the present invention is directed to methods for aiding in the diagnosis of dysautonomic disorders and dysautonomic conditions , and for treating individuals diagnosed as having a dysautonomic disorder and other disorders having dysautonomic components . in one embodiment , a method is provided for determining the presence of abnormal protein digestion and / or pancreatic dysfunction of an individual , especially a child , by analyzing a stool sample of the individual for the quantitative levels of one or more pancreatic enzymes including , but not limited to , chymotrypsin , so as to determine if the individual has , or may develop , a dysautonomic disorder or condition . in another embodiment , a method is provided for determining whether the individual is likely to benefit from the administration of secretin , cck , vip , digestive enzymes , other peptides , and / or neuropeptides . until now , there has been no clear biological marker for dysautonomic disorders or conditions to allow early diagnosis or screening of such disorders or conditions . it has been discovered by the inventor herein that a population of individuals suffering from dysautonomic disorders such as parkinson &# 39 ; s disease have abnormal or pathologic levels of pancreatic enzymes such as chymotrypsin in their stools . it is postulated that in dysautonomic syndromes , the partial paresis of the gastrointestinal tract , and therefore the lack of functioning of the secretory cells of the proximal small intestine , preclude the proper formation and / or release of secretin . it is further postulated that this abnormal protein digestion , as reflected by the low levels of pancreatic enzymes such as chymotrypsin , can be improved by the administration of secretin , cck , vip , other neuropeptides , peptides , and / or digestive enzymes to thereby ameliorate the symptoms of dysautonomic conditions . indeed , as a low measure of fecal chymotrypsin , for example , expresses an abnormality of protein digestion and / or pancreatic dysfunction , it is postulated that an improvement of protein digestion to promote normal growth and development of an individual suffering from a dysautonomic disorder or dysautonomic condition by the administration of secretin , cck , vip , other neuropeptides and / or peptides and / or digestive enzymes , can ameliorate the dysautonomic symptoms . in one embodiment , a stable preparation of digestive / pancreatic enzymes is formed into a dosage formulation containing a therapeutically effective amount of a protease , an amylase , and / or a lipase . the formulation may include additional enzymes , such as pancreatin , chymotrypsin , trypsin , papain and / or papaya . the dosage formulation may be administered by an oral preparation including , but not limited to , an encapsulated tablet , mini - tabs , microcapsule , mini - capsule , time released capsule , sprinkle or other methodology . in one embodiment , the oral preparation is encapsulated using prosolv ® technology . alternatively , the oral preparation may be encapsulated using enteric coating , lipid encapsulation , direct compression , dry granulation , wet granulation , and / or a combination of these methods . other combinations of digestive enzymes may also be used . these enzymes can be in the form of animal or plant derivatives , natural or synthetic . in a study conducted by the inventor , sixteen subjects diagnosed with parkinson &# 39 ; s disease and ranging in age from 41 to 71 were examined were examined . physical symptoms of the disease , such as constipation , lack of bowel movements , tremors , falling , and an inability to walk were monitored and measured over a period of 180 days . the subjects were given a dosage of digestive enzymes 3 - 5 per day . the dosages were administered in the form of encapsulated tablets , capsules , and sprinkles . the dosages were taken with meals and snacks . the digestive enzyme dosage included , but was not limited to , one or more of the following : amylases , proteases , pancreatin , papain , papaya , lipases , chymotrypsin , and trypsin . ninety - five percent of adults have bowel movements between three and 21 times per week , and this would be considered normal . the most common pattern is one bowel movement a day . however , some people do not have bowel movements every day or the same number of bowel movements each day . medically speaking , constipation usually is defined as fewer than three bowel movements per week . severe constipation is defined as less than one bowel movement per week . referring to fig1 , a majority of the subjects experienced moderate to severe constipation prior to any treatment with digestive enzymes . the severity of the constipation was measured on a scale of 1 to 7 , with 1 equaling no constipation and 7 equaling severe constipation . the subjects were monitored at 30 , 90 , 120 and 180 day intervals . over the course of the 180 day treatment , the severity of the constipation decreased from severe to moderate to mild in the majority of the subjects . referring to fig2 , the number of bowel movements per week experienced by most of the subjects was lower than normal prior to any treatment with digestive enzymes . the subjects were monitored at 30 , 90 , 120 and 180 day intervals . over the course of the 180 day treatment , the number of bowel movements per week increased to 3 or more in the majority of subjects . static tremors , or “ resting tremors ”, are tremors that occurs despite the limb being fully supported and at rest against gravity . they usually progress at the rate of 4 - 7 hz ( hertz ), and are the typical parkinsonian tremor . the amplitude