Testosterone Replacement & Parkinsons Disease
Low Testosterone is quite common in older patients and, interestingly, the symptoms of low T overlap with symptoms of Parkinsons disease, including loss of muscle mass, decreased sex drive, anxiety, depression and fatigue. In both healthy individuals with low t and patients with Parkinsons disease these symptoms do not respond to antidepressant therapy or other traditional treatments.
Early tests have suggested that testosterone replacement aids patients with Parkinsons in exercise and physical activity. It is believed that testosterone replacement improves the patients motivation, endurance and stamina to improve their physical fitness, in the same way that it helps aging men who do not have Parkinsons. just as it does in those without the disease.
Additionally testosterone replacement increases dopamine production and decreases inflammation in the male brain.
How To Boost Your Bodys Irisinproduction
Endurance exercise, better known as aerobic exercise, is anything that increases your breathing and heart rate. This includes activities like jogging, swimming, biking, even walking briskly.
And now that you know what kind of exercise can help you increase irisin, you might want to know the many other ways it can improve your health in addition to what you just read about its promising effects against Parkinsons disease
- Alzheimers, like Parkinsons, is a neurodegenerative disease. And like Parkinsons, research has shown irisin is the reason that aerobic exercise is the best prescription out there for preventing Alzheimers.
- Irisin boosts the expression of BDNF , a growth factor that helps maintain the brains neural network. A bonus benefit? BDNF helps to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina, even after these cells have been damaged.
- Irisin promotes healthy weight and strong bones because it turns on genes that boost metabolism to transform white fat to energy-burning brown fat, stops the development of fatty tissue and encourages stem cells to become bone-forming cells.
The moral of the story: Dont slack off on your aerobic exercise.
The World Health Organization recommends 65 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week to prevent Alzheimers. From what we know, Im pretty sure it will go a long way toward helping you produce enough irisin to support your whole body.
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What Hormones Are In Hormone Replacement Therapy
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy mimics the structure of human endogenous hormones by synthesizing hormones from plant compounds derived from yams. These hormones are similar to estrogen and testosterone present in the human body.
They have minimal side effects and consequences than a synthetic hormone or animal-derived. Estrogen , progesterone, testosterone, and Dehydroepiandrosterone are examples of bioidentical hormones.
Some symptoms of menopause are treatable using the combination of estrogen and progestin – these are two female sex hormones. Hormone replacement therapy works by replacing the estrogen or sex hormone that the body no longer produces.
Estrogen relieves upper-body warmth, sweating, heat , vaginal symptoms , and urinary problems. However, it does not treat other menopause symptoms such as uneasiness or depression.
Estrogen therapy also protects menopausal women from bone weakening . In hormone replacement therapy, progestin is combined with estrogen to lower the risk of uterine cancer in women who still have their uterus.
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Parkinsons Disease And Hormone Replacement Therapy
Many early-onset Parkinsons patients have seen benefits from Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. Testosterone pellets have been found to decrease inflammation in the brain which enables men and women with Parkinsons Disease to exercise. Estradiol pellets can help restore dopamine production, which results in increased functionality and a slowed progression of the disease. Patients have also reported experiencing more mobility, diminished depression, and even a reduction in medications. BHRT has shown to help patients stay motivated to exercise more, which in itself increases the vitality and energy needed to keep active.
A study published in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine in 2007 suggests that exercise may slow the progression of the disease. Regular exercise may also reduce anxiety, increase confidence, offer more social interaction, and provide a distraction, which makes sense as exercise increases blood calcium levels which are known to increase dopamine production in the brain.
For more information on how BHRT can help alleviate the symptoms of Parkinsons Disease, or how we can help with several other issues, give us a call at 201-225-2525 to schedule your consultation. We look forward to getting you back on track.
Symptoms Of Parkinsons In Women
Premenstrual symptoms of depression, bloating, weight gain and breast tenderness also appear to increase in intensity in women who note a variation in their symptom control with menstruation. Usually these symptoms improve after menstruation but will reoccur with each cycle. A small sample of women in the studies used birth control pills. They reported that they had less intense fluctuations in their symptom control but more research needs to be done before recommendations can be made. However, it is important to recognize that these fluctuations occur so that women can be prepared for the changes in control. The use of regular exercise and relaxation techniques can help decrease symptoms and improve coping abilities.
