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> Herbicide  SUPARAQUAT  with the main ingredient being MPTP (1-METHYL
>   4-PHENYL-1236 TETRAHYDROP-UNDINE)
 
 
Now THERE's some food for thought.  Isn't this the stuff that causes a
"Parkinson-like syndrom" suitable for studies using lab rat models?
 
Is anyone aware of any epidemiological studies of the distribution within
the population of Parkinson's cases?  I don't know who used this herbicide,
but if it was commercially available, I'd expect to see some bump in the
curve for gardeners (my mom's gardener had Parkinson's).
 
I'm just wondering about the results of work done to characterize the
population most at risk.  I understand the "cause" of PD is still
"unknown," so I assume that there have been no significant associations
discovered.  My dad has worked in the paint and sundries distribution
business all his life, with lots of exposurt to various solvent fumes, like
paint thinner, acetone, alcohols.
 
 
I guess this note can also serve as my introduction to you all.  I've been
on the list a couple of weeks now, but haven't formally introduced myself.
My father, was just recently diagnosed with PD about 6 days after his 71st
birthday (some birthday gift).  My family had been noticing him "slowing
down" in the past few months, and had been encouraging him to see a doctor.
As he had been having trouble sleeping for about a year, he just thought
any slowness was from lack of sleep.
 
My sister had been worried about my dad looking "tired" a lot, and was
convinced it was due to "low cardiac output" (she's a head/neck surgeon).
Friends who hadn't seen him for awhile had trouble understanding his
speech, he frequently became so "mush-mouthed" and mumbly.  He eventually
went to a cardiologist and was diagnosed with moderate coronary artery
blockage, but not enough to justify any type of procedure.  The doctor
perscribed a low fat diet, cholesterol and blood-pressure lowering
medications, and an exercize program.
 
I live in LA and my parents in San Francisco, so I only visit every couple
of months; maybe the change was more apparent to me.  When I went to visit
several times I became very worried.  It was mainly dad's walking.  He took
tiny steps, scraping the soles of his feet on the ground, like someone
who's had a stroke.  What worried me the most was that his arms didn't
swing.  I thought I noticed a slight tremor in his hands as well, and
anything he tried to do with his hands he did sooo slowly.  I thought maybe
he'd had small, unnoticed stroke-like episodes that gradually decrease
mental functioning.  (I think they call them TIA's, Transient Ischemic
Attacks.)  I discussed it with my sister and mother, and they said they'd
try to get him in to a neurologist, but they never seemed to do it.
(I think a certain amount of denial was at work.)
 
But they couldn't avoid it when, at a recent big family affair, someone who
hadn't seen my dad in some time came up to them and said "Oh, I didn't know
your dad had a stroke!"  Well, he DIDN'T have a stroke, and I think that
finally shook them up enough to get him in to a doctor, who referred him to
a neurologist.  The neurologist diagnosed Parkinson's almost instantly, as
soon as he saw my dad shuffle into the office.
 
He started Sinemet last week (dunno the dose or if it's the CR stuff).  My
mom thinks he's better, judging by the walks they take together.  When I
talk to him on the phone, he sounds better too.  I'll be going up on
Easter/Passover weekend, and I'll see for myself.  I've learned a lot in a
short time from the list, and from reading my old med school texts (I went
to med school for a couple of years, then quit - it just wasn't for me).
 
Even after the diagnosis, it took awhile to sink in.  Now it's hitting me
(and my family, I'm sure) pretty hard.  It was something we NEVER expected.
Even after my mom's gardener contracted the illness, we never saw it as in
the cards for us.  It was both a relief and a terribly frightening thing to
get the diagnosis.  Now we know what the problem is, and that's good.  But
- oh my God - what does it really mean?  How will this affect our lives
now?  What's in store for the future?  It's just very scary to suddenly be
faced with the prospect of this chronic and progressive disease, literally
so close to home.
 
Insurance?  Medical expenses?  Drugs?  Nursing care?  How debilitated will
my dad become?  How soon?  I know no one knows.  What about my dad's
driving, which has been getting worse lately (don't ask HIM though).  Will
he require a driver?  Will he accept a driver, even if we could get one?
How will this affect my mom?  Is there a genetic component?  Is this what
*I* have to look forward to?  What about my dad?  Does he understand the
full import of the diagnosis?  Probably not, and better that way, but we
still need to deal with it realistically.  Denial can only carry you so
far, and if my dad lives long enough for the drugs to become less
effective, or to cause bad side effects...  well we'll have to deal with
it.  Should I get married quickly, so my kids can know their grandpa while
he's still able to play with them?  Suddenly everything in life takes on a
whole new perspective.  It's a bigger shake up than Northridge earthquake,
which shook up my life a lot.
 
I agree with my mom when she tells me hopefully, almost pleadingly, that
the neurologist told her it was only a "mild" case, and likely to progress
slowly.  I know she desperately wants to believe that, and at the same time
she's unsure about it.  I know she cries at home alone during the day.
 
That's all I can say about it now.  It happened, and we all need to deal
with it.  I hope the drugs work well and long for my dad.  I hope things
don't change too much too fast.  I'm glad the Internet exists, and that I'm
computer-literate enough to have known how to turn there, and find all of
you.  For the most part, I'll quietly lurk here, read your messages, post
questions occasionally, and mainly take strength from knowing that I'm not
alone, nor is my dad.
 
Thanks all.
 
 
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 Gary Zimmerman  Technical Writer  ||
 Internet:  [log in to unmask]  || _I'm_ an individual too.
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