>
> From:          Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>

.  (I have yet to see a logical
> explanation of their case.)

  PD is not as conventional theory  maintains a lack of dopamine in
the brain but a brain neurological firing pattern spasm .  That means
that the normal firing pattern of the neurons has changed and this
change in the pattern can be caused by many things . Dopamine
defficiency is by far the most common cause . Other causes are tumors,
hydrocephalus,chemicals and disease . The nature of the brains neuron
firng pattern is determined to large extent by the shape of the brains
struicture . The brain is predoninantely in two halves . Thus the
spasm is often confined to one half of the brain producing PD symptoms
only on the opposite side of the body ( this is my condition ) . A
good analogy of what I mean by spasm is to consider the pattern of
flow of water in the ocean currents . The currents are to a large
extent determined by the position of the continents . A spasm is the "
EL Ninio" effect . This sort of spasm occurs often in the human body
such as asthma .


 INTERFERING WITH THE SPASM
 One of the best ways of interfering with the spasm os to increase the
neurtransmitter dopamine even in cases where the PD is not caused by a
dopamine shortage . Dopamine dampens the spasm a bit like a shock
absorber danpens a badly balanced car wheel . Just like with a car
wheel at certain range of speeds this dampening effect actually makes
things worse ( the wheel and damper are in sync ) so dopamine increase
at certain concentrations makes things worse ( dyskinesia ).

       DOPAMINE LEVEL IN BRAIN AFTER TAKING DOPAMINE
               BOOSTING DRUG ( L-DOPA )

l
l
l                    ++++
l              +   Zone A   +++
l ____+_________________+_________
l     +               Zone B                      +
l _+____________________________+___________
l +                    Zone C                                      +
l+________________________________________________+__

                Time   =AC >


   ( I apologise for the diagram but could not do much better with my
offline mailreader )

   Zone C
 In this zone the boost of  dopamine is least so the effects are
minimal . All the PD symptoms are there . ( In my case I am dragging
my left leg when I walk )

   Zone A
  In this zone the boost of dopamine is maximum and the PD symtoms are
lessened or gone   I often feel a bit strange .( In my case I walk
normaly without trying )

   Zone B
  This is the danger zone where the dampening effect of the increase
dopamin eis in sync with the PD spasm and makes the condition worse .
( IN my case my left leg becomes uncontrolable . The only way I can
describe it to a person who has not experienced it . It is like trying
to stand aand young child who is trying to attract your attention is
pulling and pushing at your leg . )   BUT and this is a BIG BUT unlike
driving a car with an unbalanced wheel that vibrates at only certain
fixed speeds the range of zone B is not fixed . With the brain any
strong pattern gets emphasised and expanded . Zone B is an extremely
strong pattern and so the more it occurs, the larger its range . The
expansion of zone B often completely destroys the advantage of taking
dopamine boosting drugs .
   I nearly always experience dyskinesia  4 - 6 hours after taking my
last L-dopa pill of the day . I have sometimes experienced it 3/4 hour
after the first pill for a few minutes . I sometimes get it on and off
during the day . I put this down to the dopamine level being about the
zoneA/zoneB boundary .
    If one stops going into zone B by not taking dopamine boosting
drugs then zone B range will shrink . Unfortunately this from what I
read this is not very fast . It is therefore important to avoid
dyskinesia not just for temporary discomfort .

        Brain Surgery ( Pallidotomy/Thalamotomy )
  It was reading the report on palidotomy that made me realize PD was
a brain neuron firing pattern spasm . After destroying a few brain
cells the blood flow pattern in the brain completely changes . Not
only is there a loss of tremor but often a restoration of muscular
control and other PD symptoms disappear . The explanation of PD as a
lack of dopamine does not even begin to explain pallidotomies success
. Going back to the ocean current analogy,it is like going to a place
in the ocean where the current normally runs very slowly but during
the  " El Ninio " it runs very fast and then if one was able, dump a
large land mass at this spot . The only pattern likely to be set up by
the oceans would be one where no water flowed at this spot . This
would effectively stop the " El Ninio " effect .
  Pallidotomy has to be very precise so as to destroy as little of the
brain as possible and at the same time stopping the spasm . It would
seem to be especialy effective at stopping dyskinesia .This is the
agravated spasm of zone B .


     peace
          Alastair     ( [log in to unmask] )