Eddie Amundsen said ----
" My name is Eddie and my dad has had Parkinson's for 15 years now.
" 1. Is Parkinson's hereditary.
" 2. Is there a way that a doctor can test me to see if I have it.
" My girlfriend has been asking me some questions about it and we wanted to
" know.
There are others here who are more qualified than I to answer your
questions, but let me try.
Dr Duvoison disputed the theory of a hereditary influence in his book.
Now I think that he has changed his mind, and he espouses the theory in
his lectures and in a later edition of his book. I am not sure of that.
There have been a few situations in which there seems to be several
occurrences of Parkinson's disease within a family. There is no
overwhelming, positive evidence that Parkinson's disease is hereditary.
It has not been reduced to a matter of dominant and recessive genes,
paternal or maternal heredity, or any other definite pattern of
heredity.
The causes of Parkinson's disease are highly speculative. A disposition
for Parkinson's disease is probably hereditary in some cases. Exposure
to certain materials and chemicals probably play a role in some cases.
But there is not any clear understanding of why one person is afflicted
and another is not.
The most common test for Parkinson's requires that a person display the
symptoms. A neurologist will examine a person who has a movement
problem, such as trembling, or slowness, or stiffness, or a balance
problem, and make a clinical diagnosis. Then, if the symptoms are abated
by taking sinemet, he is declared to have Parkinson's disease.
But this is not always definitive. I have the symptoms, albeit
relatively mild symptoms. I have been examined by three eminently
qualified neurologists. Two declare that I have Parkinson's disease,
without a doubt. The third says that I do have a problem, but he does
not know what it is --- he would not diagnose me as having Parkinson's
disease. But I do respond to Sinemet, and I take Parlodel, which helps
me definitely.
The third neurologist says that he knows other cases in which those
drugs are beneficial in cases other than Parkinson's diseases, so if
they help me, I should keep taking them. He points out that it would be
nice if I am afflicted by something other than Parkinson's disease,
because then it would not be progressive. And indeed, my problems do
progress relatively slowly, if at all. That issue is obscured by some
other health problems that I have had.
I think that the only conclusive test for Parkinson's disease is a PET
scan. This test uses a synchrotron, I think, and it is available in only
a few places, and it is expensive.
And, of course, an autopsy would settle the issue once and for all, but
I am not going to rush in to that!
If you want some personal advice, (which you did not request), tell your
girl friend not to worry about it. Life is full of risks. Some are small
and some are big risks. This does not sound to me like a big one.
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* SLMR 2.1a * McLean Virginia USA Fri 11-24-95 11:48 pm
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