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Maryse, I posted an abbreviated version of this. from Diane Wysak. If I don't the "List" rejects it if it is too long. It is strange...I have a MA, good thing I didn't go for the PhD when I had the chance at UCLA. However, my grandfather who had PD didn't graduate from the 8th grade. He was a self-taught mechanic. Maybe it is too much work for the brain ....Ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "M.Schild" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 7:17 AM Subject: weird > Newswise — Mayo Clinic researchers have found that an individual’s > educational > and career paths impact Parkinson’s disease risk later in life. This > report > will appear in the Nov. 22 issue of the journal Neurology, > http://www.aan.com/publications/journal/index.cfm. > The investigators, led by Walter Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic > epidemiologist, > discovered the highest increase in Parkinson’s risk in people with nine or > more years of education. They also found that risk level rises as years of > schooling increase. Occupationally, physicians had the greatest increased > risk for Parkinson’s compared to the general population, while those > employed > as construction and extractive workers (e.g., miners, well drillers), > production workers (e.g., machine operators, fabricators), metalworkers > and > engineers had the lowest risk increase. The researchers also note that > this > study did not find farmers and other agricultural workers at increased > risk > for Parkinson’s. > The Mayo Clinic investigators advise caution in interpreting this study. > “Our > findings for education and occupation are complex, and therefore they need > to > be interpreted with care,” says Roberta Frigerio, M.D., the study’s first > author and former Mayo Clinic research fellow. “These factors may be > surrogates for a variety of exposures, physical activity, personality or > socioeconomic status. Further studies are needed to interpret our > findings.” > Demetrius (Jim) Maraganore, M.D., Mayo Clinic neurologist and study > investigator, agrees. “We really can’t say from this study that education > and > occupation are causal factors in Parkinson’s disease; we can only say that > they are associated,” says Dr. Maraganore. “I don’t think that schooling > or > wearing a stethoscope causes brain cells to degenerate or that digging > holes > with a digger protects your brain cells from atrophy, but I think that > these > are indirect indicators of factors that may relate to brain degeneration. > And > now what we need to do is use these clues to try and identify those > molecular > level events that differentiate these people.” > Suggested Applications of Study Findings > The utility of the study’s findings concerning occupation, education and > Parkinson’s disease risk is primarily informational rather than actionable > for members of the public, according to Dr. Maraganore. This is especially > true in light of the relatively low overall lifetime risk for Parkinson’s > for > any given person, he says. > “Really, nobody should do anything differently based on these findings,” > says > Dr. Maraganore. “These findings are not at all intended to change anybody’s > behaviors. I think that the bottom line is that we’re talking about going > from a baseline risk of 2 percent to develop Parkinson’s disease during a > lifetime to a risk of 4 percent if you are highly educated or a physician, > or > 1 percent if you are less educated or more physically active. So, I wouldn’t > change your schooling plans or your occupation based on these findings. I > would just welcome these findings as new clues about possible causes of > Parkinson’s disease that will hopefully lead to the ultimate answers.” > Dr. Maraganore also notes that the study’s findings should be reassuring > to > farmers, welders or other metalworkers, who were not found in this study > to > be at increased risk for Parkinson’s due to their occupations, in contrast > to > previous studies. > Potential Explanations of the Study’s Findings > The researchers explain that the increased Parkinson’s risk found for > physicians and more educated individuals could be partly explained by > earlier > recognition and detection of the disease, in addition to better access to > specialized medical care. However, nonphysicians and physicians in the > study > had a similar time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of Parkinson’s, > which would speak against increased recognition of the disease due to > education or profession. > The explanation for the four occupational groups found to have a reduced > risk > of Parkinson’s compared to the general population also remains uncertain, > according to the investigators. The findings may be due to chance, some > bias > due to higher nonparticipation rate in the telephone interview portion of > the > study among these occupational groups, or to confounding due to lower > education and resulting decreased recognition of Parkinson’s. Occupation > may > be a surrogate for physical activity level in the findings, leading to a > higher risk in more sedentary professions such as physicians and lower > risk > in service occupations which involve greater motor skills use. The study > investigators emphasize that these associations do not imply causality, > however. Physical activity (recreation or work related) may protect > against > Parkinson’s disease, but it is also possible that people predisposed to > develop Parkinson’s disease avoid strenuous activity earlier in life. > Dr. Maraganore explains that early Parkinson’s disease could account for > some > of the educational and occupational risk findings. “It could be that > people > with Parkinson’s disease have premorbid personalities that make them like > education,” he says. “For example, dopamine is the reward chemical in the > brain and is deficient in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. > So, > if you have a long-standing deficiency of dopamine, you may be less likely > to > party and more likely to sit at your desk and study. So, in these ways > early, > undetected disease can subtly shape your pattern of behaviors, giving the > impression that education is a risk factor for the disease when in fact it’s > really an early manifestation.” > How the Study Was Conducted > In this study, the researchers identified medical records of all > individuals > who had developed Parkinson’s from 1976 to 1995 in Olmsted County, Minn., > home of Mayo Clinic. All Parkinson’s patients were then matched to someone > similar in age and gender who did not have Parkinson’s. The investigators > collected information about education and occupations from a medical > record > review and also a telephone interview with the study individuals, using > the > 1980 Standard Occupational Classification to code each person’s > profession. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn