<bigger>Linda, you wrote:
Abstract: "Studies suggest that PD is associated with a
particular group of personality characteristics. With relative
uniformity, PD patients are described as industrious, rigidly
moral,stoic,serious and nonimpulsive. In this controlled study,
we used a recently developed personality questionnaire,
Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, to test the
hypothesis that these personality traits are behavioral
manifestations of damaged dopaminergic pleasure and reward
systems.
"Is there a premorbid personality typical for Parkinson's
disease?" by GW Paulson and N. Dadmehr. Neurology, 1991 May; 41
(5 Suppl 2); 73-6
Abstract: "For decades clinicians have postulated a
characteristic preexisting personality in patients who develop
PD. They are described as moralistic, law abiding, conscientious
and averse to risk taking.
>
> Of course, while many of us may fit the profile, there are
>probably just as many others who don't. Both studies raise more
>questions, and present no definite conclusions. But I think this
>research raises some interesting questions:
>
> If it is true, as some scientists believe that our basic
>temperaments are genetically determined, and affected by our
>brain biochemistry, could some of us have lower dopamine levels
>from birth on, and then be more likely to develop these
>personality traits?
Dear Linda
The last question first. To my opinion our invisibility is not caused by
any trait that is typical for PWP's, but by having an incurable disabling
disease. Everyone who has gone through the experience of being in contact
with other people, who suffer from other diseases, knows that these
people are avoided by others too, and, being wheelchair bound causes
invisibility not as much as being a PWP, who has a sort of "strange
walk", that only PWP's have. Our "invisibility" is also caused by the age
of most PWP's. Older people being invalidated is seen as normal.
The fact that it the nervous system is involved does not make things
easier. It is my impression the invisibility of schizofrenics or people
with bipolar psychoses is much greater than ours.
Looking to the past we see that there have been many diseases who where
supposed to be caused by "character" and always by the same character,
untill another,physiological, causes were found : TBC, hart troubles,
stomach ulcers, cancer all have been interpeted as being caused by the
A-type personality. Personality researchers had growing doubts about the
reality of A and B dichotomy describing two complexes of charactertraits
who are closely connected. Nevertheless the theory did not disapear at
all. This indicates the theory has some attraction, wich is that it
promises we are able to prevent illnesses, because believers in these
theories, often belief that the A-type can be changed into a B-type if
one wants. So one is able to have control over even a so mysterious
disease as Parkinson has been for a long time.
As far as I know, it as never been factual proven that that by means of
measuring personaity traits one can predict who will and who will not
have a disease in the future.
Studying the pre-morbid personality of PWP's is complicated, because
it seems impossible to differentiate between early symptoms of the not
yet surfaced disease and charactertraits as such.
The question about charactertraits being genetically determined or not
can not be answered easily. The complexity of the problem is illustrated
by the outcome of a study about 'dominance" as a charactertrait. As is
usual in this kind of research a comparison was made between monozygotic
twins, who were raised together or separately.
The outcome was that as far as dominance was the point the ones who were
raised separately had more concordance than the ones who had been raised
together. Strange as this may seem at first sight,It is evident that two
people who are raised together can hardly be both equally dominant.
Ida Kamphuis
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Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards,
Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]
