Olsen,
Paula has got it right, increased prmeability is bad, it allows neurotoxins which circulate harmlessly in the bloodstream of a normal person, to enter our brains. This drug blocks calcium by another mechanism.
Geraldo,
The drug taken by the lady who has never needed any PD meds, is Ramipril. sorry, I don't know the dosage. However, I met another lady at a PD symposium who has had PD for a shorter time, 5 years, but has never had any PD meds. She also has high BP, and takes Burinex.
The other hypertension drugs are
Hydralazine
Captopril
Tetrazosin
These last 3 have been investigated by Purdue University by Riyi Shi.
They found that they slow down the processes of PD and Alzheimers.
Note that high blood pressure can damage the delicate BBB like too much pressure on a filter, not designed for high pressures.
Sorry can't find ref but here is article.
Ron


April 17, 2006

Purdue scientists find hypertension drug reverses death of cells
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University researchers have identified a drug commonly used to treat hypertension that may also reverse damage from spinal cord injuries, cancer and Parkinson's disease.
Riyi Shi
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A research team led by Riyi Shi (REE-yee SHEE) and Richard Borgens found that hydralazine, a medication that relaxes veins and arteries, may be an antidote for acrolein, a deadly toxin that is produced after a nerve cell is injured.

New findings based on research at the cellular level are detailed in two studies published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research today (Monday, April 17). In the first article, researchers examine how acrolein attacks and kills cells. In the second article, they demonstrate that cell death caused by acrolein (a-KRO-le-an), a byproduct of an injury, can be reversed when hydralazine is administered.

"This is probably the most important fundamental discovery we have made at the Center for Paralysis Research because we are saving nerve cells from death," said Borgens, Mari Hulman George Professor of Applied Neurology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and founder of the paralysis research center where the research was conducted.

"Initially we may use this discovery for spinal cord injury and stroke, but we can expect further studies will look at how it works against a whole spectrum of injury