Dear Listmembers,
Late night thoughts from the coast of Portland, Maine...CONT. from
March,'96....
The onset of my PD was at age 37. My older brother has been diabetic
since the age of 16 (I'm now 47 and he is 51).
1) Are there others out there who are young onset PWP's with young
onset diabetes in a relative?
2) Whether YOPD or not, do you have a diabetic relative, alive or
deceased?
I have a genetic theory: a gene that regulates adrenaline's
manufacture is involved in BOTH PD AND DIABETES. Dopamine eventually
breaks down to adrenaline, and adrenaline controls insulin levels
(inhibits it). So THE SAME GENE COULD CAUSE BOTH PARKINSON'S (by
interrupting normal dopamine supply) AND/OR DIABETES (the lost dopamine
causes changed adrenaline levels, which in turn, causes insulin supply
problems).
Incidnentally, of 61 Maine PWP' s I have talked to, 43 have/had a
diabetic relative. I THINK I COULD BE ON TO SOMETHING.
What's going on here, gang??
Ivan Suzman
47/10 Portland, Maine
land of lighthouses
