This message was originally addressed to [log in to unmask]
and was forwarded to you by SYLLY
-----------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:07:24 -0500
From: GLLJLL <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Toxin's effects
------------------------
>I would appreciate anyone's comments regarding any correlation between
>persons having PD and also having an extremely sensitive reaction of
their
>nervous system when exposed to certain chemicals, pesticides, and
herbicides.
>Last weekend I was in our Barnes & Noble bookstore browsing through
their
>Bargain Books (all hardcover books, if that matters). Within minutes I
>was aware of a very strong "chemical" smell in the air and apparently
>emanating from the thousands of books. My lungs and throat felt very
>strange and I thought I might pass out so I left the building and went
>home. For the next several hours I felt weak and had difficulty
breathing and
>I trembled all over. The chemical smell of the bookstore stayed
>with me for two days. My husband, who was with me, had no reaction;
>indeed, he was not even aware of the chemical.
>I have had several similar reactions in the past when I was in a
closed-up
>house and a Mosquito Control truck went by, spraying insecticide at our
>lawns and which immediately seeped into the house. No one else in the
>house could detect it but to me it was over-powering. I reacted the
same
>as described above. The same thing occurred when a "duster" airplane
>kept swooping over our apartment complex which was next to farmland,
>spraying the crops with, I later found out, a herbicide.
>I have always had the theory that my young-age-onset PD (33) was caused
by
>my concentrated exposure to DDT as a baby living in a bug-infested
>southern state. (Our small house we rented had been dowsed with the
>insecticide by the owner - this was in 1944.)
>What I am wondering is could my extreme sensitivity to the chemicals,
>herbicides, and pesticides as described above be an indication that my
>body cannot absorb the toxicity of these chemicals the way most other
>people can? If this is so, wouldn't it help substantiate my theory of
the
>cause of my YAOPD, and shouldn't the medical researchers be
concentrating
>on TOXINS as being the cause of this horrific affliction?
>___________________________
>Janice Long (54/20 yrs.)
=======================================================================
==
Dear Janice:
The symptoms you describe match those that almost everybody who is
chemically
sensitive has experienced. The field of environmental medicine would be
of
great help to you. I suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (also
known as
Environmental Illness) and can give you information on how to get help
and what
you have to do to relieve the symptoms if you are interested. Write to
me at
[log in to unmask]
There is mounting evidence about the correlation between PD and
pesticides. I
am enclosing some research reported by another list subscriber that we
found
interesting. My doctor was critical of the lab mentioned here and if
you are
going to pursue any of these suggestions I would further look into the
reliability of the mentioned laboratory. He is also into alternative
medicine
and highly recommends the UltraClear products unless you also suffer a
lot of
food allergies. I must further warn you that the medical profession as
a whole
resists this diagnosis and will be of limited to no help at all.
Please write me; I think I can help.
Anita Hersh, Caregiver for Gerson (75/9)
=======================================================================
(Taken from the PARKINSN List)
Parkinson's disease has, until now, been described as being exclusively
a
"brain disorder." Indeed, in 1960, researchers first demonstrated that a
specific part of the brain called the basal ganglia functioned
abnormally in
Parkinson's disease. Various medicines were created to supply the brain
chemicals missing in Parkinson's patients, and these medications remain
the
mainstay of treatment.
Unfortunately, this approach is entirely symptomatic. This is to say
that these
medicines, although quite helpful in reducing the symptoms of
Parkinson's
disease, do nothing for the underlying disease process itself which
typically
worsens with time. New and exciting research has recently demonstrated
that a
majority of patients with Parkinson's disease have a defect in one or
more
liver enzymes which, when functioning normally, act to detoxify various
environmental poisons to which we are exposed. Various epidemiological
studies
have demonstrated a significant increased incidence of Parkinson's
disease in
populations having a higher exposure to environmental toxins. In a
fascinating
report appearing in the Archives of Environmental Health (1990),
Goldsmith
found an extremely high incidence of Parkinson's disease on three
adjacent
kibbutzim in the Negev region of Israel whose water was supplied from
wells
draining a common aquifer. The incidence of Parkinson's disease was
reported to
be 500% greater in each of the three kibbutzim than in the remainder of
the
region.
