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Subject: PWP and Colds > > When I was first diagnosed with parkinsons 14 years ago, I read every thing > that I could find in the local library on the subject. One of the medical > books that I read presented sort of a bad news/ good news format in > explaining the pros and cons of having parkinson's desease. One of the > goods was that parkinson's patients almost never have colds. Another item > listed was resistance to cancer. > > I have had sore throats since then but never have I gone into a full blown > cold. I'm curious to know if anyone else has seen the reference? Where? I > have tried to locate it again and cannot. > > John Davis 59/14 [log in to unmask] > > Hello John. Re: resistance to colds, a month ago, I would probably have agreed with you, because I had been cold-free for at least 5 years. Then, just 4 weeks ago, I was knocked over by a real live full-blown cold, and it took me between 2 and 3 weeks to recover. It makes a bit of a hole in the theory regarding PD however. An alternative explanation which makes sense to me, although I am not sure if it is endorsed by the whole medical profession is as follows: The common cold virus is capable of mutating, and our bodies, when exposed to a new mutation, have to set into motion an impressive chemical lab., which eventually comes up with a cure for that particular mutation. The effect of this process is what we call 'having a cold'. The body stores the 'blueprint' for that anti-virus, so that if we encounter it again, all our body has to do is dig it out and go into mass-production. This takes a day or two, during which we may have sore throats, runny nose etc. for a couple of days. This we call 'Fighting off a cold'. Now for the good news bit: There are only so many ways in which the virus can reconfigure itself - about 100 . So, since you can't catch the same cold twice, as you get older, your chances of encountering one of the few viruses to which you have no immunity are quite small. (NOT, however zero, as I found out last month. This theory sounds so sensible that I would love to know whether it has been validated or rejected by the Medical profession. Any comments? (I think this is still relevant to the thread isn't it?) Re: Amantadine: I am sure that a lot of folk taking Amantadine would like to think that their freedom from colds (assuming that they have been free) is due to that drug, and it is true true that Amantadine was originally sold as an anti-viral agent before the discovery that it could relieve some of the early symptoms of PD. However, I cannot help thinking that if it really is the magic cure for the cold, then the whole world would by now be taking it, and they clearly are not. Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>