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my father (69) diagnosed december '99 - had pleurisy as a child On Mon, 31 Jan 2000 23:32:37 -0500 Greg Sterling <[log in to unmask]> writes: > Interesting that this study hypothtesized about childhood respiratory > ailments and their relationship to PD. When I was about 6-7 years > old I had > repeated bouts of croup. On one occasion I was hospitalized and > placed in a > plastic oxygen tent for a couple days. The results of a survey > regarding > this would be interesting. > > Greg > 47/35/35 > > > -----Original Message----- > >Infection in childhood and neurological diseases in adult life. > > > >Martyn CN > >MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital, > UK. > > > >Other chapters in this issue discuss the evidence that implicates > infection > >during infancy and childhood in the etiology of respiratory > disease. Here I > >argue that experience of infection in early life may also be > involved in > the > >aetiology of some diseases of the adult nervous system. The > descriptive > >epidemiology of three neurological diseases is compatible with the > >hypothesis that they are delayed consequences of childhood > infection. It is > >not difficult to imagine that the effects of an infection which > results in > >loss of cells from an organ system, like the central nervous > system, whose > >cell populations have lost the capacity to replace themselves by > mitotic > >division could remain hidden until unmasked by ageing. Such a > mechanism may > >be important in the aetiology of motor neuron disease and > Parkinson's > >disease. Age-related differences in host response, which may be > partly > >related to a maturing immune system, are known to influence both > short- and > >long-term outcome for several infections. Perhaps the immune > response to > >infection with Epstein-Barr virus, or another common micro-organism > with > >similar epidemiology, in adolescence or early adult life is > sometimes > >directed at antigens that are also present in the central nervous > system. > At > >present, the evidence that supports these hypotheses is largely > >circumstantial. But it may be possible to devise ways of testing > them both > >epidemiologically and in the laboratory. > >