Dr. Duarte Machado is a neurologist specializing in Parkinson's Disease and has a personal connection with this condition.  

This episode discusses the importance of understanding Parkinson's disease, identifying early symptoms such as changes in smell and bowel habits, risk factors including environmental exposures and genetic factors, impact of stress on Parkinson's, potential sources of toxins like microplastics, different treatment options including medications and non-medication therapies, and the importance of building a multidisciplinary team for comprehensive Parkinson's care.

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Dr. Sagar: every single individual is like a different chain of dominoes falling down. Does that sound, so that's, that's difficult. So how would I notice in myself if I was developing Parkinson's? What would I see?

Dr. Duarte: The early symptoms that can be enough to seek attention of a neurologist would be, if you know this change in. Sense of smell. So if you're having difficulties. Smelling things in the same way, or even taste because smell and taste are links of foods on taste the same way. You can't smell odors.

In the same way, if there's a change in your bowel habits so that if you were, someone who had a bowel movement daily and now you're going two to three days without having a bowel movement that could be a change. And then as I mentioned, the one with the greatest predictor of concern is REM behavioral disorder.

So if you notice a change in your sleep, such that you're yelling, talking thrashing falling on the bed, that's a problem. Even early on,

Dr. Sagar: That one's not subtle.

Dr. Duarte: No, that, that was not settled. When I was a neurology resident , one time I was called down to the ER because a person had come to the ER with injury having fallen on the bed.

. The patient was saying, well, why did they call neurology? Like I, I fell out of bed. , what does this have anything to do with neurologists? And I said, well, we know babies can fall out of bed or infants, but adults don't fall out of bed. We know that signals some neurological problem.