Physiological Effects of Nutritional Support in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Detailed Summary

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of unknown cause that affects more than a million Americans. It's most prominent pathology is the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. It is believed that oxidative stress and inflammation play an important role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease as well. The object of this study is to evaluate whether nutritional supplementation with oral and IV N acetyl cysteine compounds, that have been shown to have either anti- inflammatory, or antioxidant effects, might support brain function in patients with Parkinson's disease, particularly in regards to the dopamine system. Enrolled patients will be randomly assigned to receive oral and intravenous (IV) n-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a control group of standard PD care, or an oral supplement group who will receive Oral Supplements Cohort Baicalin, Ganoderma, Omega 3 and Curcumin. (Please note, the Oral Supplements arm, was amended and not included in analysis. This study utilized Ioflupane (DaTscan) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to measure dopamine function, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, and neurological measures to assess clinical symptoms, in patients with PD. Subjects received a DaTSCAN and MRS initially and after completing oral and IV NAC regimen. Subjects in the control group received pre and post DaTScans and MRS and similar evaluations to the Dietary Supplement oral and IV NAC group.

Study Details

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Interventions