Raj ger

Many thanks I shall follow this up

gorhemmynnadow a'n gwella

Julie

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brightline" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: IHT: Hints of a Parkinson's 'cluster'


> Caffeine and nicotine is supposed to have healthy effect on PD symptoms.
If
> you are subscribing to Dr. Abraham Liebeman's
> [log in to unmask]  he was talking about this topic in detail
> recently.  I am sorry I do not remember the date.  It was within the month
> of May,02 I guess.
> If I find the dagte I shall post it for you.
>      Raj
>     [log in to unmask]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "winddam" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 3:07 PM
> Subject: Re: IHT: Hints of a Parkinson's 'cluster'
>
>
> > Janet ger
> >
> > We are especially interested in the effects of caffeine on Parkinsons.
My
> > husband tried 150 mg of caffeine a day for 6 days and the effect was
> > positive and  noticeable.  The tremor ceased or reduced, he was alert
and
> > able to work normally without fatigue.  Unfortunately a reaction set in
on
> > the 6th day.
> >
> > I am also trying to get more information on studies with the nicotine
> patch.
> > I know that studies in Germany were negative or inconclusive, but this
was
> a
> > small sample with advanced disease and the patch is claimed to be most
> > effective in early mild symptoms.  Other studies have apparently been
> > carried out.
> >
> > Does anybody have any information, either about caffeine or nicotine?
> >
> > dhiso
> >
> > Julie
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "janet paterson" <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 11:29 AM
> > Subject: IHT: Hints of a Parkinson's 'cluster'
> >
> >
> > > Hints of a Parkinson's 'cluster'
> > >
> > > Thursday, May 16, 2002 - NEW YORK - 2 years ago, after giving up his
> > > television series "Spin City," Michael J. Fox created a medical
research
> > > foundation that already is renowned for its fast-paced disbursements
to
> > > scientists.
> > >
> > > Since April of last year, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson's
> > > Research has given out nearly $17 million to help finance 57 studies.
> > >
> > > The foundation supports studies covering everything from gene therapy
to
> > > the effects of caffeine on Parkinson's disease.
> > >
> > > It has recently dedicated $4.4 million to developing stem cell lines
> that
> > > could be implanted in the brains of Parkinson's patients to replace
the
> > > dopamine-producing cells they have lost.
> > >
> > > It is about to underwrite strategies for reducing dyskinesia, the
> > > involuntary movements that are side effects of taking L-dopa, the drug
> > used
> > > most often to quell the tremors and rigidity of Parkinson's disease.
> > >
> > > Fox's celebrity can do more than raise money. It may also help open an
> > > avenue of research that scientists have long wanted to explore.
> > >
> > > Fox, it turns out, was one of 4 people who worked on a production crew
> at
> > a
> > > television studio in Vancouver in the late 1970s and developed
> Parkinson's
> > > disease. Given that only 125 people worked on the crew in those
years -
> > > including actors, directors, writers, production people and
> technicians -
> > > the number of cases seems extraordinary.
> > >
> > > Typically, Parkinson's disease afflicts 1 in 300 people. In people as
> > young
> > > as Fox, 30 when the disease was diagnosed in 1991, the illness is much
> > rarer.
> > >
> > > Fewer than 5 percent of Parkinson's patients develop symptoms before
age
> > > 50, said Caroline Tanner of the Parkinson's Institute. So the
situation
> is
> > > even more unusual because the Vancouver cluster includes Fox and a
woman
> > > who learned she had Parkinson's at age 38.
> > >
> > > The 4 people worked together from 1976 to 1980, when it is possible
that
> > > the disease began in all of them.
> > >
> > > Parkinson's progresses gradually, taking 5 to 10 years from the time
it
> > > starts to the appearance of the first symptoms - usually, rigidity in
an
> > > arm or leg or tremor in a hand.
> > >
> > > Donald Calne, director of the neurodegenerative disorders center at
the
> > > University of British Columbia, estimates that the odds of the four
> cases
> > > occurring at the same time in such a small group of people are less
than
> 1
> > > in 1,000.
> > >
> > > He and other scientists say the cluster warrants investigation.
> > >
> > > "I would say that would certainly show up on my radar screen," said
