some questions , when my brain was jogged back into thinking about PD and its etiology by a recent post by Heidi L.
I said to myself "what's the difference between the way MPTP and 6-Hyroxydopamine, insofar as the mechanism by which they induce PD in rats (the contralateral rotation paradigm)"
The mechanism's (as known), have a glaring hole in them. MPTP and 6-hydroxydopamine are "specific" to Nigral area cell death, but other molecules which aren't so specific to just nigral cells, that is compounds like rotenone which can permeate any body cell to the same degree (non-specific) still cause Parkinsonism, albeit more slowly.
This URL
http://www.springerlink.com/content/r43078h664809185/
came up after a short search and pins the underlying PD causing activity on the action of "Complex 1" a large enzyme that works at the beginning of the NADPH redox cycle in mitochondria. Do a search for complex 1 and the cellular cycle that i speak of. This, will jog a lot of questions in your brain too, if you give it some thought.
It's been implicated for a long time that this redox cycle is of primary importance for energy cycling in all cells and is based at the mitochondria in ATP production, and "recharging".
The thing that i'm getting at is why don't ALL cells that are permeated by compounds that are toxic to complex 1, throw such a wrench into the biological machinery in the mitochondria to produce apoptosis (initiated cell death). It seems that we should be compromised EVERYWHERE, in the body, in nerve, blood, bone, etc. cells, since the energy producing mechanisms in all cell mitochondria are the same.
Does anyone have a good explanation for this?. There is lots of stuff out there to look at as far as this is concerned, but to my knowledge, this question hasn't been answered yet? cs