Alternative Medicine: Parkinson’s Disease and Schizophrenia The Dopamine Link
A Natural Health and Wellness Brain Essay.
Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia are at opposite sides of the same spectrum. They are related in a number of ways, including dopamine levels, side effect of primary medications for each, flat affect (facial expression), zinc levels, the affects of estrogens.
They can also coexist. Lam reported a case of “a patient with autopsy-confirmed idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in addition to chronic paranoid schizophrenia. Because of the treatment implications, clinicians should be aware that idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia can coexist.” (Lam, 1993).
Dopamine
Both Parkinson’s disease (too little dopamine) and Schizophrenia (too much dopamine) involve dopamine. Evidence supports “the existence of a reversed relationship between Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia and implicates the possibility that dysfunction of dopamine-receptors may be a central phenomenon in both diseases.” Abramsky also comments on the difference in the dopamine receptor sites in each disease. “In view of the recent demonstration of two separate dopamine-receptors, it is postulated that a striatal receptor blockade may cause Parkinson’s disease, whereas a limbic receptor blockade may result in schizophrenia. (Abramsky, 1978).
So in both conditions neurotransmitter receptors (dopamine is a neurotransmitter) are block but this occurs in different part of the subcoritcal brain tissue (not the higher brain or cortex).
In another study researchers found that “both dopamine D1 and D2 receptors are consistently elevated in Parkinson’s disease striata from patients who have not been medicated with L-dopa pre-mortem. Both these receptors are down-regulated by L-dopa pre-mortem. In schizophrenia, however, while the density of D1 receptors is similar to control, the D2 receptors are consistently elevated. (Pearce, 1990).
So Parkinson’s could be considered a dysfunction resulting from down regulation of the dopamine receptors and schizophrenia as dysfunction with up regulation of the dopamine receptors.
Current treatment for both schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease focus on modifying dopamine activity in the brain. Iversen describes some of the functions of dopamine in the brain. “The midbrain dopamine neurones innervate not only the dorsal and ventral sectors of the striatum but also limbic structures and fronto-temporal association cortex. The forebrain structures providing and receiving dopaminergic input are highly interconnected. The dopamine pathways are now seen to provide modulation of widespread limbo- and cortico-striatal circuits involved in motivated behavior.” (Iversen, 1995).
Dopamine has been connected to motivation or what we see or feel that motivates us to do something. It is also related to addictions and the desire to be rewarded for doing something. Visualizing yourself doing a certain activity or getting a certain reward can also stimulate these parts of the brain.
“The nucleus accumbens is a pivotal structure of this ventral striatal system, whereas the caudate putamen of the dorsal striatum integrates sensori-motor coordination. These striatal sectors have access to complex parallel output pathways of the pallidal and the thalamo-cortical motor systems. Excitatory amino acids are now known to play an important role as neurotransmitters in the dorsal and ventral forebrain circuits and in the output pathways associated with dopamine neurones.” (Iversen, 1995).
Amino acids are proteins and part of most neurotransmitters or the chemicals that connect one nerve cell to another are made up of amino acids or proteins. This research indicates that the quality of the proteins and types of amino acids in the diet could influence the building blocks for neurotransmitters and there for the neurotransmitters themselves.
It is interesting to note here that many allergies are a response to proteins. Much of the allergic response to bee venoms or snake bites is to the protein in the venom. Gluten and casin are the protein component of wheat (also barley and rye) and dairy, respectively. Many nuts and pollens are high in proteins.
This research into the connection via dopamine between Parkinson’s disease and Schizophrenia can help complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners to look at the client’s diet, activities (motivation), and consider techniques which affect blood flow to the brain and nutrients to the brain.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on July 31, 2014.
