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A SOTA Approach To Early Detection and Prevention Of Parkinson's Disease

  • Writer: M Barr, DAOM, IFMCPc
    M Barr, DAOM, IFMCPc
  • Sep 17
  • 5 min read

Updated: Sep 25

Yes, I have become a New York Times health reporting crank. Their comments-mediating bot even appears to have black balled me. Probably flagged me as MAHA. (If I post the exact same comment from another account though, it's generally accepted. All the way back to October 2023, they began censoring by comments on a few other life or death issues. Our new reality. Sigh.)


Two things real quick first about Mr. Kristof's Sept 9th piece, "The Clue To Unlocking Parkinson's May Be All Around Us":


#1 He is not a health (or what they now are calling "wellness") reporter. So for that reason A) his contribution is even more greatly appreciated and B) his report is refreshingly open-minded and curious.


#2 Related to 1A above, it is great to see at least SOMEONE at the Times both address our growing epidemic of neurodegenerative diseases in this country and to do so without all the baggage of someone steeped in our medical school (or medical corporations) culture.


That said, he also missed some whopper opportunities.


To get to the essence of it all, we can use his somewhat heart-wrenching and certainly heart-felt query toward the end of his piece: "How can we avoid following in the footsteps of Steve Phillips?" (diagnosed with PD at 56 and wondering if it might be linked to his having spent two summers as a teenager spraying fields with the herbicide paraquat)


"How can we protect ourselves and our children? How can we avoid following in the footsteps of Steve Philips?," Mr. Kristof asks.


In other words, how might we best approach the early detection of, and ultimately the prevention of, Parkinson's disease? (And Lewy Body Dementia for that matter. And FTD. And the lot!)


He also profiles basketball star Brian Gant who wonders if his PD dx, also in his 50s, might somehow be related to his having grown up at Camp Lejeune where the water, it was discovered years later, was full of industrial solvents (specifically, perchloroethylene and TCE) from a nearby dry-cleaning facility.


Kristof reminds us of the breath-taking stats:


  • 90,000 new diagnoses each year (even if some are likely misdiagnoses)

  • 13th leading cause of death in the U.S.

  • the world's fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease


And while for me he spends way too much time fetishizing paraquat, he does at least later seem open to the idea that the problem might be herbicides-pesticides generally, and perhaps even including solvents and other chemicals.


Glyphosate aka Roundup is EVERYWHERE.


He cites a paper on one of my personal pet peeves, golf courses, and how most of them should be shut down as Superfund sites. Living within even a MILE of a golf course more than doubled your risk of developing Parkinson's: Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease


environmental hazards of your neighborhood golf course. say hello to heightened cancer and neurodegenerative disease risk
It's not only the sand traps and water hazards you need to keep clear of.

But here are the whopper missed opportunities:


  1. He talks about "genetic risks" but completely leaves out any discussion slash exploration of the genetics of DETOXIFICATION: mutations or "single nucleotide polymorphisms" in the various GST genes, the PON1 genes, the ABCB1, SLC, one or two of the CYPs, and NOS1.

  2. He includes absolutely no discussion of gut microflora (aka the microbiome), or gut health generally. Overgrowths of Desulfovibrio get all the attention, but just as with paraquat, that's kind of "old news." The field long ago moved on, and the picture in 2025 is both much more complex but also potentially much more "actionable." (TK: a table of the genera both abundant & nearly missing in folks with PD, as well as what either helps or hinders their growth)

  3. And finally, he fails to mention the Syn-One skin test that can pretty much tell you if you are "on the road" to PD. (Apparently there are also sniffing dogs who can tell you this.) See if there is a Syn-One clinician near you at this Syn-One Clinician Network link. The point of this kind of testing is that it can provide valuable time to do the necessary self-study and become something of a detox and gut microflora expert. Maybe even to find someone to work with who can help guide your testing, thinking and interventions.


Of course, chronic constipation (for which simply hard stools, lumpy stools, or spending more than a minute on the loo would qualify) and diminished sense of smell (but also check zinc levels-- or zinc:copper balance) should also be taken seriously and looked into.


REM Behavioral Disturbances (RBD) can be another early warning sign that Mr. Kristof did not mention in his reporting. Knowing this could potentially help many people, as it affords a good bit of time to act.


Dr. Dale Bredesen writes in great detail, in his new book, "The Ageless Brain," about a man he seems to have followed clinically for many years, Carlton, and how he managed the very first signs-- and more importantly, the actions he then took-- of sort of pre-Parkinson's: REM Behavioral Disturbance.


At 57 his wife threatened separate beds when he began to fling his arms wildly during the night. After it happened a third time, he consulted a neurologist who diagnosed him with RBD, a common early symptom in people who go on to develop Parkinson's or Lewy body dementia. Carlton freaked. But he was also lucky. With this very early knowledge, he embarked upon a whole body detox plan (pages 312-313 of hardcover book) and used this symptom (along with repeat Syn-One tests) to gauge his progress as he "healed" his body over the ensuing years, declining from several times per week to twice to once every few weeks to once a year to pretty much gone entirely.


I wish Dr. Bredesen had not tried to write this book on his own (it could be better), but I still highly recommend it. (Sort of scratching my head at his vastly increased recommended prenenolone & (especially) Dhea dosages (he went to 100 mg!!), but another day...)


Kristof's impetus for the piece might well have been "The Parkinson's Plan" book that came out in August. If all he took from this though was to wash his organic produce and to switch to a green dry cleaner, he is both short-changing himself and, more tragically, the millions of readers within his reach.


Mr. Kristof, maybe a more up-to-date, more broadly sourced/considered follow-up piece this winter?



Further reading (mostly Nature Publishing titles, from newest to oldest):




 
 
 

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