Hello Raj,
thank you for your serious interest.
You write: "........ you still have to prove that EEG or alpha wave or
the altered rhythm you claim to be distinguishing PD tremors from other
tremors, can be detected even before the loss of 80% of the dopamine
producing cells, as you know that this is
the case even before the fist symptom of PD is recognizable. Can you claim
that this is so?"
V.R.: No, I cannot claim that as proved. Neither cannot you claim for sure
that an earlier detection is impossible.
Still there is evidence that early signals do exist: many PWP-s have
described that BEFORE the first disturbing and noticeable by others tremor
they have had various subjective feelings and sensations, e.g., depressed
mood, sadness, sleeping disorders, some pain in neck or shoulder, excessive
sweating, ...
It seems to me that if one is from a PD family and has got some, although
vague but PD-specific, suspicion he should have a possibility to be sent for
modern sensitive PD-specific diagnostic studies: one's quantitative ability
for SIMULTANEOUS fulfilling of various (motor, intellectual,..) tasks,
objective measurement of stiffness of
muscles, neuroimaging, PET and SPECT imaging, quantitative evaluation of
numbness, including also what I recommend: full Fourier-spectra of tremor.
Without recommendations to turn to a psycho-neurological institution.
It is clear that if one gets an objective confirmation for his vague
feelings he will also get a stronger motivation to undertake a fighting for
his life, including acupuncture, strategies by Jan Abas and John Coleman
etc.
As for the loss of 80% (70%) of dopamine producing cells before the first
symptoms appear I cite Dunnett & Björklund, Nature, Vol 399, Supp., 24 June
1999: “the recent neuroimaging and autopsy data indicate that there is a 4-5
years preclinical period with a rate of cell loss in the order of 10% per
year, with the disease progressing relatively more rapidly during the early
phases”.
Their last assertion that the most rapid loss of cells is at the beginning
of the disease and not in advanced stages is just what our rhythm-based
theory predicts: that the critical moment of the disease is when a powerful
close-system rhythm forms in one's brain (in substantia nigra) a compact
closed zone of continuous alien irritation.
I cannot believe that subjects under the attack themselves do not notice
it. I think that it is a shame of the present medical science that up to now
it has not helped the subjects to emerge into a confirmed cognizance of
their real state of health. In such a way the most important 4-5 years are
lost.
Raj: "What works for Jan may or may not work for everybody. That does not
mean we are refusing to try Jan's method. In advanced stages of PD, one
will try everything, even if there is a faint hope of being useful in some
way. Therefore, I think your accusation that we are putting ALL our hopes
on the stem cell card is not a fair one".
V.R.: I am sorry. I presented the idea in too simplified form. What I
actually wanted to ask is rather a doubtful question whether we should not
forget besides our near aim (substitute dopamine, then substitute dopamine
producing cells) a father but more serious aim of full recovery. Even then
when there exist only a few cases of that.
Persons with epilepsy have found out that Aristotle, Caesar, Leonardo da
Vinci, Newton, Dostoyevski,… have had epilepsy. It is truth that the
epilepsy rhythms have lower frequencies as the PD rhythms influencing so
more systemic functions of the nervous system whereas PD-rhythms touch the
physiologically very sensitive and rapid balance between the low-molecular
mediators.
Still theoretically the rhythms of epilepsy are not so awfully far from
the PD and ET rhythms.
Why not to have a deeper faith into capabilities of human beings?
Vello
>From: Brightline <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: on a causal theory of PD
>Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 22:03:07 -0300
>
>Hi! Vello:
> Thank you or your response.
> As a scientist, I believe in whatever you are saying with such a
>conviction, eventhough some of the terms are quite new to me, not >being a
>mathematician or a theoretical biophyicist. Given that, you >still have to
>prove that EEG or alpha wave or the altered rhythm you >claim to be
>distinguishing PD tremors from other tremors, can be >detected even before
>the loss of 80% of the dopamine producing cells, >as you know that this is
>the case even before the fist symptom of PD >is recognizable. Can you
>claim that this is so? If you can prove >that this is so, then the
>question remains how would you approach >avoiding or delaying the
>development of other classical symptoms of PD?
> Stem cell hypothesis is theoretically feasible and has been
> >demonstrated in model systems. This is more practical (assuming this
> >can be proven to work in human patients), very simple to understand: >one
>is replacing what has been lost. This is a case of simply >replacing what
>one has lost for reasons un known. You cannot blame a >desparate
>individual for clinging to some ray of hope in the >foreseable future
>considering other choices that are left, if there >are any. As you
>yourself know, PD is affecting every individual >differently. What works
>for Jan may or may not work for
>everybody. That does not mean we are refusing to try Jan's method. In
>advanced stages of PD, one will try everything, even if there is a >faint
>hope of being useful in some way. Therefore, I think your >accusation that
>we are putting ALL our hopes on the stem cell card is >not a fair one.
>Simply, there is no other aproach to this problem that looks as >promising
>as the stem cell approach, in spite of all the uncertainties >and
>unforeseen impediments that might lie ahead, before we arrive at a
> >procedure that shall be 100% successful all the time.
> Raj
> [log in to unmask]
>
>************************
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