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James F. Slattery wrote: > > I thought this item might interest those who have mentioned smell > disorders. See, we weren't dippy, just a few paces in front of the > researchers. > > START *************************** > 12:35 PM ET 05/12/97 > > Loss of smell may offer clues about Parkinson's > > LONDON (Reuter) - Most patients with Parkinson's disease > have trouble smelling, which could offer clues to the cause and > diagnosis of the disease, British researchers reported Monday. > Neurologist Christopher Hawkes and colleagues at Leeds > General Infirmary said tests comparing 96 Parkinson's patients > with 96 healthy volunteers showed measurable damage to the > olfactory, or smelling, system. > Smell was impaired in 70 to 90 percent of Parkinson's > patients, with damage in the olfactory bulb, which links the > nasal passages and the brain, they found. > ``Odors that were most readily misidentified were lemon, > pizza, wintergreen, rose and clove,'' they wrote in a report in > the British Medical Association's Journal of Neurology, > Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. > Smell tests or inspection of the olfactory bulb could be > used to help diagnose Parkinson's and other brain-damaging > diseases such as Alzheimer's, they suggested. > Alzheimer's, the brain-wasting illness that causes > dementia > and death, is also known to affect smell. > But how can a brain disease do this? > ``One possibility is that Parkinson's disease and perhaps > Alzheimer's disease might be caused by a virus or chemical agent > that gains entry to the central nervous system via the nose,'' > wrote the researchers. > They cited reports that showed the herpes virus could get > into the brain through the nose. > It could also be that the loss of smell is simply a > progression of the brain damage caused by Parkinson's. > Then again there could be a genetic component. Some > patients > with Parkinson's have a defect in the P-450 gene, which in > monkeys is found in large concentrations in the olfactory bulb. > U.S. figures show that Parkinson's is the second most > common > brain-wasting disease after Alzheimer's, affecting about one > percent of the population. It is marked by a shortage of the > neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical important for carrying > messages between nerve cells affecting movement. > Victims, who cannot be cured, can suffer shaking, loss of > speech and other symptoms. > ^REUTER@ > ********************** END > > Jim > > ************************************ > James F. Slattery, JP, MACS > JandA Computing Consultancy > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > ************************************ I saved your letter until I could get back to it. I had smell troubles after I began taking the Eldepryl. I recall how exrtreme it was. Mettalic and sometimes chemichal..like nichotine. I also could taste chemicals. Even today..in the center of my tongue is a slight burning sensation that gives me a bitter taste.The thing that really got me was when I showered..the water smelled and tasted chemical. Drinking water was..to say the least..horrible! We have a filter on the refrigerator and the water dispenser makes the water nice and cold to drink. Irregardless of the filter and cold..it was like swallowing something solid instead of liqued!! I had to really suffer it down! I hated drinking water! At this same time.. I had a terrible burning and odoriss rash with swelling, under the arms. NO doctor would listen to my plea for help with this. Then..I was given a batch of referals to see doctors out in town..eye doctor, urinoligist, neurologist, etc.! One doctor ( a gynacologist ) began me on hormone therapy..although he knew I did not approve and..although I was a new patient, he left to go on vacation and I was stuck taking new medicine and following a chart that even his nurses were confused on! Then..to worsen matters..my neurologist put me on immiprimine and I had all kinds of problems;;patches of rashes up my arms, some formed blister and some,streaks that itched. When I began having a menthol sensation up the back of my neck,across my shoulders and down my arms, the neurologist took me off the immipramine and the rashes annd menthol feeling cleared. I learned in an article from APDA that Eldepryl and Immipramine should NOT be used together! I do not know where to turn for a doctor who will take what I say seriously, not be rude and be informed on Parkinsons symptoms and medicines. Carol from Nevada [log in to unmask]