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Mechanism Of Estrogen Therapy
In conclusion, a meta-analysis was conducted with regard to the long-standing debate about whether ERT protects cognition and reduces the risk of neurodegenerative disease. First, different diseases were classified. In the case of AD, more research data were included, beneficial conclusions were thus obtained, which also verified the clinical observation data. Meta-analysis in the estrogen therapy and the risk of PD were first conducted, the results showed that estrogen therapy significantly reduced the risk of PD. These data can help with the development of new therapeutic ideas and preventative measures for future clinical application regarding the development AD and PD.
Low Estrogen And Parkinsons Disease
Neuroscientists now understand that estrogen, the main female sex hormone, plays a direct role in the creation and distribution of dopamine:
Animal studies show that estrogens influence the synthesis, release, and metabolism of dopamine and can modulate dopamine receptor expression and function.
In light of recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the role that estrogen plays in Parkinsons disease pathology, estrogen replacement therapy is now a standard treatment protocol for menopausal and postmenopausal women that is used to slow the progress of Parkinsons disease.
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A Hormone Thats Secreted During Exercise
Science has known for quite some time that endurance exercise alleviates symptoms of Parkinsons disease. But its never been clear exactly how or why it does.
In 2012, Dr. Bruce Spiegelman of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston published a paper showing that endurance exercise causes a protein called an irisin peptide to be released into the blood in greater quantities.
Later, he wondered whether irisin, also considered a hormone, was the mechanism by which endurance exercise relieves Parkinsons symptoms.
Together with Dr. Ted Dawson of Johns Hopkins Medicine, whose research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons, Spiegelman set out to find out if irisin was central to the puzzle.
They engineered mouse brain cells to spread small, spindly fibers of a protein called alpha synuclein, which regulates moods and movements related to the brain neurotransmitter dopamine.
When alpha synuclein proteins clump, the clusters kill dopamine-producing brain cells a key trigger of Parkinsons disease.
In the laboratory model, the researchers found that irisin prevented the accumulation of alpha synuclein clumps, therefore saving those important dopamine-producing brain cells from destruction.
That was a big step forward and they just kept coming
Study Selection And Data Collection
Relevant foreign literature was searched by two independent researchers from databases including PubMed and Web of Science. The following keywords were used as search input: estrogen therapy, ERT, hormone therapy, hormone replacement therapy, Alzheimer’s disease, AD, Parkinson’s disease, and PD. There was no year restriction applied. Additional articles were selected from the reference section of certain publications. Only full-text journal articles with accessible data for analysis were included.
The initial search yielded 3,668 records from PubMed and 3,201 records from Web of Science. After the screening of titles and abstracts, 6,758 records were excluded because they were not related to our present subject. The remaining 111 articles were selected for full-text scrutiny. Ninety studies were excluded due to no usable data , no control group , meta-analyses studies , or repeated analysis with some documents . Therefore, a total of 21 studies with 1,266 patient cases and 3,845 control cases were included in this meta-analysis. A flowchart of the selection process was presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Flowchart describing the approach used to identify eligible studies. We conducted a systematic search on Medline and covering all articles up until June 1, 2019.
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Hormone Replacement Therapy In Patients With Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Furthermore, the Parkinsons disease is a second most common neurodegenerative disorder, after Alzheimers disease.
In the study published in BJBMS, the authors from the Brain Research Laboratory, Institute of Pathophysiology, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia used the rat model for Parkinsons disease. The rats were ovariectomized and treated with either estrogen or estrogen and L-dopa to mimic female patients in their postmenopausal stage of life that are on hormone replacement therapy.
L-dopa is a dopamine precursor which is used as the first-line treatment for Parkinsons disease. Estrogen and L-dopa act as opposing regulators of the secretion of prolactin from the pituitary gland. Prolactin is a hormone that plays an important role in the modulation of stress response and emotion regulation, therefore postmenopausal female patients with Parkinsons disease on hormone replacement therapy and receiving L-dopa treatment should be closely monitored for their prolactin levels.
