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Subject: Smoking and PD Date: 15 Feb 1996 08:08:05 GMT Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> Organization: The Computing Centre From: Brian Symonds <[log in to unmask]> Our internet server was down for repairs over the last few days, and although supposedly no messages were lost, I know I did not get the listserv messages for a few days. I wondered if anyone had posted the following information. In an artile by Susan Jimison in the Weekly World News, a study by Dr. David Morens of the University of Hawaii School of Public Health has suggested that "Smoking can stop the development of Parkinson's disease". Dr. Morens has been quoted as saying that his study showed that, "When you look at people who smoke, and people who don't smoke...you find those who smoke cigarettes are about half as likely to get PD". Dr. Moreau also is quoted as theorizing that there is something in cigarette smoke that stimulates an enzyme to break down brain chemicals that cause PD, and "the protective effect also appears to shield smokers from the development of Alzheimers". Dr. Morens is also quoted as saying, "Overall cigarettes are bad for health. But if something in cigarettes is protective, we might find helpful chemicals or clues to a biological process by studying this further". (ie, Dr. Morens needs more research dollars!). Without having seen the methodology of this study, and considering the complexity of the part of the brain that is associated with PD, I suspect that it is very premeature to claim that there is something about smoking that protects from PD and Alzheimers and wonder if Dr. Morens was quoted correctly (although it some rare circumstances smoking does have a protective effect, eg in asbestos workers and their risk for lung cancer from asbestos). Since there are over 8000 known chemicals in cigarette smoke, even if there is some protective effect, it may take a long time and a lot of research dollars to ferret out what is causing the effect, and what the effect is. In the meantime, since smoking is a major cause of diseases that lead to disability and death, not smoking or quitting smoking is extrememly important for everyone, including those with Parkinsons.