Soursop Plays a Role in Neurological Syndroms Such As Parkinson's and PSP

By Roxanne Speers (Copyright, 2011 -- All Rights Reserved)

I lost my Aunt (aka, my real mom) to PSP (Supra Nuclear Palsy) in September of 2008.

During her illness I continued to stay in touch with other members of the psp.org forum to obtain information and support from others who were suffering, or knew someone suffering, from this disease. It was difficult to find a correlation between other members and the symptoms Auntie Una was suffering through.

My cousin works with the elderly and was recently reading a study on the toxins related to Parkinson's and PSP. The study showed a high frequency in atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe. They found a relation contained in the fruit and leaves of the tropical plant Annona Muricata (soursop).

The PSP site states: "One important clue to a possible dietary factor in the cause of PSP comes from the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. People there are far more likely to develop PSP and other "atypical parkinsonisms" than are people elsewhere. A questionnaire survey on Guadeloupe revealed that people with PSP-like illnesses there, were more likely than others to have consumed two native fruits called sweetsop and soursop. These fruits have since been shown to harbor toxins, that when given to laboratory rats cause damage to the brain very similar to human PSP. We don't yet know what, if any, foods in the Western diet contain similar toxins".

My family comes from the Caribbean and soursop is not an uncommon dish. I can't say that this is what caused Auntie Una to develop PSP, however it is a step closer in learning more about this rare disease.

To read more check out:
 CurePSP: Foundation for PSP|CBN and Related Brain Diseases
and
Journal of Neurology, Oxford Press

Donations towards a cure for PSP can be made on the CurePSP website.