I came across some recent research that may be of interest to those inclined toward alternatives. The common spice ginger is something of a wonder drug where PD is concerned. Cheap, readily available, and centuries of safety data to back it up - it passes the preliminary screening with flying colors.

A study from Feb of this year confirmed its value in countering inflammation in the brain itself. It has long been known to be anti-inflammatory outside the brain and now it seems to do the same where it counts for PWP.

A more interesting study, also in Feb, found two points of interest. One is that ginger blocks the neurotoxic effects of MSG. Since MSG permeates our diet and burns up brain cells as well as producing acute problems for many of us, that is no small news.

The same study found that ginger increased the levels of dopamine pretty much throughout the brain.

I clicked on this topic thinking it was about Gilligan's Island.

I was wrong.

Do you realize that every boomer in the US can sing the theme to Gilligan's Island? Kinda' scary.

1: J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2005 Jan;45(1):74-80.

Ginger lowers blood pressure through blockade of voltage-dependent calcium
channels.

Ghayur MN, Gilani AH.

Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, The Aga Khan University Medical
College, Karachi, Pakistan.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a well-known spice plant, has been used
traditionally in a wide variety of ailments including hypertension. We report
here the cardiovascular effects of ginger under controlled experimental
conditions. The crude extract of ginger (Zo.Cr) induced a dose-dependent (0.3-3
mg/kg) fall in the arterial blood pressure of anesthetized rats. In guinea pig
paired atria, Zo.Cr exhibited a cardiodepressant activity on the rate and force
of spontaneous contractions. In rabbit thoracic aorta preparation, Zo.Cr relaxed
the phenylephrine-induced vascular contraction at a dose 10 times higher than
that required against K (80 mM)-induced contraction. Ca2+ channel-blocking (CCB)
activity was confirmed when Zo.Cr shifted the Ca2+ dose-response curves to the
right similar to the effect of verapamil. It also inhibited the phenylephrine (1
microM) control peaks in normal-Ca2+ and Ca2+-free solution, indicating that it
acts at both the membrane-bound and the intracellular Ca2+ channels. When tested
in endothelium-intact rat aorta, it again relaxed the K-induced contraction at a
dose 14 times less than that required for relaxing the PE-induced contraction.
The vasodilator effect of Zo.Cr was endothelium-independent because it was not
blocked by L-NAME (0.1 mM) or atropine (1 microM) and also was reproduced in the
endothelium-denuded preparations at the same dose range. These data indicate that
the blood pressure-lowering effect of ginger is mediated through blockade of
voltage-dependent calcium channels.


PMID: 15613983 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Rick,
Thanks! I love ginger!
PD is a puzzle to me, a few pieces are there and still have a long way to go to see the picture. when I think about it, I remain puzzled as to why I have PD. No known family history, no exposure to pesticides or other toxins, relatively stress-free life, I eat a ton of (well may be not a ton, but a lot!) ginger, curcumin, drink green tea, vegetarian diet, drink a lot of coffee.....Why me?
Well, if I didnt have PD, I would not have known all of you! Atleast one thing I like about PD while I have a long list of things I hate about PD!

Girija

Hi Girija and friends,

Whenever someone would say, "Why me?" to my father he would reply, "Why not?" My mother would say, "God tests those He loves the most." Yet when my health-minded, girl-scout leading, philanthropically bent, devoted, grammar-perfect sister lay dying at 44, she and I concluded that her mistake was in not having any vices.

Shall we share a dash of vodka with that pot of ginger tea then? Or, for the non (Vodka) drinkers, perhaps Rick can recommend an alternative vice? Meanwhile, I'll put the kettle on...

Love, Rose

Hello ;

I would like to know if there are any FDA published papers on Ginger effectiveness in PD treatment. I have article on Cinnamon FDA publication , its effectiveness in PD treatment ; for public information.

This is timely info for me as yesterday I listened to 2 archived podcast programs on REACH MD about a repurposed drug isradipine for treating PD. Isradipine is in stage 3 trials currently. It works by blocking voltage dependent calcium channels in the dopaminergic cells, thus causing cells to use more vigorous and more abundant sodium channels to regulate dopamine. Check it out and tell me if you can whether ginger and isradipine are working similarly to enhance dopamine production.. Thanks