This month’s Life Extension magazine came with an interesting article on a disease I hadn’t heard about called leukoaraiosis. This is an infarct of the microcirculation in the brain’s white matter. It shows up in MRI’s as white spots. Its incidence increases with age. Until recently, doctors did not know what the white spots were or their significance. Now it is recognized as a source of brain disorders.

You can read about it at http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2014/...n-Aging_01.htm .

Leukoaraiosis causes strokes, depression, and cognitive decline. What caught my attention was “gait and stance abnormalities, abnormal reflexes, and a slowing of small precise movements like finger tapping.” There is a correlation between the “amount of leukoaraiosis and deficiencies in gait, balance and walking speed.” The commonest causes of death from leukoaraiosis are falls and pneumonia.

This sounds a lot like another disease of unknown etiology, the one that afflicts us. My suspicion was confirmed by another article.:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18977043

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009 Sep-Oct;49(2):255-9. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2008.09.005. Epub 2008 Oct 31.
The severity of leukoaraiosis correlates with the clinical phenotype of Parkinson's disease.
Lee SJ, Kim JS, Lee KS, An JY, Kim W, Kim YI, Kim BS, Jung SL.
Author information

• Department of Neurology, The Catholic University of Korea, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, South Korea.

Abstract
“The impact of leukoaraiosis on Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been completely explained. We evaluated 141 patients with PD to assess the role of leukoaraiosis and determined its influence on the clinical phenotype of PD. Clinical assessments during off medication and leukoaraiosis grading were performed according to the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study. Patients were grouped into two phenotypes, tremor or postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD)-dominant groups. Associations between the age at onset, gender, disease duration, cardiovascular risk factors, leukoaraiosis grade and the disease phenotype were analyzed. In addition, the role of the leukoaraiosis grade in relationship to the parkinsonian motor handicaps was evaluated. The leukoaraiosis correlated with the severity of the clinical symptoms of PD as measured by the United Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) scores and the Hoehn and Yahr (H + Y) stage. There were significant correlations observed between the leukoaraiosis grade and specific motor handicaps especially those with axial symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the leukoaraiosis grade was independently associated with the PIGD motor phenotype of PD. The leukoaraiosis grade was independently associated with the PIGD motor phenotype of PD; this might be explained by the affects on nondopaminergic subcortical pathways. These results have implications for clinical management of PD with regard to the control of vascular risk factors.”

It seems possible that a percentage of PWP’s are actually suffering from leukoaraiosis, or that it is responsible for the PIGD variant. I don't have stiffness but I do have balance and walking problems.


Life Extension says that there is no therapy available for it other than lifestyle changes. This might not be true, though. A product called Vital Cell by Tango Advanced Nutrition restores microcirculation throughout the body including the brain. See http://vitalcellherbs.com/.

Note especially http://vitalcellherbs.com/observatio...-cell-rabbits/.

I intend to try this for a few months and will post my results.