Shakin' Street — A Parkinson's Blog

Whipsawed (verb): subjected to two opposing forces at the same time. (dictionary.com)

As December 2024 turned into January 2025, four separate messages turned up in my feeds:

• United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, citing data showing alcohol consumption linked to increased risk of seven types of cancer, called for an update on warning labels to “include a heightened risk of breast cancer, colon cancer and at least five other malignancies now linked by scientific studies to alcohol consumption.”
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• SciTech Daily reported on a large multicenter study by European researchers. The study seems to indicate that moderate wine consumption — up to one glass per day — may reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications by up to 50%.
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• Dr. Rachel Dolhun, Principal Medical Advisor at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, posted a video on LinkedIn about alcohol and Parkinson’s. Dr. Dolhun pointed to research showing the negative effects of alcohol on our sleep quality, anxiety and depression, balance, thought speed, medication side effects, and other factors.
  
  It’s worth logging into LinkedIn and going to Dr. Dolhun’s post to see the full discussion in the comments. If you’re not a LinkedIn member, you can watch the video here:

• Dr. Laurie Mischley released the 10-year-mark summary of her Modified Variables in Parkinisonism Study. As Dr. Mischley describes it, “For the past 10 years we have been following people with parkinsonism to see if we could identify behaviors common to those doing unusually well.” Her most recent data shows a correlation between wine/beer consumption and fewer Parkinson’s symptoms — in other words, moderate wine and beer drinkers seem to be doing better than abstainers.

I am interested in all of these subjects — I’ve had a heart attack, I’ve had a couple of tumors, and I have Parkinson’s. This makes me a fascinating guest at parties.

It also creates a conundrum:

A glass or two of wine per day might cause me to get cancer.

It might keep me from having another heart attack.

It might make my Parkinson’s symptoms worse.

It might make my Parkinson’s symptoms better.

Over time, a glass or two of wine per day might do all of these things. Or none of these things. It’s “Choose Your Own Adventure.”

What am I supposed to do with this information? I don’t know whether to spit or wind my watch.

On LinkedIn, addressing the seeming contradiction between the research she’s seen and the data reported by Dr. Mischley’s study, Dr. Dolhun pointed out that the MVP Study

…can give us good signals and info to learn from, but important to remember this is correlation not causation — if this correlation is there, it doesn’t demonstrate that red wine itself slows progression, but rather is LINKED to progression. So is it the red wine itself? Or do people who drink red wine generally follow a Mediterranean diet (which also is linked with slower progression), connect more with others (social connection linked to better brain health), exercise more (exercise has been shown to slow progression), etc.? In other words, is it the wine or is the wine a proxy for other factors/behaviors that may be linked to slower progression?

Dr. Mischley joined the LinkedIn discussion, agreed with much of Dr. Dolhun’s analysis, and shared that she will soon be submitting a paper on the specific topic of alcohol intake and Parkinson’s symptoms.

Also worth noting: Mischley and Dolhun are participating in “Dry January.”

Me? I have for years enjoyed a glass of wine in the afternoon and a second glass when I wash the dishes after dinner. I’m leaning toward cutting back to one glass a day and taking my chances.

How are you handling alcohol these days?

Bonus For Those Who Read to the Bottom — R. Zimmerman Edition

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Before we begin:

Here are some dancing chickens.

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Bill Murray — yes, THAT Bill Murray — is on tour, singing with a band. The other night he did a very much-better-than-passable version of “Like a Rolling Stone.” No, it does not equal the original, but IMHO it’s pretty darned good.

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Great singer, great song.

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In case you’ve always wondered how a Dylan song would sound in Japanese, here’s your answer.