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The Ottawa Citizen Monday, August 4th. 2003 Scientist links stress to Parkinson's cases Study to determine if it triggers disease or worsens symptoms Peter Scott CanWest News Service LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Scientists have been scurrying in a medical maze for years, trying to find the cause and cure for Parkinson's disease. One of Gerlinde Metz's rats -- housed, fed and pampered at the University of Lethbridge -- may help to prove what she suspects is a link between the debilitating degenerative disease and stress. The University of Lethbridge behavioural biologist is using rodents in a two-year study to determine if stress plays a part in triggering the onset of Parkinson's -- and whether it can worsen symptoms for those who already have it. "People live in more stressful situations today than ever before," says Ms. Metz. "Much of this stress is chronic; it never goes away. Who knows what stress plays a role in? What we don't know is: Does this increase in stress have any correlation to an increase in Parkinson's?" Ms. Metz's rats will be put in stressful situations -- from gathering food to mastering tricky walkways -- so she can record and interpret their reactions. "All we have now are assumptions, but with this basic research we can begin to investigate them systematically," she says. "It may be a big jump from rats to humans, but it provides us a method from which to approach the problem." Ms. Metz is part of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the university. Her project recently received nearly $350,000 over two years from the U.S.-based National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The German native who joined the university in 1999, also receives money from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, and the German Centre for Interdisciplinary Medical Research. Alberta provides Ms. Metz another resource to her chosen field: the province has a high incidence of Parkinson's. Her research here may reveal why. A leading suspect is the high use of pesticides. It is known, says Ms. Metz, that Parkinson's is part of aging. Each year, 5,000 new cases are diagnosed in Canada, a figure sure to grow as baby boomers become seniors. Little can be done about aging, but stress in the elderly may kill more brain cells faster. Genetic predisposition, lifestyle and environment all may be factors. "If we knew what caused it, we would already have a cure," Ms. Metz adds. "But we don't understand the mechanisms of diseases like Parkinson's. It requires detective work to discover them and translate the knowledge into better treatment." SOURCE: Canada.com, Canada / The Ottawa Citizen http://tinyurl.com/iyak * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn