The idea behind the coconut oil is thatit is a source of particular fatty acids that have been shown to increase levels of PGC-1. Fatty acids turn out to be a far more complex subject than expected. I had always pictured them as a family of a dozen or so substances whose main purpose was as some sort of raw material. Hah! Silly boy!

From today's Science News-

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2010) — Human blood is famously fraught with fats; now researchers have a specific idea of just how numerous and diverse these lipids actually are. A national research team, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has created the first "lipidome" of human plasma, identifying and quantifying almost 600 distinct fat species circulating in human blood....

In recent years, scientists have begun to appreciate the greater, more complex roles of lipids in human biology (among them the emergence of vitamin D). The utility of lipids in building cell membranes is well known, as is their function as repositories of stored energy. Less well-understood, however, is their role as signaling molecules....

The biggest challenge to mapping lipids is their abundance and diversity. Other basic molecules like sugars, amino acids and nucleic acids are limited to handfuls of types and variations. The upper limit of lipid species, from fatty acyls and glycerophospholipds to sterols and prenols, has yet to be determined. It may reach into the tens of thousands....."
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Think about this a minute. Signaling molecules are like words in a language. Our nervous systems turn out a couple of dozen. Our endocrine and immune systems have a similar vocabulary. Also, they can understand each others language and combined have maybe 100 words to communicate with and run the body.

Fats' vocabulary "may reach into the tens of thousands"?? And it isn't just a question the amounts present, there is also the ratios amongst them. We have gotten used to the idea of the ratio of "good" cholesterol to "bad", but how do you manipulate "tens of thousands"?

The short answer is you don't. You just shot right by the limits of what we can achieve with Western "slice-and-dice" scientific reductionism. Ever. Tens of thousands of variables interacting is a realm that is not reachable by our minds.

But our bodies, bless their little hearts and livers, do it constantly. The best thing that I can see is to give it the raw material that it needs and stand back. That means unaltered fats such as coconut oil, butter, lard, etc. All those things we were told to avoid.

"Tens of thousands...." One of the great sci-fi writers said that a sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic. We just might be it.

GOOD MORNING Rick!! LOVE this post! ...all we need to do is turn lead to gold ha ha! medicine in essence is a science of alchemy but where does the emotional hubris enter in?
md

I also find this research particularly interesting.
I have been following current research on PD for 13+ years since my diagnosis at 44 yrs.
I am starting today with the coconut oil along with the other oils I already take.
This discussion leads me to think of another fatty acid ester- a non-essential fatty acid that I recently did a trial of for pain. It almost eliminated my pain but has helped with other PD symptoms as well.
The supplement I am referring to is cetyl myristoleate (CM).
From one source's description it says,
"Being a rare but most likely unrecognized essential fatty acid for cell membranes, it has a seemingly infinite number of ways in which it can control cell behavior.
For example,the process of N-myristoylation is so important in anchoring proteins to cell membranes that the N-myristoylation group has been called "the docking protein". Protein attachments to cell membranes are what membrane signaling transduction is all about. Cell membranes, analogous to the computer keyboard from which all cell communications emanate, control everything from the
- genetic messages from the intracellular nucleus,
- cellular communication from the golgi apparatus, and
- ENERGY SYNTHESIS FROM WITHIN THE MITOCHONDRIA (caps mine) to,
- synthesis and release of membrane extracellular chemical mediators that control messages governing inflammation and pain, as well as hormone and antigen receptors on the cell surface membrane."
Perhaps this is not the correct place to present this information but it seems relevant to me.
Does anyone else know of studies with CM for PD that have been done?

Hi Victorialou,

Welcome to Neurotalk! You absolutely posted your experiences with cetyl myristoleate at the right place. I had never heard of it. There are a whopping total of 8 articles on it in Pubmed,so I'd say it is vastly understudied. Likely, it will remain unexplored because there are no profits in looking further because it is a natural substance.

It looks like its chief property is quelling inflammation and we have plenty of that going on. There is a theory that PD may be autoimme (there is a vaccine in development), so if this is the case, it's not surprising that it would be of benefit.

How it works?

Being a fatty acid ester, one mechanism being presented is that Cetyl Myristoleate somehow manipulates the production of the favorable prostaglandins, (series 1 and/or 3) and leukotrienes over the unfavorable prostaglandins of the 2nd series and pro-inflammatory leukotrienes. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes are unsaturated fatty acids that regulate many local metabolic processes including inflammation, platelet aggregation, pain, fluid balance, and nerve transmission

http://www.biophysica.com/CetylMyristoleate.html

-Laura

The latest thing I have noticed is that bladder control is much improved. Primarily much reduced urge problems, and times getting up at night is half what it was. Have reduced meds some (don't have a number yet). Less pain from dyskinesia and dystonia in upper back too.

My Friend the Prostate (you remember the filmstrip, don't you? ) is much happier. That hints at anti-inflammatory action.

Those with interest might want to look up "Lorenzo's Oil". There are some interesting similarities. Fatty acids being used to treat neurological problems.

Thank you Laura,
for the welcome, interest and information.
What a wonderful site to find.
I'll keep busy reading past postings for some time.
Victoria

Rick,

You are referring to the coconut oil? Are you still taking 2 tablespoons per day and how many days have you been using it?

Thanks!

Glad it is working for you

Laura

Yes on the coconut oil. At present (Day 6?) I am taking approx one tablespoon at bedtime. I don't think that that is optimum, but I am having to tip-toe around that weird endocrine problem of mine. I suspect that I will find that a tsp with meals and at bedtime will work but I am moving slow on it, at least for me.