An article in the Washington Post shares four tips that may reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease: drink caffeinated coffee or tea; be careful about dry-cleaning (if the cleaner uses PCE); avoid pesticides (switch to organic produce; wash your produce); and use a water filter (especially if there are golf courses in your area or if you use well water).
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DBS is a technique developed in the 1980s and 1990s in which a surgeon inserts electrodes deep into areas of the brain that are affected by Parkinson’s, then connects them to a small, battery-powered device implanted in the chest that sends electrical pulses back to the brain. The stimulation helps modulate the electrical activity in the targeted brain area, reducing abnormal brain signals and, thus, symptoms. Krehbiel reached out to a neurologist who was conducting research on DBS: Helen Brontë-Stewart, a professor of neurology and neurological sciences who has spent much of her career seeking to understand, measure, and improve the brain’s control of movement in the body.
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This study looked at 216 people with Parkinson’s over a two-year period who were just beginning to take levodopa medication. The goal was to investigate “the development of motor/nonmotor fluctuations and dyskinesia based on gender.” During these fluctuations, levodopa is less effective or starts “wearing off.” During these “off periods,” both motor and nonmotor symptoms may return or worsen until the next dose of levodopa. Interestingly, the study found that being female was the strongest predictor of whether someone would develop off-period fluctuations and dyskinesia, over a two-year period. In the study, nearly 65% of women had fluctuations while about 53% of the men did. And 14% of the women experienced dyskinesia while only 5% of the men did.
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Many people are turning to marijuana for medical purposes and it may help for some. But older adults, in particular, should be aware of the risks to their health, Stanford Medicine experts caution.
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These blogs, podcasts and other online publications are about caregiving. They are by caregivers, journalists, experts and staff writers. Most are about taking care of yourself as a caregiver, getting your affairs in order, advocating for your loved one, etc. Some are personal experiences with tips for caregiving.
Pick a few and have a read or a listen. You may learn something and you will definitely not feel alone in being a caregiver.