of the tremor often decrease with sleep , complete relaxation or voluntary activity . tremors are often the first symptom that people with parkinson &# 39 ; s disease or their family members notice . initially , the tremors may appear in just one limb ( arm or leg ) or only on one side of the body . the tremors also may affect the lips , tongue , neck , or eyelids . as the disease progresses , the tremors may spread to both sides of the body , although in some cases the tremors remain on just one side . emotional and physical stress tend to make the tremors worse . referring to fig3 , a majority of the subjects experienced severe tremors prior to any treatment with digestive enzymes . the severity of the tremors was measured on a scale of 1 to 7 , with 1 equaling no tremors and 7 equaling severe tremors . the subjects were monitored at 30 , 90 , 120 and 180 day intervals . over the course of the 180 day treatment , the severity of the tremors decreased from severe to moderate to mild in a majority of the subjects . many parkinson &# 39 ; s patients develop gait and balance problems and this can lead to falls . ambulation is with a stooped posture using a short , shuffling gait . this is primarily due to the loss of balance control . unfortunately with parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , the muscles become stiff and patients have difficulty swinging their arms when walking which helps in keeping one &# 39 ; s balance . they also have episodes of freezing which literally have them “ stuck in place ” when initiating a step and they exhibit a slight foot drag which makes tripping easy . persons with parkinson &# 39 ; s have difficulty in judging spatial relationships . thus , falls often happen when navigating through doorways or through narrow passages . referring to fig4 , a majority of the subjects experienced an elevated number of falls prior to any treatment with digestive enzymes . the subjects were monitored at 30 , 90 , 120 and 180 days . over the course of the 180 day treatment , the number of falls decreased to less than two per week in a majority of the subjects . referring to fig5 , a majority of the subjects experienced severe difficulty in ambulation prior to any treatment with digestive enzymes . the difficulty in ambulation was measured on a scale of 1 to 7 , with 1 equaling no difficulty and 7 equaling severe difficulty . the subjects were monitored at 30 , 90 , 120 and 180 day intervals . over the course of the 180 day treatment , the difficulty in ambulation decreased from severe to moderate to some or no difficulty in a majority of the subjects . fecal chymotrypsin levels were also measured in the 16 subjects and compared to the fecal chymotrypsin levels of 16 subjects who did not have parkinson &# 39 ; s disease . the non - parkinson &# 39 ; s subjects ranged in age from 44 to 77 . fecal chymotrypsin is a sensitive , specific measure of proteolytic activity . normal levels of chymotrypsin are considered be greater than 8 . 4 u / gram . decreased values ( less than 4 . 2 u / gram ) suggest diminished pancreatic output ( pancreatic insufficiency ), hypoacidity of the stomach or cystic fibrosis . elevated chymotrypsin values suggest rapid transit time , or less likely , a large output of chymotrypsin from the pancreas . a stool sample was collected from each of the subjects . each stool sample was analyzed using an enzymatic photospectrometry analysis to determine the level of fecal chymotrypsin in the stool . alternatively , other methods , such as the colorimetric method , use of substrates , use of assays , and / or any other suitable method may be used to measure the fecal chymotrypsin levels . the levels of fecal chymotrypsin in the parkinson &# 39 ; s patients was compared to the levels of fecal chymotrypsin in the non - parkinson &# 39 ; s subjects to determine if the parkinson &# 39 ; s patients would benefit from the administration of digestive enzymes . referring to fig6 , the fecal chymotrypsin levels of the parkinson &# 39 ; s patients ranged from 0 . 8 to 6 . 6 u / gram , with a mean of 2 . 84 u / gram , while the fecal chymotrypsin levels of the non - parkinson &# 39 ; s patients ranged from 9 . 2 . to 47 . 4 u / gram , with a mean of 28 u / gram . thus , it can be seen that the fecal chymotrypsin levels of the parkinson &# 39 ; s patients were markedly decreased when compared to the non - parkinson &# 39 ; s subjects . in summary , the results of the study described herein demonstrate that administration of digestive enzymes benefits individuals having a dysautonomic disorder , such as parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , by ameliorating the symptoms of the disorder . furthermore , the results of the study indicate that measurement of the fecal chymotrypsin level in individuals having a dysautonomic disorder can determine if the individual will benefit from the administration of digestive enzymes . the foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure . it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description , but rather by the claims appended hereto .
a method for treating a parkinson &# 39 ; s patient with digestive / pancreatic enzymes involves administering an effective amount of digestive / pancreatic enzymes to an individual having the disorder in order to improve a symptom of the disorder . in addition , a method is provided for determining whether an individual has , or may develop , parkinson &# 39 ; s disease or related dysautonomic disorders and for determining whether an individual will benefit from the administration of pancreatic / digestive enzymes to treat the dysautonomic disorder .