides is dangerous.

by the way, he claims that illnesses aren't natural, and that our bodies are only sick because we make them that way. genetic diseases, like parkinson's, he just decides not to mention.

One person suggested N-Acetyl-Cysteine. This is to help the body manufacture Glutathione, the body's master antioxidant. a more natural way to do that is to take a whole food supplement, whey protein isolate (or drink lots of raw milk). Most people are deficient in glutathione because they cook most of their protein sources. Many people have benefitted tremendously by restoring their glutathione levels to heathy levels. I wouldn't discount other nutritional needs either. I've even read about doctors injecting glutathione directly into the patient and having postitive results. Which is easier, injections or drinking a whole food source? if you need some recommendations, do not hesitate to email me. do not confuse this with common whey protein concentrates that body builders use, just not the same thing.

I should add that the benefit of taking a whole food supplement (generally any) is that there is no real risk. You can take them indefinitely and not have to worry about building an imbalance of anything, which can be the case of a single source nutrient.