Excess Levels of Calcium in Brain Found in Parkinson's Disease

Caption: In all of the RAGBRAIs and other bicycle rides I've ridden, you'd think I would have taken one photo of a cow, a dairy cow (or "tow," as our little Sarah used to say), but all I've got is a photo of me riding Ole the Bull during a recent RAGBRAI. Ole the Bull didn't like me riding him. He got restless and started to snort. The handsome cowboy who helped me on quickly calmed Ole and helped me down. Ole doesn't produce dairy, but he undoubtedly freshens cows who do!

In an article dated February 19, 2018, Science Daily reported that researchers have found that excess levels of calcium in the brain may lead to the toxic clusters that are the key characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Maybe that's why people who consume three servings or more of low-fat dairy a day are 34-39% more likely to develop Parkinson's. There is no such link for those consuming full-fat dairy. I can't even imagine drinking full-fat dairy after a lifetime of dieting, including being seriously anorexic as a teen at boarding school, but I'm going to start. I switched from one-percent to two-percent milk last week, but that's not enough. Two-percent milk is probably still "low-fat."

The University of Cambridge's international team found that "calcium can mediate the interaction between small membranous structures inside nerve endings, which are important for neuronal signalling in the brain, and alpha-synuclein, the protein associated with Parkinson's disease. Excess levels of either calcium or alpha-synuclein may be what starts the chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells."

If you have red hair, melanoma, and/or Parkinson's disease in your family, the phrase "death of brain cells" ought to scare you half to death. I have all of the above in my family so I'm going to drink full-fat dairy with my morning cereal five days a week and stop feeling guilty about eating full-fat cheese.

I was going to join a Parkinson's disease study in my area, but the Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation for Parkinson's Research asked me to agree to a possible change in study guidelines "without notice to you," and I declined to agree to that. Would that agreement be to allow for a treatment, found to be significantly beneficial, to be given to all participants in a double-blind study? It's possible, but I don't know. There could be a good reason for the stipulation, but it makes me uncomfortable.