The Parkinsons Pulse

04/09/2026

The global burden of Parkinson’s disease is rising; rapidly.

A 2025 study published in The BMJ, using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, projected that the number of people living with Parkinson’s worldwide could increase from approximately 11.9 million in 2021 to 25.2 million by 2050.

That’s a projected increase of 112% in less than 30 years.

Population ageing was identified as the largest driver of this increase. But importantly, the researchers also projected an increase in age-standardised prevalence, suggesting the changing burden of Parkinson’s cannot be viewed through population ageing alone.

For me, statistics like these reinforce why Parkinson’s deserves far greater attention, not only in treatment, but in research, earlier recognition, multidisciplinary care and our understanding of the risk factors. Most people have some connection to Parkinson’s and as time goes on, sadly that connection is projected to move closer to all of us.

More people living with Parkinson’s also means more families, carers and communities needing access to good information and long-term support.

25 million people by 2050 is a challenge we need to be preparing for now.

The Parkinson’s Pulse

Reference: Su D, Cui Y, He C, et al. Projections for prevalence of Parkinson’s disease and its driving factors in 195 countries and territories to 2050: modelling study of Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. BMJ. 2025;388:e080952.

01/09/2026

🌿 A free guide to living well with Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s can come with an overwhelming amount of information — and it can be difficult to know where to begin.

So I created this 31-page foundational guide as a simple, accessible starting point.

Inside, we explore 7 foundations for living well with Parkinson’s — including movement, nutrition, sleep, nervous system regulation, environmental health, purpose and community.

It’s intentionally practical and easy to read, but throughout the guide you’ll also find links to deeper, fully referenced resources if you’d like to explore the science behind each area.

This short ebook is about understanding the areas of health we can work on, and giving people with Parkinson’s practical tools to support their health and quality of life.

Download Your Guide to Living Well With Parkinson’s via the link in bio.

Or simply comment “FREE BOOK” below, and we’ll personally send you the ebook.

— Davey
The Parkinson’s Pulse

Our clinic provides personalised naturopathic therapy for those exploring alternative Parkinson's treatments, supporting your health and quality of life.

20/08/2026

I’ve been following BeechBand for quite a while, curious about this simple wearable and the experiences being shared by people living with Parkinson’s.

At the World Parkinson Congress, I finally had the chance to meet the BeechBand team, see the device in person, ask plenty of questions and watch people with Parkinson’s trying it for themselves.

One of the things that originally caught my attention was the number of positive experiences and reviews being shared on their website. Of course, everyone’s experience will be different, but I think it’s an interesting option worth exploring.

If you’re curious, have a look through their website, read some of the stories from people using it and learn a little more about how it works.

The Parkinson’s Pulse community can also save 20% with code:
FRIEND-QXNN2J6

Interested in learning more? Explore BeechBand through the link in our bio.

18/08/2026

Vitamin D deserves more attention in Parkinson’s disease and not just for bone health. ☀️🧠

Vitamin D receptors are highly expressed in the substantia nigra, the region of the brain where dopamine-producing neurons are progressively lost in Parkinson’s.

And the research is interesting.
Lower vitamin D status has been associated with greater disease severity and poorer motor function, while supplementation studies have reported potential benefits for walking capacity, balance, motor symptoms and quality of life. There are also emerging links with non-motor symptoms and mental health, including mood and depression.

Biologically, vitamin D influences several pathways relevant to Parkinson’s, including dopaminergic neuron health, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, neurotrophic factors such as BDNF and GDNF, immune regulation and gene expression.

But simply taking vitamin D doesn't guarantee you're effectively raising your levels.
Most supplements contain cholecalciferol (vitamin D₃), which must first be converted by the liver into calcifediol 25(OH)D, the form measured on a blood test.

Factors such as liver dysfunction, gut problems, obesity, inflammation and individual differences in vitamin D metabolism can affect this process.
Calcifediol is already one metabolic step ahead. It can raise vitamin D levels faster and more predictably than standard D₃, making it an interesting option when levels remain low despite supplementation.

So perhaps the question isn't simply:
“Are you taking vitamin D?”

But also:
“Are you taking the right form for your physiology and is it actually raising your levels?”

👉 Read the full article at The Parkinson’s Pulse.
Educational information only. Supplementation should be individualised and appropriately monitored.

