<<Rick,

I'm a bit mixed up. Where do the tremor-dominant and Postural-gait-dominant subtypes fit in here? Do you think that age and pathogenesis correlate with a certain subtype? I don't disagree just in need of a little clarification. I started a new thread on this with some further research findings that go beyond clinical observation. I'd love to see how your theory complements these findings.

Laur«>

I don't see a direct connection to the subtypes noted thus far although there may be. What I am saying is that the St. Jude's research confirms the work of others and that, taken together, they show that, in some cases but not all, an aggressive virus does indeed lead to an immune response involving the microglia and leading to PD That is probably what appened in 1918.

The above can occur at any age and time to symptoms would vary with the individual but the effects of aging would probably be a factor. Thus a variety of presentations.

However, Carvey et al have demonstrated an identical immune response involving the same microglia but originating in the womb from exposure to the bacterial endotoxin LPS. Like the viral insult, the bacterial one activates the same immune response although it seems not to manifest until puberty.

This versionis much more complex due to the recurring interaction with LPS over the years, the wide variance in sensitivities to LPS, the synergies between LPS and environmental factors such as pesticides, stress sensitivity, in short all the usual suspects. Since this one begins at puberty it would result in the complexities of young onset.

Finally, a third form exists with a similar cascade resulting from exposure to LPS without prenatal priming. This is what happened to Ilse Niehaus (google that), a young lab tech exposed by a wound to LPS from a salmonella lab culture. This presumably would account for origins in nocardia exposure as well.

Logically, those three subgroups should exist from what we know. There may be another teir of subtypes a an overlay on these. Heck if I know.