Oluwakorede Adedeji, BPharm Student

Parkinson disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that presents clinical symptoms that include the loss of motor and non-motor skills.

Although the sole cause of this condition remains unknown, certain risk factors for PD have been identified, such as heredity, drugs, and environmental toxins.

PD progresses gradually over time as symptoms continue to worsen until there is eventually a severe loss of motor and non-motor function. The loss of physical activity that results during disease progression has a profound impact on patients’ lives, as physical activity provides numerable benefits to health and wellness.

Research has also shown that patients with PD who are able to engage in physical activity are potentially able to improve the motor and non-motor symptoms associated with the disease. Specifically, physical activity has been found to improve mobility, postural control, and gait.

For patients with PD, aerobic exercises have been observed to improve walking ability and balance,

 whereas treadmill exercises, stretching, and resistance exercises can also produce improved motor symptoms.

Non-motor symptoms benefit from physical activity as well. Research suggests that regular multimodal physical exercises can reduce sleep disturbances,

 with the potential for improvement in cognition, which in turn can ameliorate depression and fatigue.

Physical activity has also been found to potentially benefit patients with PD, as it reduces pain by activating pain inhibitor pathways and contributes to neurorestoration and neuroplasticity.

The possibility of neuroprotection may account for the reduced risk of incidence of PD in persons who engage regularly in physical activity.

 Living a sedentary life can increase the risk of many diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and PD.

The impact of physical activity on the progression of PD has been assessed by researchers both based on the type of exercise and the consistency. In some studies, the effects of physical activity were assessed based on specific exercises, whereas in others, the results were recorded based on the regularity of the physical activity.

Ultimately, although patients with PD are more likely to be sedentary due to the motor symptoms associated with the disease, prescribing appropriate exercises and supporting consistent adherence to the activities can help to improve the condition and overall quality of life for the patient.

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Articles

Research has also shown that patients with Parkinson disease who are able to engage in physical activity can potentially improve the motor and non-motor symptoms associated with the disease.

The Impact of Physical Activity on Parkinson Disease Progression

The skin is the largest organ of the body

 and performs functions that are essential for health and wellbeing. These functions include acting as a barrier against harmful external agents, including chemicals, temperature changes, pathogens, dehydration, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

The health of the skin and the integrity of its barrier function can be affected by various factors, and especially by nutritional status.

 Basic skin functions accompanied by changes in cutaneous structure and texture that affect the appearance of skin can also be modulated by dietary intake and nutritional supplementation.

A nutraceutical can be defined as “a food (or part of a food) that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease.”

Unlike nutraceuticals that may be presented as a sole item of a meal, dietary supplements often contain 1 or more essential ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals,  or herbs, and are often used to increase the intake of nutrients in addition to a meal.

The roles of various dietary supplements and nutraceuticals in enhancing skin health and appearance can be observed in the vitamin deficiency diseases that present with dermal manifestations. These include patchy red rash and seborrheic dermatitis on account of vitamin B deficiency, as well as the vitamin C deficiency called scurvy, which can be observed through skin fragility and impaired wound healing

This reaction to deficiency helps to illuminate, for example, how dietary supplementation with vitamin C can promote cutaneous wound healing, increase epidermal moisture content, and improve skin hydration.

 It can also aid in collagen formation and functions as an antioxidant.

Supplements containing vitamin A and its derivatives, such as retinoids, play an important role in regulating the proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of skin cells.

 Retinoids are able to enhance the repair of UV radiation-damaged skin through their ability to increase proliferation of epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts.

Vitamin E has been shown to suppress lipid peroxidation, modulate photocarcinogenesis, and photoaging. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory roles.

 Additional supplementation with α-tocopherol, flavonoids, β-carotene, lycopene, and lutein may help protect the body from UV damage, which can lead to photoaging and cancer.

Apart from vitamins and other elements, such as selenium, that protect the skin from UV damage, nutraceuticals containing a combination of marine collagen peptides (MCPs) and plant-derived antioxidants can help improve skin properties safely and effectively without oxidative damage.

 Also, studies show that coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation can decrease some dermal signs of aging, such as wrinkles, and improve overall skin smoothness.

Another class of nutraceuticals that improve dermal health are polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-based formulations. PUFAs are recommended for consumption and are beneficial for skin health. Omega-3 PUFAs, such as eicosapentaenoic acid, have been reported to protect the skin from dangerous UV radiation effects and reduce UV-induced inflammation and indicators of photoaging and photocarcinogenesis.

It is apparent that among all the organs in the body, the skin is the most exposed to external agents, placing it at risk of certain factors, particularly UV radiation. The resultant photo-oxidative damage is a significant cause of extrinsic skin aging, a term popularly referred to as photoaging.

 Exposure to the sun is also considered a major risk factor for non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers.

For these reasons, it is important to introduce dietary supplementation with nutraceuticals containing vitamins, essential trace elements, and oils not present in sufficient amount in daily food intake. This will aid in no small way to provide photoprotection, antioxidant activity, ensure skin integrity, and improve the general appearance of the skin.

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The roles of various dietary supplements and nutraceuticals in enhancing skin health and appearance can be observed in the vitamin deficiency diseases that present with dermal manifestations.

Role of Dietary Supplements and Nutraceuticals in Enhancing Skin Health and Appearance

Sleep plays a significant role in the normal functioning of the human body. It is vital in health, cognition, and emotion and may affect learning and memory.

 Generally, sleep is considered to provide optimal benefits only in sufficient amounts, with either a lack or excess of sleep potentially posing risks.

Insufficient sleep is defined as sleeping less than the 7 to 8 hours recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society for Optimal Health. Insufficient sleep is an issue prevalent in more than 30% of the American population, with some instances classified as a disorder and referred to as insufficient sleep syndrome.

Insufficient sleep is prevalent among pharmacy students, and college students more generally, with studies showing that many pharmacy students in the didactic portion of the academic curriculum suffer from poor quality sleep.

 This is further exacerbated at specific periods during the semester as a majority obtain fewer than the recommended 7 hours of sleep, especially close to an examination.

Not only is the right amount of sleep important, but the sleep quality is also essential. In a situation in which one lacks both, the outcome is invariably associated with adverse health effects, such as impairment in working memory, executive function, processing speed, and cognitive throughput.

This impairment of cognitive function often has detrimental effects on the 3 brain processes associated with learning: acquisition, consolidation, and recall, which can ultimately lead to decreased academic performance.

A common problem that arises for many pharmacy students is that they are also unaware that they have sleep difficulties that are affecting their academic performance.

 The consequences of this lack of awareness may exacerbate the issue over time, leading to a decline in alertness and an increase in stress levels, which can all take a toll on performance.

Even outside school, pharmacists are often faced with increased workloads and long working hours, which may directly affect their sleep duration and sleep quality. Sleep duration is often determined by work, and not only the actual work time, but also the time spent in commuting to and from work.

The effects of sleep deprivation on key mental processes such as cognitive function and vigilant attention suggest the extent of harm that insufficient sleep can have on the performance of pharmacists.

 Although there is a lack of literature showing a direct link between sleep duration and professional performances of pharmacists, a number of studies have shown that increased workload and fatigue rank as causes of medication errors, which has the potential to reflect negatively professionally on the pharmacist.

Insufficient sleep not only affects alertness but is also associated with impaired immune function, increased pain, impaired performance, increased errors, and greater risk of accidents, which all have the potential to negatively affect the lives and careers of both pharmacy students and professional pharmacists alike.

In light of this, it is necessary that just as pharmacists provide advice and medical counselling to their patients on proper sleeping habits, they should endeavour to apply such useful information for themselves as well.

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