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PARKINSON'S MAY AFFECT NERVES OUTSIDE THE BRAIN Dr. David Goldstein of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) found that orthostatic hypotension, the drop in blood pressure that occurs when people stand up, is associated with a loss of sympathetic nerve endings. These nerve endings produce norepinenphine, a neurotransmitter related to dopamine. Dizziness and even fainting upon standing is often associated with Parkinson's and sometimes blamed on the drugs used to treat it. Using positron emission tomography (PET) scans, Goldstein's study of 29 Parkinsonians found that nearly every one in the study had lost nerve endings in their heart, even if they did not have the blood-pressure symptoms. THE COFFEE CONNECTION More research is needed, but this discovery might explain the unusual finding that heavy coffee drinkers seem to have a lower rate of Parkinson's. Caffeic acid, a component of coffee, is in the same family of chemicals (catecholamines) as dopamine and norepinephrine. All three compounds are broken down by the enzyme, COMT. Unsupported by any scientific studies, Goldstein theorizes that possibly COMT might be occupied with the caffeic acid that heavy coffee drinkers drink, which would allow more dopamine to reach the brain. The two newest drugs for Parkinson's, Tasmar and Comtan, are COMT inhibitors.