Parkinson’s Disease and Nutritional Supplements

Q Do you have anything that will help Parkinson’s disease and, if so, what does it do?

JUDY, New Carlisle, OH

A Parkinson’s symptoms had been helped by the carnitines, especially propionyl-L-carnitine according to Dr. Jonathan Wright who reported that on the website of Leif Grunseth, a Certified Neuro­muscular Therapist. More to the point, researchers have found that the carnitines can enhance walking in both animal and human studies.¹ Propionyl-L-carnitine has been found to be valuable for muscles.² Alpha-lipoic acid has also been found to be beneficial for human walking.³

References

1. Brevetti G, di Lisa F, Perna S, Menabó R, Barbato R, Martone VD, Siliprandi N. Carnitine-related alterations in patients with intermittent claudication: indication for a focused carnitine therapy. Circulation 1996 May 1;93(9):1685-9.
2. Smith WA, Fry AC, Tschume LC, Bloomer RJ. Effect of glycine propionyl-L-carnitine on aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2008 Feb;18(1):19-36.
3. Vincent HK, Bourguignon CM, Vincent KR, Taylor AG. Effects of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation in peripheral arterial disease: a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med 2007 Jun;13(5):577-84.