Summary: Environmental factors have a substantial impact on the development of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, and risk levels can be dramatically reduced. These factors include dietary patterns, toxic chemical exposures, inadequate exercise, and socio-economic stress. It is also suggested that these factors alter the biochemical pathways in cells, which fuels not only Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases but other chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome.

Comment: "It is clear from these findings that our activities in the areas of food and agriculture, energy, chemical use, and social organization are key drivers in the abnormal loss of neurological function in older people throughout the modern world," says Jill Stein, MD, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility. This report can help elderly people prevent neurological disorders by reducing environmental risk factors.

Summary: Standard neurological tests should become part of physicians routine examination of older adults. The exams can become windows into future brain health, allow doctors to prevent disease in those at risk.

Comment: Researchers know that these exams will be extremely beneficial to patients and allow physicians to better understand the health of those they treat. They may also gain more knowledge about the development of these diseases overtime.

Summary: Genetic tests can screen blood and other tissue to find genetic disorders and markers. Increasingly, people are opting for commercial genetic tests to identify their potential health risks. But without the expertise of a medical professional, the information from home genetic tests might not be very helpful or easy to understand. It could even be detrimental.

Comment: Genetic testing can reveal a range of health information, including whether a person carries a gene associated with Parkinson's disease. There are several hundred kinds of genetic tests and (it seems) nearly that many online offers to perform them. Before you submit to a commercial genetic test, consult this information from the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health to protect yourself as a patient and consumer.

Summary: A study published by the American Academy of Neurology links abdominal fat in mid-life with dementia in later life. The study found that people in their early forties who had a high level abdominal fat were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia in the following 35 years than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat.

Comment: Although this is the first time researchers have demonstrated that belly fat increases the risk of dementia, the results do not mean that abdominal fat causes dementia. Rather, the two are linked by a complex set of health-related behaviors, suggesting that the risk of developing such diseases as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease might be reduced by controlling how and how much fat is stored in the body.

Summary: A recent study found people who were currently long-term users of calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure lowered their risk of Parkinson's disease by 23 percent compared to people who didn't take the drugs. There was no such effect among people taking ACE inhibitors, AT II antagonists and beta blockers.

Comment: More research is needed, since researchers cannot yet explain why calcium channel blockers appear to protect against Parkinson's disease, whether this is indeed a causal association, and why the other high blood pressure medications do not offer a reduced risk.

Summary: A new study suggests that omega-3 fatty acids protect the brain against Parkinson's disease.

Comment: The findings may help in preventing the onset and progression of the disease.

Summary: Regular users of over-the-counter pain medicine such as aspirin and ibuprofin are up to 60% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease as those who take fewer than two pills a week.

Comment: The findings suggest that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs protect against the neurological disease.