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On May 6, 11:57am, Jeffrey G. Barlow wrote: > Subject: Re: PD & OCCUPATION > I spent one month in Vietnam in December-January of 1995-96 and > seemed to run into references to Parkinsons constantly. Several parents > of teachers in the unit where I studies were hospitalized on and off > during that period. Then I interviewed a martial arts instructor in > Hanoi who also referred to it several times. It is only an impression, of > course, not a systematic study, but I would presume that the exposure to > agricultural chemicals is much higher in Vietnamese society than in many > societies, and that there may be a link of some sort. It would be worth > studying. > > Jeffrey G. Barlow Professor of History > Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon USA 97116 > e-mail: [log in to unmask] > >-- End of excerpt from Jeffrey G. Barlow Like, I'd guess, most other Parkies, "idiopathic" was not in my vocabulary before I was diagnosed. I would also guess that all of us, when diagnosed, asked ourselves: "What do I think could have caused it in me?" Perhaps we'll never know. Perhaps it was one breath, one bite, or one gulp. However, on a long-run basis, I can only think of two things in my life that seem particularly suspicious. The second of these is that I drink a lot of coffee, and have done so for a long time. Maybe caffeine causes Parkinson's; but, purely intuitively, I doubt it. Far and away, it seems for me that its most likely cause is (or concerns) that I served in Vietnam (70-71). Does this really have anything to do with my having Parkinson's disease? Have possible relationships between those who were in Vietnam during "Agent Orange" years and Parkinson's disease been adequately studied? I don't know. But Agent Orange is supposedly pretty bad stuff, and so it would seem to be at least a possible (if not provable) cause. Of course, even if my Parkinson's were proven to have been caused by something that happened in Vietnam, this wouldn't necessarily help those who weren't there, and it may mean nothing for any of us for the future. And we are all aware that for many, many human beings, suffering from Parkinson's 25 years later just doesn't even begin to compare with what they suffered. Still, I wonder, was it Vietnam? Perhaps possible relationships between serving in Vietnam and Parkinson's disease were discussed long before I joined this list. Perhaps such possible relationships have been extensively studied, and no correlation has been found. Perhaps people still don't like talking about issues involving the United States and Vietnam. It's just that, like (I'm sure) all my fellow idiopathic Parkies, I wonder what caused it in me. Bruce