17/08/2026

This is one of the most exciting pieces I’ve read about the future of Parkinson’s care in some time, and it comes from Professor Bas Bloem, one of the world’s leading Parkinson’s neurologists and researchers, who challenges one of the most fundamental ways we have traditionally thought about Parkinson’s:

Parkinson’s is not one disease.

Two people may share the same diagnosis, but the biological processes driving their disease can differ remarkably.

Genetics. Mitochondrial dysfunction. Inflammation. Lysosomal dysfunction. Protein aggregation. Environmental exposures. And, most likely, several processes occurring simultaneously.

Systems-based, precision medicine!

If the underlying biology differs between individuals, we cannot expect every intervention to work equally well for every person. And we know each individual has a unique biochemical signature, their own individual physiology and the way their body functions.

This also raises an important question about how we study Parkinson’s.

There is an enormous amount of promising preclinical research targeting these pathways that never makes it into clinical practice. When we test a single intervention across a group of people who share a diagnosis but potentially very different underlying biology, meaningful responses disappear in the average result.

An intervention may not need to work for everyone with Parkinson’s to be incredibly valuable for the right person.

Bloem describes a future of Parkinson’s medicine that is increasingly personalised, multidisciplinary and biologically informed, matching interventions to the individual rather than simply treating everyone carrying the same diagnostic label in the same way.

He also discusses something particularly important to us at The Parkinson’s Pulse: the increasing recognition of exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress and environmental exposures as meaningful parts of the Parkinson’s conversation.

This is precisely why I believe comprehensive Parkinson’s care needs to look beyond dopamine and ask: what may be contributing to that disruption, dopamine deficiency and neuronal vulnerability?

Dopamine replacement remains enormously important. But so too does understanding the person living with Parkinson’s, their symptoms, biology, lifestyle, environment, comorbidities, exposures, priorities and individual opportunities to support their health.

There may never be one answer to Parkinson’s, but there are so many pathways to explore and opportunities to potentially influence symptoms, function, resilience and ultimately disease trajectory.

I strongly encourage anyone living with Parkinson’s, caring for someone with Parkinson’s, or working in this field to read this piece.

It is genuinely exciting to see thinking like this making headlines!

For one of the world’s leading Parkinson’s researchers, Bas Bloem, the future of the field begins with a radical shift in perspective: Parkinson’s is not one disease, but millions.

15/08/2026

Could heat therapy have a place in supporting people living with Parkinson’s disease? 🔥
Sauna does much more than simply make us sweat.

Controlled heat acts as a form of hormesis — a temporary physiological stress that activates the body’s adaptive and protective systems. Research suggests heat exposure can influence heat-shock proteins, cellular repair, antioxidant defences, circulation, nitric oxide signalling and cardiovascular health.

This is particularly interesting in Parkinson’s, where mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, inflammation, impaired protein handling and autonomic dysfunction are all part of the broader biological picture.

There’s also growing research around sweating as one pathway for eliminating certain environmental compounds, including some metals, BPA and phthalates.
This is why I love looking for opportunities to stack interventions — one practice that may support several aspects of health at the same time.

Importantly, sauna is not a treatment or cure for Parkinson’s, and it isn't suitable for everyone, particularly where blood-pressure or temperature regulation is impaired.
I unpack the research, mechanisms and practical considerations in my latest article:
Infrared Sauna and Parkinson’s Disease: A Systems-Based Approach to Heat Therapy 🔥

Read it via the link in bio.

05/08/2026

🦷 Could your oral health influence your brain?

A fascinating new review explores the growing evidence linking periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease that progressively destroys the tissues supporting the teeth, with both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Unlike simple gingivitis, periodontitis is associated with a sustained inflammatory response and the continual release of inflammatory molecules into the bloodstream. These inflammatory signals may contribute to neuroinflammation, disruption of the blood-brain barrier and activation of the brain’s immune cells. The review also discusses evidence that the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis and its toxic enzymes have been identified in post-mortem brain tissue, providing further biological plausibility for the oral-brain connection.

While this research does not prove that periodontitis causes Parkinson’s disease, the authors propose that maintaining good periodontal health may represent a modifiable opportunity to support long-term brain health and potentially influence disease progression. We are constantly learning about the burden of inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases and just how important it is to calm these processes.

At The Parkinson’s Pulse, our philosophy is to identify evidence-informed leverage opportunities that may reduce the biological burden placed on the body. Addressing chronic inflammatory processes such as periodontitis represent another practical opportunity to support long-term neurological health.