The authors found that high doses of estrogen increase the expression of prolactin in the pituitary gland leading to the formation of pituitary tumors and hyperprolactinemia. Treatment with L-dopa decreased the size of prolactinomas, but it did not affect prolactin expression or its serum concentrations.
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Parkinsons Disease In Women
Until recently, little has been written regarding the effect that gender has on the development and management of Parkinsons disease.
Current research has focused mainly on the impact that sex hormones have on the development of Parkinsons disease. Less has been written on the impact that Parkinsons disease has on menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. This article will review the most recent information on both the affect that Parkinsons disease has on women and the impact that gender has on Parkinsons disease.
While Parkinsons disease is usually thought of as a disease of the elderly, approximately 3-5% of women diagnosed with this disorder are under the age of 50. A large number of these women are still experiencing regular menstrual cycles. Studies that have reviewed the effect of hormone fluctuations and menstruation on Parkinsons disease have noted an impact of the menstrual cycle on disease control. During menstruation women described increasing Parkinsonian symptoms, decreasing medication responsiveness and increased off times. They also complain of increased fatigue, cramps and heavier menstrual flow. This can lead to occasional humiliating self-care issues due to worsening dexterity.
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Should A Patient Consider Hormone Therapy For Parkinson’s Disease
Hormone replacement therapy may benefit any postmenopausal woman or a male patient over the age of 50. Male PD patients or anyone who has had breast cancer, endometrial cancer, or prostate cancer who wishes to participate in this treatment will need to get consent from an oncologist.
These patients and individuals with a history of strokes or blood clots in their legs or lungs are good candidates for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Patients with Parkinson’s disease who also undergo deep brain stimulation therapy in their illness management are primarily included in testosterone replacement therapy.
DBS sessions in male rats and male mice have been shown to protect dopaminergic neurons from the toxic effects of intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine. Gonadal hormones regulate glial response to injuries. Circulating estradiol’s neuroprotective effects are mainly dependent on its potent anti-inflammatory effects on astrocytes.
Moreover, motor and memory assessments were performed on both male and female mice. In addition, peripheral deficits . The female transgenic mice showed loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons but neither microgliosis nor astrogliosis.
Until now, age is the only known risk factor for Parkinsons disease. Several other risk factors have been studied extensively, including gene polymorphism, smoking cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine consumption, pesticides, and a history of head trauma, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.
Association Of Ad And Pd With Ert
We used random-effects meta-analysis to assess the association between ERT and neurological diseases. Our results showed that ERT decreased risks of developing AD and PD in patients compared with the control , suggesting that estrogen therapy had a greater impact on PD.
Figure 2. Forest plot displaying random-effects meta-analysis results for the association between Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and estrogen replacement therapy .
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Studies Supporting Hormone Replacement To Treat Parkinsons Disease
In August of 2019 the website Science Daily reported the results of a cutting-edge study from the Society for Neuroscience. There it was reported that brain-selective estrogen treatment had improved the symptoms of Parkinsons disease in male mice, according to research published in JNeurosci.
It was also postulated in that report that womens protective estrogen levels may be the reason that two times more men than women are diagnosed with Parkinsons disease . The authors expressed optimism that these findings could eventually lead to estrogen-based treatments for Parkinsons disease .
In another study, the Neurology Solutions Movement Disorders Center conducted trials on approximately 80 Parkinsons disease patients with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy . The hope was that bringing the patients hormone levels closer to the hormone profile of their youth would improve mobility, motor activity, cognition, mood and overall quality of life.
Encouragingly, about 50 percent of Parkinsons patients in HRT study reported benefits including improved energy level, better cognitive performance, increased muscle tone, higher sex drive, and less depression. And, 10 to 15 percent of those patients reported experiencing remarkable results, that included better physical mobility.
Low Testosterone And Parkinsons Disease
Many Parkinsons disease patients have testosterone deficiencies that are co-occurring. The symptoms that this hormonal imbalance causes are often confused for those of Parkinsons disease, and the underlying condition goes undiscovered. In fact, low testosterone is a co-morbidity in Parkinsons disease, meaning that such a deficiency can worsen and symptoms of Parkinsons and ultimately contribute to death.
The chart above shows the correlation between dropping testosterone levels and progressive Parkinsons disease . This relatively similar phenomenon is observed in Alzheimers disease .