> > William
> > > Langston, director of the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale,
> California,
> > > and chief scientific adviser to the Fox Foundation. "I would
definitely
> > > want to look further."
> > >
> > > Clusters of Parkinson's cases occur from time to time, when, for
> example,
> > a
> > > number of people in a neighborhood or small town develop the disease.
> But
> > > they often go unnoticed or are ignored because scientists lack the
time
> > and
> > > money to look into them.
> > >
> > > In this case, the publicity surrounding Fox's admission that he had
> > > Parkinson's, nearly three and half years ago, drew the cases into the
> > > spotlight.
> > >
> > > Don Williams, who directed Fox in two Canadian situation comedies
> > beginning
> > > when the actor was 16, also has Parkinson's. He learned of his illness
9
> > > years ago, when he was 55. Sally Gardner, whose Parkinson's was
> diagnosed
> > > when she was 38, in 1984, had been a script supervisor in the late
> 1970s,
> > > and had worked with Fox and Williams. The fourth member of the cluster
> is
> > a
> > > cameraman who has kept his identity secret; his diagnosis came at age
> 54.
> > >
> > > Could something at the television studio have caused the disease in
all
> 4
> > > people? Calne, Langston and other experts believe it could have.
Perhaps
> > > something they breathed or ate or drank - a toxin, perhaps, or an
> > > infectious agent - set the disease process in motion.
> > >
> > > "If this is a genuine cluster and not a statistical fluke," said
Oliver
> > > Sacks, a neurologist and writer, "it would certainly suggest an
> > > environmental agent at work."
> > >
> > > The mystery is especially compelling because scientists do not know
what
> > > causes most cases of Parkinson's. Most believe that both genetic and
> > > environmental factors are at work.
> > >
> > > "We often say that maybe people have some gene that predisposes them
to
> be
> > > susceptible to any number of things in the environment," said William
> > > Weiner, chairman of neurology department at the University of Maryland
> > > School of Medicine. "But that's probably just another way of saying we
> > > don't know the cause."
> > >
> > > The disease occurs when cells in the substantia nigra, a darkly
> pigmented
> > > part of the midbrain, about half the size of an adult index
fingernail,
> > > start to die off. These cells produce dopamine, a chemical messenger
> that
> > > is essential for normal muscle movement.
> > >
> > > The cell death occurs gradually, and that is why Parkinson's can go
> > > unnoticed for so long. Once dopamine production declines by about 80
> > > percent, the patient begins to experience the 4 classic symptoms:
> tremor,
> > > stiffness, slow movement and problems with walking, posture and
balance.
> > >
> > > In some cases, the cell death is set off by genetic mutations.
> Scientists
> > > have identified two genes that are involved in Parkinson's and have
> > > pinpointed the locations of 4 others.
> > >
> > > But Parkinson's does not seem to be primarily a genetic disorder. It
> runs
> > > in the families of only about 10 percent to 15 percent of patients,
> Tanner
> > > of the Parkinson's Institute said. A large study she conducted
indicated
> > > that the identical twins of Parkinson's patients are no more likely to
> > have
> > > the disease than fraternal twins - a sign that the disease is not
> largely
> > > genetic.
> > >
> > > Environmental agents have also been known to create symptoms. In the
era
> > of
> > > World War I, for example, some people who had contracted the virus
that
> > > causes sleeping sickness later developed what came to be known as
> > > post-encephalitic parkinsonism, a particularly severe disorder that
left
> > > people in trancelike states.
> > >
> > > It is possible that a virus could also have been involved in the
> so-called
> > > Fox cluster. "It is important to look for infectious as well as toxic
> > > agents," Sacks said.
> > >
> > > Mary Duenwald The New York Times
> > > Copyright 2002 The International Herald Tribune
> > > http://www.iht.com/articles/57830.htm
> > >
> > > janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky
> > > pd: 55/41/37 cd: 55/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email:
[log in to unmask]
> > > smail: 375 Country Street, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0
> > > a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/
> > >
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