I've been working on a time-line for the development and progression of my symptoms. In looking at the time-line, I realized that the onset of the stiffness and rigidity (my first symptoms) seem to coincide with the onset of sleep apnea. Well, sleep apnea causes hypoxemia (inadequate oxygenation of the blood). I started wondering if the lack of oxygen in the blood could have somehow played a role in the degeneration of the cells that produce dopamine. I know that sleep apnea causes some seriously painful headaches.

Does anyone know of any studies that suggest or support that hypoxia, especially chronic hypoxia, may contribute to PD?

Karl