Cathy:
I can't address all of your concerns and please know that I am not a
medical professional of any variety, but here's a little to go on regarding
the issue heritability and pesticides. To date, PD has been confirmed in a
hereditary form only in 3 or 4 (depends on who you ask) families of Greek
and Italian origin--most definitely in the family known as the Contursi
kindred. An important distinction here is that scientists will refer to
"familial cases" where there are two or more cases in a family: that is
NOT to say that that family is subject to a hereditary form of disease.
(Please, oh, please don't ask me to explain--I take a lot of this on faith
from our physicians and research staff.)
Second, re pesticides and well water issues, there are more than 30
studies which confirm an association between PD and rural living, drinking
well water, involvement in agricultural pursuits, etc., so you are correct
in seeking an explanation there. Again, however, the scientific community
overall stops short of calling these factors A cause or THE cause of
disease. A very common hypothesis is that there is a genetic
susceptibility in some people and perhaps in some families-- a mutated gene
that makes at least some people more likely to get PD--and that if those
individuals are exposed to some environmental toxin, they are more likely
to get PD than people who are exposed to environmental factors WITHOUT the
mutation.
The big problem here is that there are thousands of potential
environmental influences and thousands of possible genetic mutations, and
the process of sorting through the permutations is just in its infancy.
Personally, I expect that the enormous progress made by the Human Genome
Project will provide some light over the next few years, but that still
leaves a LOT of chemicals to explore in combination with mutations!
Carole
At 04:42 PM 6/29/98 EDT, you wrote:
>My mother is in the hospital and just received a firm diagnosis of
Parkinson's
>and they just put her on sinemet?. She refused to see doctor's most of the
>time and the few times she did go they would say that it looked like she had
>PD but that they needed to follow her for a while to make sure. She has
>tremors that started in one hand and then went on to her legs. She walks
with
>short shuffling steps and says that sometimes it feels like her feet are
glued
>to the floor. It is very difficult for her to get up out of a chair. She
>also has severe arthritis in her spine as well as osteoporosis. Her tremors
>started about 4 years ago, but she had a lot of muscle weakness and fatigue
>for about 16 years prior to the tremors. She had a frozen shoulder about 20
>years ago. This was followed by a lot of fatigue and muscle weakness, gastro
>paresis(the muscles in her stomach weren't working properly), bladder
>problems, and various other complaints. Could all of these muscle problems
>and weakness been the early stages of PD even though the tremors didn't start
>until much later. I am very concerned because I have been suffering from
>muscle fatigue and weakness for many years myself. I was diagnosed with
>Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 10 years ago. I especially have trouble with the
>right side of my body. I get spasms in my right shoulder that affect my
right
>arm and hand and my right leg gets very stiff and I find myself dragging my
>foot on that side. I cannot walk very far without running out of steam and
>then my movements become very slow and stiff and my arms don't swing when I
>walk unless I make them swing. Then I have to sit down and wait until I
>regain some steam. I do not have tremors at this time. Is PD hereditary?
>Can it start with exhausion and muscle problems before the tremors begin?
>
>I have read before about a possible connection between PD and
>pesticides/herbicides. When I was little we had a farmer's field directly
>behind our house and we had well water with the well being right on the very
>edge of the farmer's field. Could this cause PD?
>
>Please excuse the length of this post but I am very concerned and upset right
>now. Thanks for listening and I would appreciate any response.
>
>Kathy
>
>