A history of occupational herbicide use has been described as
significantly
increasing risk of Parkinson's disease by about three fold with data
also
suggesting a dose response relationship between the duration of
cumulative life
time exposure to agricultural work and risk of Parkinson's disease. At a
recent
international symposium on Parkinson's disease, research was presented
demonstrating a very high correlation between Parkinson's disease and
the use
of pesticides. In comparing one farming area southwest of Montreal where
pesticides were used in large amounts to areas in the same region with
low
pesticide use, the incidence of Parkinson's disease was seven times
greater in
the former.
Why wouldn't everyone with these types of toxic exposure develop
Parkinson's
disease? The answer may lie in the defective liver detoxifying enzymes
described earlier. Thus, most people by virtue of having an adequate
liver
detoxification system, may not suffer significant ill effects when
exposed to
various environmental toxic insults. Parkinson's patients on the other
hand,
because of their defective liver enzyme systems, may actually potentiate
relatively low-level neurotoxic chemicals allowing the brain to be
damaged and
producing Parkinson's disease.
Recently, therapeutic techniques have been developed utilizing
nutritional
approaches in an attempt to enhance the function of the liver
detoxification
enzymes. In 1992, Dr. Jeffrey Bland described a nutritional intervention
program designed to improve the function of these detoxification
enzymes. His
research demonstrated a significant increase in the liver's ability to
detoxify
various toxic substances after three weeks on a specific dietary program
augmented in certain nutrients known to be helpful for liver function.
It is now possible to identify those patients who would benefit from
such a
program. New laboratory studies are now available to specifically
address the
functional activity of the liver. One study, the Detoxification Profile
(Great
Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory - Asheville, NC) specifically evaluates
the
detoxification function of the liver.
This study is in no way similar to the so called "liver function tests"
that
are a part of the typical blood studies done by most physicians. At
our
Center, those patients found to have defective liver detoxification
function
are treated utilizing a program based upon the work of Dr. Bland. We
utilize a
supplement, UltraClear Plus which is a nutritional supplement based upon
Dr.
Bland's original formula. In addition, we use the herb Milk Thistle in
this
program since it has been shown to enhance liver detoxification function
as
well.
Utilizing this program, we have noted significant improvement in our
younger
Parkinson's disease patients. This approach has allowed us to reduce
medication, and in one case completely eliminate all Parkinson's disease
drugs.
Unfortunately, older Parkinson's disease patients do not seem to respond
as
well when using this approach.
Another interesting new finding in Parkinson's disease research is the
increased level of iron in those unique areas of the brain typically
damaged in
this disease. As yet it is not known exactly why certain parts of the
brain
accumulate iron, but it is known that once there, the excessive iron
tends to
enhance oxidation which leads to brain destruction. In an attempt to
reduce
this damaging oxidation caused by iron accumulation, Dr. Stanley Fahn
treated a
group of Parkinson's disease patients with relatively high doses of
antioxidants including 3,200 units of vitamin E and 3,000 mg of vitamin
C
daily. He found that the length of time until pharmaceutical medication
became
necessary was extended by 2.5 years in those patients taking the
antioxidants.
Over the past several decades, EDTA chelation therapy has proven itself
as a
useful treatment in various forms of vascular disease. It is known that
the
active chemical in this treatment, EDTA, readily binds excess body iron,
and
allows it to be excreted. EDTA chelation therapy therefore may play an
important role in the treatment of Parkinson's disease since iron
accumulation
in the brain is so destructive in these patients. For more information
on
UltraClear Plus, contact HealthComm International Inc at (800) 648-5883.
To
learn more about the liver detoxification profile test contact Great
Smokies
Diagnostic Laboratory at (800) 522-4762. To locate a qualified
chelation
practitioner near you, contact The American College of Advancement in
Medicine
(ACAM) at (800) 532-3688.
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SYLLY
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