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Hormone Replacementtherapy Forparkinsons Treatment
The SottoPelle® hormone replacement method specifically testosterone replacement aids those with Parkinsons to exercise. It gives them the motivation, endurance and stamina to make headway in physical fitness, just as it does in those without the disease. Parkinsons patients using SottoPelle® can experience significant improvements in their conditions. Our BHRT isnt a cure for Parkinsons Disease, but our patients report that it helps them manage their symptoms. This enables patients to become more functional with less medication.
Estrogen Therapy For Men Maybe
Men are more likely to develop Parkinsons disease than women, and the onset of PD in men happens at a younger age. However, women with PD have a higher mortality rate, and once they have Parkinsons, progression is faster. Research suggests that women get the disease at later in life when compared to men, at least in part, due to the natural protection estrogen provides. There are studies that have demonstrated that hormone replacement therapy can provide dopaminergic neuroprotection in both young and menopausal female mice.
Could the female sex hormone, estrogen, be a therapeutic approach for delaying or reducing PD symptoms for men?
Recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a study titled, Female Sex and Brain-Selective Estrogen Benefit -Synuclein Tetramerization and the PD-like Motor Syndrome in 3K Transgenic Mice investigated this possible therapeutic neuroprotective effect.
What is a 3K mouse? A type of mouse bred for research studies with a change in alpha-synuclein that mimics the toxic form found in Parkinsons. These mice help researchers test how treatments and chemicals in the brain can impact Parkinsons
Results
Like the sex differences found in people with PD, 3K male mice developed PD-like symptoms faster than female mice. Furthermore, male mice treated with DHED had:
- Improved clasping abilities
- Better clearing of risky alpha-synuclein
- Healthier dopamine neurons
What Does This Mean?
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Why Sottopelle Hrt Pelletsfor Parkinsons Disease
SottoPelle® hormone therapy using estradiol pellets increases dopamine production and decreases inflammation in the female brain, as does the testosterone in the male brain. Patients often tell us that our BHRT restores their quality of life. Parkinsons patients prefer time-released SottoPelle® pellets, because they offer consistent 24/7 hormone delivery so there is not the rollercoaster ups and downs of cream, injection and pill hormone therapies. Rick James is one of our active patients with Parkinsons.
As a participant in the Baehr Challenge for Parkinsons Research, Rick saw firsthand the healing power of exercise enabled by hormone therapy when he started with SottoPelle® in 2012. He was drawn to our treatment because of the possibility of improving muscle mass and strength, of boosting his energy levels and increasing his motivation and mindset. He felt our BHRT had more benefits and advantages than other methods and his hormone treatment, exercise regimen and management of Parkinsons continues.
WHAT OUR PARKINSONS PATIENTS SAY
.SottoPelle is making a significant difference in how I feel every day. Its an important addition to my Parkinsons protocol.
PATTI MEESE Parkinsons Patient since 2013 Michael J. Fox Foundation Genetics Ambassador Parkinsons Action Network State Director, NC
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The Study Could Pave The Way For The Creation Of A Therapy Used To Treat Parkinson’s Disease And Other Neurodegenerative Disorders
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have shown that the hormone irisin, which is secreted into the blood during endurance, or aerobic, exercise, reduces levels of a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease and halts movement problems in mice.
Parkinson’s disease, a neurologic condition that causes people to lose control over their muscles and movements, affects about one million people in the United States.
The researchers studied mice that were engineered to have Parkinson’s disease symptoms. If confirmed in additional laboratory research and clinical trials, the study could pave the way for a Parkinson’s disease therapy based on the hormone irisin.
Results of the researchers’ tests appeared August 31 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Ted Dawson and Dana Farber’s Bruce Spiegelman worked together to look into the link between the exercise molecule irisin and Parkinson’s disease.
In the past decade, other laboratories have found that exercise elevates levels of irisin, and there is interest in looking into the connection between irisin and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as Parkinson’s disease.
When alpha synuclein proteins clump, those clusters kill dopamine-producing brain cells, a key trigger of Parkinson’s disease. Fibrous clumps of alpha synuclein are very similar, says Dawson, to what is found in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease.
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