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Hello all,
I'm new to this list and I'm hoping y'all can help me out with a couple
of questions.  I'm a massage therapy student in Ontario, Canada and we
do outreaches to the hospitals and care homes in the area.  One of my
"client's" has advanced Parkinson's and his wife mentioned a couple of
things to me that I had never heard of.....in Biology class or in real
life.  The first was a direct connection between Parkinson's and the
Spanish Flu of 1918, and the second was that the majority of people with
Parkinson's tend to have low blood pressure.  This is of particular
interest to me because my oldest Aunt and Uncle both had Parkinson's.
When I talked with my mother (their baby sister), I found out that my
Aunt and Uncle both had had the Spanish Flu during that terrible time.
Another Aunt who also had that flu apparently thought she would be the
next one to get Parkinson's, but at 83 years of age she is still symptom
free and quite healthy.  Low blood pressure also tends to run in my
family.  I've been able to find all sorts of information about
Parkinson's, the Spanish Flu, and low blood pressure................but
nothing that ties any of these together.  I have a feeling that I'll end
up seeing quite a few client's with Parkinson's once my career begins so
I'd like to understand as much as possible about this disease, it's
causes and the effects it has on activities of daily living.  Any
information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much for your time.

Peace
Pat Higgo