A Guest article bty Toine Schoutens, Propeaq
Several years on, that conversation is evolving and one technology that continues to attract attention is our wearable technology, in the form of light glasses. Light glasses are a type of light therapy device, ours are using blue light, delivered through the eyes. The idea behind this approach is that specific wavelengths of light may help support the sleep/wake rhythm which is often disrupted in people with Parkinson’s.
Read MoreI am working with folks with movement disorders to explore the use of neurofeedback and photobiomodulation to aid them in their recovery. In this article, I cover my background, and how I arrived at these as a solution.
Read MoreIn this article, we consider the role of sleep on PD symptoms. I believe that getting good sleep is absolutely foundational, on which all other progressive symptom reduction strategies rest. Indeed, Florencia Cerruti, author of Rebirth at 50: in the end it was not The End, points out that poor sleep, along with stress, is to people with PD like Kryptonite is to Superman. Unfortunately, sleep problems are extremely common with PD.
Read MoreThe purposes of this article, which I will endeavour to keep updated, is to act as a central resource of information on light therapy and its applications to Parkinson's Disease.
Read MoreI set about seeing if there was anything which could provide even more of an anti-histamine effect over just the nasal wash out method described above. I was wary of taking anti-histamine drugs, because I'd read these might make things worse with long term usage. Being an afficinado of the use of light for medical problems, I did some more research and discovered there are little red light - or even infrared - gadgets which you can stick up your nose to create anti-histamine effects, and that this idea was based on sound science!
Read MoreIn fact, the possibilities to fine tune light therapy for PD through such wearables is now immense. For example, the Propeaq glasses already come with an app which allows the timings of the therapy to be programmed in: Toine is helping Olympic athletes achieve peak performance at the scheduled times of their events! They also already come with interchangeable tinted colors, including red for increasing melatonin: currently, these are used when the wearables are applied to combatting jet lag, for example.
Read MoreA number of important studies have now clearly demonstrated that strategic use of light therapy can be highly beneficial for people with Parkinson's. Recent studies aimed mainly at addressing the poor quality of sleep associated Parkinson's, as well as those aimed mainly at addressing depression in people PD, are alsp inadervently showing improvements in the motor symptoms of the participants too. It is believed this is because strategic light therapies are actually helping to restore the natural balances between dopamine and melatonin and restoring the Circadian Rhythm.
Read More
