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Joao Paulo Carvalho: I missed the initial posting on Nov. 11 re. "the loss of cilia in the intestines of autopsied PD patients." You asked for the meaning of "cilia." In the first place, there are no cilia in the digestive tract of humans with the exception of a portion of the pharynx which is common to both the digestive and respiratory systems. Cilia are "hair-like" processes on the external surfaces of the epithelial cells of, for example, the respiratory tract in which the function of these cilia is to sweep materials such as dust out of the respiratory tract. Another example is the presence of some ciliated cells in the inner lining of the oviduct, functioning to help propel eggs toward the uterus. In the small intestine the structures through which the products of digestion are absorbed into the circulatory system are VILLI, small "finger-like" projections of the gut lining. I hope this helps. Regards, Gaylord. (Prof..Emeritus of biology. 72/14/NY) <frough @bigvax.alfred.edu>