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16th February 2009 - News report SUPER MICROSCOPE TO DETECT PARKINSON'S DISEASE Researchers from Keele University, in England, are using a "super-microscope" to diagnose Parkinson's Disease. They have been using a synchotron, or Diamond Light Source. The synchotron is a large doughnut-shaped particle accelerator, the size of five football pitches. It fires particles at near the speed of light, focusing them into a beam less than a single cell in diameter. It allows researchers to observe metal ions, particularly iron levels, in individual brain cells that are affected by Parkinson's Disease. For more information go to the news article. Iron is essential for the formation of L-dopa. The Birkmayer studies showed that iron caused a decrease in Parkinson's Disease in all of the more than one hundred people they tested. However, when L-dopa is deficient, as occurs in Parkinson's Disease, iron can sometimes accumulate in an attempt to increase L-dopa formation. So instead of iron accumulation causing Parkinson's Disease, which is what the method of diagnosis is wrongly based on, Parkinson's Disease can sometimes cause an iron accumulation. Many people with Parkinson's Disease do not have any accumulation of iron. So the method does not appear to have any likelihood of being as effective as existing scanning methods. 13th February 2009 - New research from Viartis Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn