The book tells the story of my struggle with Parkinson's disease. At 56, I received advice that I had early stage Parkinson's disease. At that time, I had no idea what the disease meant. My ignorance led me to take the diagnosis lightly - until I had great difficulty moving. My mobility was so impaired that I could not raise myself up on bed. I slept on a mattress spread on the floor. From then on, I was relentless in my resolve to fight the illness. I persisted in my search for a treatment that addressed the molecular mechanisms generating the disease - conventional wisdom notwithstanding. My persistence paid off - I chanced upon the website of Dr Amy Yasko. As far as I know, her protocol is the only one that addresses the molecular mechanisms. How does Parkinson's disease arise? The confluence of three factors - genetic predisposition, microbial load, and toxin load - generates neurological diseases in general - and Parkinson's disease in particular. The factors are jointly necessary but not sufficient separately to express the disease. My illness arose from my specific DNA mutations. My mutations blocked some processes, creating imbalances in intermediates and end-products, thus messing up the machinery in my cells. Toxins - like heavy metals such as mercury, aluminium - blocked some additional processes in my cells, even in the absence of a mutation. Microbes sequestered heavy metals making it difficult for my body to find them in order to eject them. The key mutation of my CBS gene (cystathionine-beta-synthase) started my Parkinson's illness. The mutation is an up-regulation, meaning an increase in the enzyme activity, resulting in ammonia production higher than normal. Because of the mutations in my three other genes, not enough BH4 molecules were available to transform ammonia to harmless urea. Consequently, instead of urea, my body produced peroxynitrites and superoxides - very nasty molecules that lit a "firestorm" in my brain, leading to neuro-degeneration or death to my dopamine-producing neurons. When I was young, my body repair mechanism was efficient and effective in restoring or replacing degenerated or dead neurons in my brain. As I grew older, my repair mechanism began to falter. Meanwhile, the microbial load was increasing - more and more heavy metals escaped detection, while toxins grew in concentration, blocking more and more reaction processes. In the end, my body succumbed to the combined assault from the three forces - genes, microbes, and toxins - resulting in my Parkinson's illness. How does the Yasko protocol work? The protocol bypasses the mutations by using RNAs, as well as other supplements, i.e. putting in by hand the requisite intermediates thus enabling the reaction machinery in our cells to get going again. After a year and three months into the protocol, I began to recover some of my mobility, as well as some of my "brain". And something more - all of a sudden, I began to think in verse. At age 65, I began writing poetry at the start of my partial recovery. I used my new ability to explain Einstein's insight into reality via the rhymes and rhythms of verse. I published my first book in 2013, entitled "Einstein in Verse: Introduction to Special and General Relativity". In 2014, I wrote and published five books - a book on life in poetry, three books on stock investing, and this book. Four years into the protocol, my body improved significantly. My "thinking" brain has fully recovered, attested by six books, one in 2013 and five in 2014 - enhanced by a new ability - the ability to think in verse. I feel I added 4o% dopaminergic neurons in my brain, starting at 15%, totalling 55%. Indication of this comes from the reduction in levodopa dosage by 40%. Likewise, my overall mobility improved by 40%, starting at 15%, totalling 55%. I have come a long way - when I could not raise myself up on bed. All indications point to the direction of a fuller recovery. DNA is not Des
About the Author: Feliciano Bantilan earned his AB Philosophy from St Francis Xavier Major Seminary, Davao City, Philippines. After his MS Physics from The University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City, he went to the USA on fellowship to pursue a PhD in Physics. He obtained his PhD in Physics from Duke University in 1983. He returned to his country and taught Physics at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. Then, a bombshell dropped on his life: Parkinson's disease in 2002. The lowest point in his struggle with Parkinson's occurred in 2006, when his mobility was so impaired, he no longer could raise himself up on bed to sleep. He slept on a mattress spread on the floor. He would have episodes of near panic, due to difficulty breathing. Then, by a stroke of luck, still with severe movement difficulty--only a finger in his left hand could press keys of his laptop--he chanced upon the website of Dr Amy Yasko. A year and three months into her protocol, he began to get back some of his mobility, as well as some of his "brain". In addition, something more: all of a sudden, he began to think in verse. He enjoyed reading and reciting poetry since he was young. However, he never composed a poem in his life, until his partial recovery. At age sixty-five, he began writing poetry. The first two poems he composed made up his first book published on September 20, 2013, Einstein in Verse: Introduction to Special and General Relativity. The rest formed the content of his second book published on April 8, 2014, Life in Poetry: The Evolutionary 'Garden of Eden'. He published his third book written this time in prose, IQ plus EQ: The Arrow and the Hoisting Crane, on June 10, 2014. His fourth book, Portfolio Take-off: Stock Market Theory, he published on 1 October 2014. He published his fifth book, Investing for Take-off: Growth to Sky-is-the-Limit on 20 December 2014. This is his sixth book - DNA is not Destiny: A Continuing Story of Hope of a Parkinson's Patient.