As most of us here, I have been slightly er, preoccupied with how us lucky group of people hit the PD lotto. I believe in the multiple hit theory but couldn't at first grasp the environmental aspect for my particular PD pathway. As I haven't had much pesticide exposure, I am a city gal, one who grew up in the Motor City. I naturally started looking at air pollution and after some research posted here on MMT the particulate matter from car exhaust that comprises mainly Manganese particles. Well, we know that exposure to Manganese used in welding can cause Parkinsonism. If give the right environment, why couldn't long term exposure to this gasoline additive cause neurological damage? I posted some early studies indicating that it could very well play a part in developing PD. Here is my original post:http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ight=manganese

Well, look at this research that I did not see in Pubmed the first time around (thanks to Paula's link to Kurzweil we now have this gem I would say that here lies one of my smoking guns; not only did I grow up in the city of Detroit...my house backed up to a freeway!


Long-term air pollution exposure is associated with neuroinflammation, an altered innate immune response, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, ultrafine particulate deposition, and accumulation of amyloid beta-42 and alpha-synuclein in children and young adults.




Trends Neurosci. 2009 Sep;32(9):506-16. Epub 2009 Aug 26.
Air pollution: mechanisms of neuroinflammation and CNS disease.

So we have air pollution as Ultra Fine Particulate Matter that is taken in through the olfactory bulb (right in line with Braak) and readily crosses the blood brain barrier. MMT is a known neurotoxin, yet the EPA does nothing?

Can we assume that we would show elevated manganese levels? I'm now be ginning to see how all the pieces fit together, but the main thing for all us is to stop the alpha-synuclein aggregation,right? Well, as I say this my little boy is in his sandbox in the yard breathing in the same particulates...and I seriously am contemplating a move West or wearing gas masks or something. I wonder how remaining in a more polluted environment contributes to our rate of decline?

Laura