Nancy,
I can't argue with what you've seen with your own eyes. Let me
throw into the pot, however, a couple of other references I found when I
wrote a paper on PD as a part of my Ph.D. program a couple of years ago.
It has been speculated that nicotine or some other constituent of
tobacco reduces the build-up of free radicals within dopaminergic neurones
(Lees, A. J., 1990. the behavioural neurology of PD. In G. Stern, Ed.,
Parkinson's Disease, pp. 389-414. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press)
In fact, it has been found that Parkinson's patients are not only at
lower risk of cancers related to smoking, but also of cancer in general
(McKeigue, P. M. & Marmot, M.G., 1990. epidemiology of PD. same book as
above, pp. 295-306)
Finally, on the subject of causes related to psychopathology, Lees
(above reference) has observed that: because often there is a latent
interval of several decades between the initiation of the disease process and
the emergence of symptoms, it is thought possible that there is a so-called
"pre-morbid parkinsonian personality." It has been speciulated that neurotic
personalities may be more at risk than extroverts, and that emotions combined
with hereditary factors might play a part in the onset of the disease.
Others have proposed that sustained, unresolved stress might cause chemical
changes in the brain which would predispose individuals to PD, or that
symptoms arise as a result of some chronic, unresolved conflict in the
patient's life.
I have other references on this last subject if anyone is interested,
but I'd like to hear from others on this idea of "sustained, unresolved
stress" and/or "chronic, unresolved conflict." Oh, also, a 1989 study by
Eatough, Kempster, Lees, & Stern found that, compared with controls,
Parkinson patients were more inflexible AND HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER
INCIDENCE OF ADVERSE CHILDHOOD LIFE EVENTS. What about these findings?
Maybe we should do a survey on psychopathological factors????????
Marti E.
