Sugar, Wine Link To Parkinson's Disease
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Can what you eat increase your risk of the neurological
disorder, Parkinson's disease? It's a possibility, according to German
researchers.
In a new study, Parkinson's disease patients were found to be more likely
than their
disease-free counterparts to consume large quantities of sweets, and were
roughly
50% to 75% less likely to drink coffee, beer or spirits -- but more likely
to drink wine.
And when the researchers looked at particular nutrients, Parkinson's
patients were
almost three times as likely to eat a carbohydrate-rich diet, and more
likely to consume
anti-oxidants such as beta carotene and vitamin C in their diet, according
to a report in this month's issue of the journal Neurology.
"Our results suggest that if antioxidants play a protective role in this
disease, the
amounts provided by diet alone are insufficient," wrote lead study author Dr. W.
Hellenbrand, of the Institute of Social Medicine at Otto-von-Guericke
University in
Magdeburg, Germany.
The new study will hopefully lead to better ways to prevent Parkinson's disease.
"Ultimately insights into mechanisms that link nutrition with Parkinson's
disease risk may give rise to new treatment approaches and preventive
recommendations," wrote
Hellenbrand.
However, in the new study 342 Parkinson's disease patients and 342 disease-free
individuals the same age filled out questionnaires about past food
consumption, a study
method that can be prone to memory errors.
But don't start throwing sweets or the antioxidants into the garbage just
yet. The study
shows an association between food types and the disorder, not that one
causes the
other. Indeed the higher intake of sweets may actually be a symptom of
Parkinson's
disease itself. And people may consume more antioxidants as part of a
healthy diet,
once they are diagnosed with a serious illness.
"Patients reported eating significantly larger quantities of sweet foods as
well as having more snacks than controls," Hellenbrand said. "This may,
however, be the result of an illness-related change in dietary habits
leading to a selective recall effect, since sweet foods may enhance the
transport of L-dopa across the blood-brain barrier."
Parkinson's disease, characterized by tremors, slowness of movements and a
shuffling
gait, is caused by the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain that control
movement,
resulting in the loss of the neurotransmitter, dopamine.
The disease, which has no known cause, is usually treated with L-dopa, or
levodopa, a
drug that increases brain dopamine levels.
SOURCE: Neurology (1996;47:636-643)
John Cottingham To search the Parkinsn archive, send search requests
to [log in to unmask] with Archive Search as the subject.
LibraryH Searches of the Subject: line, From: line and Body are
possible. Look for "Revised Current Topics...." message
[log in to unmask] for Articles and Studies available by e-mail.
