
Finnish study: Smoking and drinking coffee might prevent Parkinson's disease - velmu
http://www.metropolitan.fi/entry/study-smoking-and-drinking-coffee-might-prevent-parkinsons-disea
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willholloway
There is a much cleaner, and safer drug that can reduce the chance of
developing Parkinson's, and that is Deprenyl [1].

> Deprenyl protects the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons against selective
> neurotoxins (6-hydroxydopamine, MPTP, DSP-4) [2]

We know that environmental insults like solvent inhalation and most likely
agricultural pesticides contribute to the loss of dopamine neurons in
Parkinson's, it seems like Deprenyl has the ability to protect against the
damage of some of these, as well as the effect of aging [3].

> These results suggest that (-)-deprenyl and related compounds may protect
> neurons from apoptosis and be applicable to delay the deterioration of
> neurons during advancing ageing and in neurodegenerative disorders. [3]

I myself take deprenyl, or its newer cousin azilect for this purpose. It also
has the benefit of increasing dopamine and it's a much lower impact focus drug
than psychostimulants like amphetamines.

[1]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3123604](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3123604)

[2]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7669938](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7669938)

[3] [http://www.selegiline.com/apop.html](http://www.selegiline.com/apop.html)

~~~
feld
are you doing this as a preventative measure? do you have a history of
Parkinsons in your family or something?

~~~
willholloway
Yes, completely preventive. I have two family members who developed it in
their 70's.

I am 30.

 __Update because I can 't reply re: self-experimenting:

Deprenyl is an incredibly well researched molecule, with a great safety
profile. We also have a lot of reason to suspect amphetamines like adderall
are neurotoxic to dopamine neurons, and hence my fervent belief that deprenyl
should be a first line treatment for those wishing for enhanced focus, and
amphetamines should be reserved for tougher cases.

~~~
melling
Since you're only in your 30's, wouldn't it be better to help raise money and
awareness for a cure rather than experiment on your body?

[https://www.michaeljfox.org](https://www.michaeljfox.org)

30-40 years is a lot of time for research.

Andy Grove is another famous person with the disease who's working hard to
find treatments:

[http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/070.html](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/070.html)

~~~
kragen
You can _both_ fund further research _and_ apply the research that’s already
been done. In fact, if you’re not going to apply the already existing
research, what’s the point of funding more? Are you going to apply the new
research but not the current research?

And prevention is much cheaper than cure.

~~~
melling
Well, there's no guarantee that it will do anything. Over 30 years, taking a
supplement may lead to other problems, or it may become less effective when
you really need it.

Personally, I'd probably wait until my early 50's. Hopefully, at the very
least, in 20 years, they'll be able to detect and monitor the effects on the
body with more precision.

At the very least, billions more in research will have been done.

------
pella
other research ("Parkinson disease and smoking revisited")

" Objective: To assess whether being able to quit smoking is an early marker
of Parkinson disease (PD) onset rather than tobacco being “neuroprotective,”
we analyzed information about ease of quitting and nicotine substitute use.

Methods: For this case-control study, we identified 1,808 patients with PD
diagnosed between 1996 and 2009 from Danish registries, matched 1,876
population controls on sex and year of birth, and collected lifestyle
information. We estimated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with
logistic regression adjusting for matching factors and confounders.

Results: Fewer patients with PD than controls ever established a smoking
habit. Among former smokers, those with greater difficulty quitting or using
nicotine substitutes were less likely to develop PD, with the risk being
lowest among those reporting “extremely difficult to quit” compared with “easy
to quit.” Nicotine substitute usage was strongly associated with quitting
difficulty and duration of smoking, i.e., most strongly among current smokers,
followed by former smokers who had used nicotine substitutes, and less
strongly among former smokers who never used substitutes.

Conclusions: Our data support the notion that patients with PD are able to
quit smoking more easily than controls. These findings are compatible with a
decreased responsiveness to nicotine during the prodromal phase of PD. We
propose that ease of smoking cessation is an aspect of premanifest PD similar
to olfactory dysfunction, REM sleep disorders, or constipation and suggests
that the apparent “neuroprotective” effect of smoking observed in
epidemiologic studies is due to reverse causation.

"

[http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2014/09/12/WNL.000000...](http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2014/09/12/WNL.0000000000000879.short)

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zubirus
The abstract reads "Nicotine addiction negatively correlates the changes of
developing Parkinson's disease". I'm not a fan of the wording of the HW title
to make it sound like smoking could be a good habit.

~~~
SCAQTony
Seriously, I agree! Why not just take nicotine supplements in safe amounts?

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twothamendment
Maybe smoking kills you before the Parkinson's can get started? What age does
it kick in for most people?

~~~
at-fates-hands
Most people are diagnosed around 60. Anybody who gets it before 50 has a form
that is considered "Young Onset PD"

source: [http://www.parkinson.org/Parkinson-s-Disease/Young-Onset-
Par...](http://www.parkinson.org/Parkinson-s-Disease/Young-Onset-Parkinsons)

------
moron4hire
I think it's kind of irresponsible to release a study like this to the popular
press, especially this early before all of the correlations and causitive
factors have been worked out. I remember a similar deal hitting the pop-sci
press back in the 90s with regards to smoking supposedly preventing Alzheimers
(that I believe was later disproven).

ah, yeah, here it is:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8437692](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8437692)

Half of my extended family completely ignored the part on "The 'dose-response'
pattern showed the greatest risk reduction among those who smoked least" (if
it ever got mentioned at all), and used it as an excuse to keep smoking for,
well, as long as it took for everyone to forget the meme and go back to
smoking Because Freedums!

Ok, nevermind, I guess they never needed an excuse to begin with.

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Bolt64
I don't know about drinking coffee, but could the correlation with smoking
just be because smokers die earlier than average, and hence never get the time
to develop Parkinson's?

~~~
jammi
Even smokers don't die that young, on average.

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Gobiel
There are other means of administering nicotine (as well as other beneficial
effects): [http://www.gwern.net/Nicotine](http://www.gwern.net/Nicotine)

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Yuioup
"The exact cause behind the phenomena is unknown at this point."

Dopamine.

~~~
stan_rogers
That's the symptom, not the cause.

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leesalminen
Interesting. My Grandfather is 100% Finnish. He never smoked. And now he has
Parkinson's.

Anecdotal, I know :)

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rogeryu
Does anyone smoke coffee? I usually don't go any further than just smelling.

~~~
pstuart
It's a _very_ dark roast.

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velmu
So what does this mean? It's either senile and healthy or smart, but dying?
Damn, son.

~~~
soylentcola
Thankfully, there are ways to ingest caffeine and nicotine that don't involve
smoking coffee grounds or tobacco leaves. Drinking coffee or using transdermal
or vaporized nicotine solution could offer the benefits without the health
risks of inhaling tars and the carcinogenic products of combustion.

~~~
mseebach
But the correlation is between smoking and drinking coffee, not receiving a
certain amount of nicotine and caffeine. Indeed, the linked abstract talks
about gut biome - it's unlikely that a nicotine patch on your thigh is going
to affect your gut biome in the same way actual smoke in your throat is.

