December 5, 2025

@michaelokun

A new episode of Chasing Life w/ Sanjay Gupta just dropped and it was a great discussion about the book The Parkinson's Plan http://pdplan.org and how we can be hopeful and proactive as we move forward. "Look, I'm not trying to unnecessarily or unfairly worry people who are are listening. And I think that was what was so great about the book, because it's called The Parkinson's Plan. There's a plan. I mean, you've changed your life in terms of how you do certain things, I'm sure, in response to what you've learned over the last few decades, reducing your exposures, your exercise, things like that. There is a plan here in terms of what people can do. And the book is really good at that. I mean, yeah, so many times I think people are left with this doom and gloom knowledge, and then, like, what do I do with that? And I think that's just depressing." "I think what you write about with regard to things as basic as exercise, to, obviously, the medications that you just mentioned, and even in some cases, operations in the form of deep brain stimulation, there are options for people. And I think a lot of people are going to be tuning in today who are worried about themselves or a loved one. And I think that that hope, which I saw infused throughout your book, I thought was was really important." Parkinson’s disease, a progressive movement disorder whose hallmark is damage to the dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, afflicts almost 12 million people worldwide. And the number of new cases is growing quickly. For roughly 13% of patients, genetics plays a key role. For many others, the underlying cause of the disease might be more mundane and insidious: environmental toxins — via the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the chemicals with which we regularly come in contact. Neurologist Dr Michael Okun, co-author of The Parkinson’s Plan, joins CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta to discuss where we stand today in our understanding of this disease, and the “PLAN” moving forward. https://edition.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/chasing-life/episodes/bb99263c-37bb-11ef-8219-976c51c01046 #michaelokun #fixelinstitute #parkinson