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Dear Barb, WOW!! I've saved your beautiful, poetic thoughts on the way that Parkinson's Disease "molds" all of us, like the ocean shapes the stone. Your answer to Linda Herman's post rings true to me. Thank you! IVAN ^^^^^^WARM GREETINGS FROM^^^^^^^^^^ Ivan Suzman 48/10 [log in to unmask] Portland, Maine land of lighthouses 34 deg. F cold and rainy woodstove weather *********************************************************** On Wed, 1 Apr 1998 19:25:46 UT Barbara Mallut <[log in to unmask]> writes: >Linda... > >After reading your post and thinking about the "Parkinson's >Personality" as described, I've concluded that..... .... We are eventually MOLDED as >individuals AND as a group by the grossly uncomfortable, >physically, emotionally, often downright embarrassing symptoms >of PD and the daily struggle we have Parkinson's. And let's not >discount the regulation on the individual imposed upon many of >us by a lessening or loss of income caused by the disease. > >Just as a craggy, faceted rock tossed into the ocean is eventually >ground into a smooth, rounded stone by continually having it's >edges worn away by the sheer repetition and power of the oceans >waves, so the disease grinds down our own unique "edges" till >we've grown somewhat featureless, tho no less beautiful in our >own way. > >Barb Mallut >[log in to unmask] > >---------- >From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of >[log in to unmask] >Sent: Sunday, March 29, 1998 4:10 AM >To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN >Subject: Re: Parkinson personality??? > > I've read a number of articles on the "Parkinson's >personality," which has been described as both "industrious, >rigidly moral, stoic, serious and nonimpulsive," by researchers, >and "highly intelligent, successful, responsible, conscientious, >hard-working, and law abiding," by the wife of a Parkinson >patient - take your pick!... > >"Dopamine-related personality traits in Parkinson's disease" by >M.A. Menza, et.al. Neurology, 1993 Mar; 43 (3 Pt.1): 505-8. > >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. We found significantly less of a group of traits called >"novelty seeking" in PD patients compared with matched medical >controls. Patients with low novelty seeking are described as >being reflective, rigid, stoic, slow-tempered, frugal, orderly >and persistent, characteristics similar to those in the clinical >description of PD patients. We review evidence supporting the >claim that novelty seeking is dopamine-dependent, and suggest >that damage to the mesolimbic dopaminergic system causes the >described personality profile of PD patients." > >"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. The limited personality surveys tend >to be confirmatory, but most of the literature is anecdotal...In >addition to an apparent stability of marriages and lack of >alcoholism, patients with PD are less likely than controls to be >smokers. It has been suggested that nicotine and its byproducts >are not actually protective against PD, and it could be >postulated that higher-than-average intrinsic dopamine may >facilitate addiction. Smoking for the patient who is later to >develop PD may be particularly unrewarding..." > > 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? Are those individuals at a greater risk of >developing PD later on? Could a test be developed to measure >dopamine levels at an early age, and predict the onset of PD? >Would we want to know this? > > If the PD personality as described above, is indeed more >prevalent among us as a group - could that be one of the reasons >we have been "Invisible" for so long? > >Linda Herman >[log in to unmask] >