Introduction
Some years after my diagnosis, I discovered that I have a latex allergy. This emerged as a consequence of playing with balloons and rubber balls as part of my self-designed movement recovery strategies. I found out that both of my parents and also brother are very reactive to latex. So I experimented with trying to understand the effects of this sensitivity on my Parkinson's symptoms by handling the balloons and balls a lot more. After a few days, the impact was clear - it markedly increases my rigidity and associated pain, and dramatically decreases my ability to breath. In short, the interaction between triggering allergies and PD symptoms for me are very pronounced.
Intrigued, I then asked many other people with Parkinson's if they were aware of a latex allergy. Of those who had been tested, it was not uncommon. Several respondents raised other known allergies, sensitivities and intolerances which they were already aware of which impact their PD symptoms greatly.
I began following this line of research, and I discovered very many curious inter-relationships and joined up a number of seemingly disparate dots.... dots which would never have been connected by the specialist-centric nature of our healthcare systems! In particular, I discovered the antagonistic link between histamine and dopamine: high levels of histamine cam cause decreases levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter which folks with PD are already chronically short of. It is therefore no wonder that allergies can make the symptoms of PD worse!
The histamine-dopamine connection
Taking these ideas forward, I went on to research the linkages between histamine and dopamine, and thus began to form a picture, with the logical conclusions that allergic/inflammatory reactions and Parkinson's Disease are, indeed, very strongly linked. Here's what I uncovered (for more details and reference sources please see my research notes on this).
HISTAMINE IN THE BRAIN
Histamine is known as substance which has a key role in allergic reactions and inflammation, and gastric process (stomach acid), but what may be less well known is that it also acts as a key neurotransmitter (like dopamine). In particular, histamine plays significant roles in arousal, the pituitary gland, appetite and cognition and is considered a "wake-promoting" substance. It may therefore also be important in sleep disorders, common in people with PD. Histamine in the brain also plays a part in pain perception.
Stress, allergic reactions, digestion and histamine containing foods all contribute to the release of histamine. Digestion issues and food intolerances are also well known to be very prevalent in PD and also in blocking the effectiveness of Parkinson's drugs. Anyone with PD will know all about the impacts of both chronic and acute stress.
One of the most interesting and important facts I discovered was post mortem studies have revealed that histamine concentration levels are abnormally high in the brains of those with Parkinson's Disease.
The release of histamine is altered in response to different types of brain injury: e.g. increased release of histamine in an ischemic brain trauma might have a role in the recovery from neuronal damage.
THE HISTAMINE-DOPAMINE LINK
Furthermore, histamine also acts to control and regulate the production and release of other neurotransmitters, including dopamine. For example, medications which block histamine can increase dopamine release, while histamine also stimulates prolaction releases, known to inhibit dopamine, and the activation of histamine production in certain cell causes a decrease in dopamine production by these cells. High histamine levels can decrease dopamine levels.
THE ALLERGY-PARKINSON'S LINK
Given the above facts, we can consider that allergic reactions will impact very strongly on Parkinson's Disease, its symptoms, and its onwards degeneration. Allergic reactions lead to high levels of histamine, which is directly related to further dopamine depletion - the key issue in people with PD. This will therefore also mean the need for much higher levels of the problematic dopamine replacement drugs for PD to get enough dopamine to temporarily switch the symptoms off, and leading to more side-effects too.
As a piece of conjecture, it is not hard to make an intuitive leap that sustained allergic reactivity in the long term may cause dopamine producing cells in the brain to become dormant, or dopamine cell receptors to become downregulated, because in the brain, "use it lose it" holds fast!
OTHER OBSERVATIONS CONNECTING ALLERGY to PD
People with Parkinson’s typically suffer from: very shallow (difficulty) breathing; difficulty swallowing; stuffy or congested nasal passages and loss of sense of smell; skin problems such as dermatitis. In the context of PD, these are ascribed as the non-motor symptoms of neurodegeneration. Yet, without the context of Parkinson’s, anyone would immediately recognize these as signs of an allergic reaction!
