Claudia,
I am an early onset PDer, (now 48, diagnosed at 35, w/ symptoms that I recall
going back to @ age 31-32. Very interested in your idea of early childhood
illness/abnormalities.
At @ age 1-2 or 2.5, I had a digestive disorder called "Seliac"(not sure if
this is noun form of the word). My system could not digest any wheat or
wheat products. My condition lasted for about a year, during which time my
principle food was bannanas, bannanas, and more bannanas, with an occassional
rice cake and serving of fresh green beans.
According to my Mom, I thrived on the diet, and to this day still love a
good bannana. Apparently some kids who have this problem carry a life-long
hatred for the fruit!
The only other "abnormal" (normal= mumps, chk pox etc.) childhood illness
that I recall was @ age 4.5 to 5. I remember missing alot of school and going
for periodic blood tests. According to my folks, I had a high "sedimentation
rate" and an off/on low grade fever. Dr. never sure what I had.
Someone else on "PD-NET" in the last day or two mentioned the concept of
building a big PDer data base of this kind of medical history to look for the
"missing link". GREAT IDEA! Send me the questionaire! Along this line, I
had a thought on the issue of water supply a while back. While mention is
made of well vs. city, how about the kind of pipes in the houses/schools of
our youth. Although the iron pipes in my house were galvinized, there still
must have been lots of iron in that water judging by all the brown stains on
the china fixtures. Could all that exta iron and its oxidation and the
resulant free radicals been a factor in my early onset PD??
Steve Holahan([log in to unmask])
