As almost all of us are still housebound thanks to Covid, one thing we can still do is participate in Parkinson’s research projects that we can complete at home.
On April 15, the Michael J Fox Foundation is hosting a webinar that will focus on the various ways you can participate in critical research. Click here to register and learn more.
In addition, Laurie K Mischley, ND PhD MPH, is conducting a multi-year online research project, which asks volunteers to complete a 60-90 minute questionnaire every six months. You don’t have to do the entire questionnaire all at once. You can start it, log off, then log back on to do some more. Click here to sign up.
The great thing about Dr. Mischley’s research is that she’s already made available some of her findings on exercise, nutrition, and social health. From her website:
SOCIAL HEALTH & PD
We surveyed over 1500 people with Parkinson’s disease. Of all the variables in the study, loneliness was the single strongest predictor of PD progression. Friendships, not tremor, predicted one’s quality of life.
Not all therapies come in the form of a pill or procedure. Reach out to your community, ask for help, and be of service to others.
FOOD CHOICES & PD
We surveyed over 1500 people with Parkinson’s disease. The more people consumed the items in green [e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, wine, fish, olive oil], the fewer symptoms they reported over time. The more they consumed the items in red [canned fruit and vegetables, fried foods, meat, soda, plastic bottled drinks], the greater they rated the symptom severity.
EXERCISE & PD
We surveyed over 1500 people with Parkinson’s disease and inquired about their exercise habits and their symptoms. The more days per week people reported exercising, the fewer symptoms they reported over time. The benefit of exercise was only statistically significant if people were doing at least 3 days/week. People that identified as overweight reported greater symptom severity.
Finally, you can learn a lot about on-going research by checking out this month’s calendar at the Parkinson Foundation.