🪥 Take-home message: Don’t overlook your oral health. Talk with your dentist about your gum health, brush and floss consistently, and prioritise regular dental examinations and professional scaling. At The Parkinson’s Pulse, we’re always searching for evidence-informed leverage opportunities to support long-term neurological health—which is why you’ll always find us asking about your dental history.

01/07/2026

🦠 The Parkinson’s Microbiome & key Molecule Butyrate

The gut microbiome continues to be one of the most exciting areas of Parkinson’s disease research, but a new review reminds us that the story is far from simple.

Many studies have found that people living with Parkinson’s disease tend to have lower levels of bacteria that produce butyrate — a short-chain fatty acid created when gut microbes ferment dietary fibre.

Why does this matter?

Butyrate helps:
✓ Maintain the integrity of the gut lining
✓ Support immune regulation
✓ Reduce inflammation
✓ Fuel the cells of the colon
✓ Influence communication along the gut-brain axis

Interestingly, lower stool butyrate levels have been associated with worsening motor symptoms, cognitive changes and mood disturbances in some studies.

However, one of the most important messages from this review is that the microbiome isn’t simply a list of “good” and “bad” bacteria. Diet, medications, geography, disease stage and many other factors can influence findings, which is why results are often inconsistent between studies.

Perhaps the future of microbiome research lies not in asking which microbes are present, but what functions they are performing.

For now, the evidence continues to support a simple principle:

🥦 Feed the microbes you want to keep.

A diet rich in diverse plant foods, fibre and polyphenols remains one of the most powerful ways we can support the health of our gut ecosystem. There are a number of studies coming through on specific probiotics strains that may also confer benefit.

The microbiome remains one of the most promising frontiers in Parkinson’s research, but it is also a reminder that biology is rarely as simple as headlines suggest.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11061429/pdf/fphar-15-1388401.pdf

04/06/2026

The more we investigate Parkinson’s disease as a systems disease, the harder it becomes to ignore the gut.

A fascinating new 2026 review, The Gut Microbiota in Parkinson’s Disease: Mechanistic Insights into Microbial-Host Interactions, highlights just how far this field has evolved.

We are no longer simply observing that the microbiome is different in Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers are now identifying specific microbial populations that appear altered, the metabolites they produce, and how they may influence intestinal barrier integrity, immune function, inflammation, mitochondrial health, neurotransmitter signalling and even levodopa metabolism. The authors also present an excellent table summarising microbial changes that have been consistently observed across Parkinson’s studies.

What emerges is a picture of extraordinary complexity. The gut is home to trillions of microorganisms capable of producing biologically active compounds that interact with virtually every major system in the body. Many of the microbial changes observed in Parkinson’s disease involve organisms associated with short-chain fatty acid production, fibre metabolism, immune regulation and maintenance of the intestinal barrier.

The conversation has shifted from asking whether the gut is involved to trying to understand precisely how microbial-host interactions may influence Parkinson’s disease over years and decades.

For me, this remains one of the most exciting frontiers in Parkinson’s research.

Source: Guerrero-Torres LE et al. The Gut Microbiota in Parkinson’s Disease: Mechanistic Insights into Microbial-Host Interactions. Microorganisms. 2026. Used under CC BY licence. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41900432/

04/06/2026

When most people think about antioxidants, they think about taking them in a supplement or perhaps eating some chocolate or increasing coffee.

But what if the body already has sophisticated systems designed to produce its own potent antioxidants?

One of the most fascinating pathways by which this can happen is called NRF2 (Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2).

Rather than acting as an antioxidant itself, NRF2 functions like a biological defence switch, activating genes involved in antioxidant production, detoxification, inflammation regulation and cellular resilience.

This interesting in Parkinson’s disease because many of the processes thought to contribute to neurodegeneration are directly influenced by NRF2, including:

• oxidative stress
• neuroinflammation
• mitochondrial dysfunction
• toxin accumulation
• protein misfolding

Perhaps even more fascinating is that NRF2 can be influenced by lifestyle factors such as exercise, nutrition and other hormetic stressors that encourage the body to strengthen its own protective systems.

There is unlikely to be one single solution to PD……and as we move toward understanding this from a systems perspective, the opportunity may lie in stacking as many protective layers as possible and leveraging their combined effects over time. This is how The Parkinson’s Pulse operates.

Swipe through to learn more about one of the body’s most important cellular defence pathways.