The expressionless “plastic mask” face, the motor symptoms and cognitive problems associated with PD are all also associated to outcomes of anoxia and hypoxia – a lack of oxygen to the brain – which may occur, for example, due to anaphylactic shock of an allergic reaction.
People prone to severe allergic reactions need to carry shots of adrenaline to prevent severe allergic reactions. In the body, adrenaline is created from dopamine. PD is associated not only with a dopamine shortage, but also an adrenaline shortage.
Latex allergy, for example, results in immediate or delayed reactions of: problems breathing, problems swallowing, rhinitis, skin and dermatitis flare ups. People with latex intolerances also have food allergies (bananas, cherries, kiwi fruit, wallnuts, pineapple, citrus fruit, apples, potatoes, tomatoes all tend to feature in their lists). It is well known that people with PD are very prone to sensitivities to specific foods. Cherries and walnuts struck a cord with me - I already knew these make my mouth sore and lips swollen, but never made the connection with a latex allergy before.
People with spina bifida are highly prone to latex allergy. The cognitive impairments and walking problems associated with spina bifida are also common in PD. Postural imbalances are strongly present in people with PD. Spina bifida is caused by folate deficiency. Current research results show that there is some association of PD with folate deficiency.
Eighty percent of people who are allergic to beef, lamb and pork have been bitten by ticks. Tick bites also cause Lyme Disease, which has symptoms very similar to Parkinson’s. Many people with PD find that high meat protein diets can prevent their PD drugs being effective, in particular if they eat beef, lamb and pork.
Multiple chemical sensitivities of all kinds are common in PD, including intolerance to aldehydes.
People suffering with chronic stress and trauma, especially childhood trauma, are known to have weakened personal boundaries, which leaves them vulnerable to chemical sensitivities and allergies. Chronic stress and trauma have a causal role in most cases of PD. Healing trauma, addressing body memories, and removing stressors, are known to improve personal boundaries and reduce these sensitivities. Folks who have healed their trauma often remark that they can start eating previously problematic foods without issue. Healing trauma is vital for progressive symptom reduction in PD.
Food intolerances and elimination diets
Since the above indicates that allergies and too much histamine make PD symptoms worse, this strongly suggests that, while putting interventions in place to address chronic stress and trauma, which can eventually help to alleviate these sensitivities, it is vital for people with PD to work out which foods they are sensitive too, by undertaking strict food elimination trials.
As well as the latex foods mentioned above, other types of foods that people with PD tend to be intolerant to, and are hence worth systematically eliminting to see if it helps to reduce symptoms and suffering, include:
processed foods of all kinds;
sugar, dairy, gluten;
high histamine foods;
nightshade vegetables;
sulphur foods.
CHEMICAL ELIMINATION
For the same reasons, it is also vital to do elimination trials of potentially problematic chemicals in the environment. This includes household cleaning products, rubber and latex products, especially elastic in clothes, laundry chemicals, skin products, make-up, soaps and shampoos, and pharmaceuticals.
TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS
As usual, I began to self-experiment after gleaning these new understandings of my disease. I set out to minimize, as far as possible, any allergic reactions and to maximize anti-histamine effects. The things I've tried include the following:
drinking lots of herbal teas with well known anti-histimine properties (I found nettle, fennel and rosemary infusions, in particular, work well);
investing in red light and infrared technologies, now well proven to help in allergy relief, including a hand held infrared massager and red light nasal insert, both sold as anti-allergic devices;
a meticulous and careful investigation, followed by deselection from my dietary intake, of foods to which I am sensitive, through internet researching, detailed record keeping and empirical trial and error;
a similar meticulous investigation into chemicals in my enviroment.
As I have done the inner work on trauma healing and addressing chronic stress, like others before me, I have indeed found that I am able to tolerate more the foods and chemicals I was once extremely sensitive too.
For myself, this has proven the above findings about the overlaps between allergic reactions and Parkinson's Disease beyond any doubt for my own wellness, because these inventions targeting histamine and allergies have impacted very significantly on reducing my Parkinson's symptoms and improving my quality of life.