Parkinson’s Disease

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a very important dietary supplement in supporting the health of the brain because it increases the level of glutathione (GSH), the key antioxidant that protects the brain cell from oxidative damage. GSH also escorts many toxins out of the body. NAC provides a source of the amino acid cysteine, which is used by the body to produce glutathione. Supplementing with NAC increases glutathione levels and offers protection for proper brain function and cellular structure.¹ Investigators at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have demonstrated that NAC supports proper dopamine metabolism and offers special nutritional support in patients with PD.² Specifically, patients with PD who received NAC (intravenously at a dosage of 50mg/kg body weight once per week and orally 600 mg twice daily) experienced significant improvement in both brain and muscular function.

L-serine is another amino acid that offers protection to the brain and is showing promise in protecting against brain cell degeneration.³ In the brain, serine is bound to fatty acids and glycerol to form phosphatidylserine, the major phospholipid in the brain. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a key factor in determining the integrity and fluidity of cell membranes. Normally the brain can manufacture sufficient levels of phosphatidylserine, but there is evidence that insufficient levels of PS in the elderly may be linked to depression and/or impaired mental function in the elderly. Good results were obtained in a double-blind study with PS supplementation in PD patients. PS was shown to improve mental function, mood, and behavior in these subjects.⁴ The typical dosage for PS is 300 mg per day, but supplementation with only L-serine may produce better results. Based upon safety studies and emerging clinical data, supplementation with 15 g of L-serine twice daily is safe and appears to be the most useful dosage.

PD is characterized by impaired function of the energy producing compartments of cells, the mitochondria. Specifically, the areas of the brain that degenerate in PD have low mitochondrial function. Two dietary supplements that have been shown to work together very well in boosting brain cell mitochondrial function and protecting the brain are CoQ10 and PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone).^5,6 CoQ10 is very well known, but PQQ is just beginning to get popular. PQQ is a powerful antioxidant that specifically protects against mitochondrial damage. It also promotes the spontaneous generation of new mitochondria within aging cells, a process known as mitochondrial biogenesis. This effect is why PQQ is so exciting as an anti-aging strategy.

While PQQ is effective on its own, when it is combined with coenzyme Q10 even better results have been noted. This synergistic effect was first seen in animal studies and further demonstrated in human double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. In one study of 71 middle-aged and elderly people aged between 40-70, supplementation with 20 mg per day of PQQ resulted in improvements on tests of higher cognitive function compared to the placebo group, but in the group receiving 20 mg of PQQ along with 300 mg of CoQ10 the results were even more dramatic.⁷ PQQ and CoQ10 are both involved in mitochondrial energy production, so these results are not that surprising.

Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) exerts a number of beneficial effects in supporting brain function. In a one-year trial of 25 patients with PD, GBE  produced significant improvements in brain wave tracings signifying improved brain energy metabolism.¹¹  GBE has also shown to protect the brain from neurotoxins.

Curcumin, the yellow pigment of turmeric (Curcuma longa), is showing incredible promise as a brain protector.¹² Residents of rural India, who eat large amounts of turmeric, have been shown to have the lowest incidence of age-related brain issues in the world. As it relates specifically to PD, 13 studies in the animal model of PD, showed that curcumin exerts significant protection and improved dopamine levels.¹³ 

Curcumin may help improve cognitive function and memory in PD patients. In a human study conducted at UCLA, 40 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 years who had impaired cognition and memory were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or Theracurmin, a highly bioavailable form of curcumin, at a dosage of 90 milligrams of curcumin  twice daily for 18 months.¹⁴ All 40 subjects received standardized cognitive assessments at the start of the study and at six-month intervals and after 18 months. The people who took Theracurmin experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities, while the subjects who received placebo did not. In memory tests, the people taking curcumin improved by 28 percent over the 18 months. Those taking Theracurmin also had mild improvements in mood, and their brain PET scans showed significantly less damage.