Researchers like Carvey at Rush in Chicago and Hong and Liu at the NIH have painted a pretty convincing picture of what sets the stage. A pregnant woman who experiences acute stress in the first weeks of pregnancy exposes the fetus to her natural steroids and his developing developing endocrine system is changed in a way that disrupts the body's control systems.

The same woman may expose the fetus to bacterial toxins as the result of infection and the developing immune system is hypersensitzed to further exposure. The ultimate outcome is damage in the substantia nigra from our own cells via inflammation.

The body normally deals with inflammation by way of the endocrine system's natural steroids. But chronic exposure can actually encourage inflammation. Ever see the Sorcerer's Apprentice?

Some critical system's become exhausted at an early age and our "bounce" factor is low. Life insults such as a virus or stressful job take a bigger toll. And the immune warriors continue their dance in our brains.

I see it as a two-fold problem in need of a two-fold solution. Repairing the SN may be possible, even imminent. But like the temporary respite of DBS, that doesn't address the other, which is the underlyng process. Oddly enough, however, I think that once we see that the repair can be real, that we as individuals can do a lot on the other. No more heroics. Let them keep the high stress job. Tell Junior or Mama that they've got to deal with their own problems because I'm going fishing.