http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/l...pe=hp_topstory

It seems like us older people were born just a little bit too early since all these breakthroughs will take years to get approved.

GerryW,

I think you're right in saying that it will take many years, too many years for most of us, before this gets approval.

I don't know if this is the one, probably not, BUT I'm confident that it will be possible to identify a true breakthrough and DIY it ourselves many years before it gets regulatory approval.

For instance, in respect to the heat shock proteins work reported here, it may be possible to get some of the benefit by intense exercise.

It's because of leads like this that I spend so much time on this forum.

John

True that exercise can increase heat shock proteins but apparently this yeast protein is not found in humans. There is another way with a cactus extract called Tex-Oe. See http://www.icpconcepts.com/Ficus-opuntia-extract.aspx

I wonder if it affects any HSP in humans that would have beneficial effects in PD?

I am not sure I would get too excited at this time on one study done with worms. Let them ride the species pyramid a little bit higher. Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the lack of carryover from in-vitro, worm, rodent and animal studies to success in human trials.

As I say, the referenced paper is "probably not" the key paper. However, it gives a little more credibility to the theory that alpha-synuclein misfolding plays a key part in the pathogenesis of PD. It also gives a little extra credibility to the idea that HSP in general can reduce alpha-synuclein misfolding and, hence slow the progression of PD. Other types of HSP may be less effective than the re-engineered one mentioned in the paper, but something is better than nothing.

Of course, as well as the benefits of DIYing you have to take into account the costs, particularly the dangers. But in this case a potential therapy, intense exercise, comes for free and, for many people, its health advantages outweigh the dangers.

While we're on the subject of DIYing, some therapies, for instance DBS, don't lend themselves to DIYing directly. But that does not make such techniques uninteresting. You can investigate indirect DIYing: looking at a technique which shares something with the original. For instance, transcranial stimulation may be a proxy for DBS. Then, if you feel that too risky to use, you may wish to investigate strobe lighting.

The point I wish to make is that we can get benefit from research immediately, rather than wait 10 years for it to be officially sanctioned.

What would be a tremendous asset for PwP would be a committee of experts who, using the latest research findings, would answer the question:

What would you do if you had Parkinson's?

John