Sept. 13, 2001(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Younger, more educated Parkinson's patients with higher incomes are more likely to use alternative treatments for their disease than older patients, say researchers.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, interviewed more than 200 Parkinson's patients about their use of alternative treatments. Nearly 60 percent of patients who were diagnosed with the disease at age 45 or younger said they use alternative treatments such as vitamins and acupuncture. Twenty percent of patients between ages 56 and 65 seek alternative treatments and only 20 percent older than 65 opt for alternative therapy. Results also show college graduates are twice as likely to use alternative treatments as patients who did not receive a college degree. Researchers also found married people are nearly three times more likely to take an alternative route than single patients.

Study author Stephen Reich, M.D., from John Hopkins University, says these results raise concern. He warns, "While the public generally assumes that vitamins and herbs are safe, a rapidly growing number of studies shows that they can have potentially harmful effects and interactions with other drugs." Among the alternative treatments used by patients, vitamin E is the most common. However, Dr. Reich says studies show vitamin E does not have any beneficial effects on Parkinson's disease. Nearly half of the participants say they learned about alternative treatments from family and friends. The media was the source of information for 23 percent of patients.

Parkinson's disease, according to the National Parkinson Foundation, affects more than 1 million Americans. Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological condition that affects a small area of cells in the brain. Symptoms can include tremors on one side of the body, slowness of movement, stiffness and balance problems. To date, there is no known prevention or cure for Parkinson's disease.

SOURCE: Neurology , 2001;57:790-794 Click here if you would like to receive a FREE weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs.

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