Quote:
Originally Posted by Diego24
To be honest, I don't believe some virus or bacteria is causing PD. I do believe a viral or bacterial infection could trigger PD, but I don't think a virus is causing the whole PD process. But of course, I can't prove this. This is up to the scientists to prove it.
But if a virus or bacteria would be the cause for PD, then why majority of PD patients have late onset PD ? And those with early onset PD have some genes that gives them a high probability of getting PD ? If a virus or bacteria would cause PD, then anyone could get it no matter what age (and even genes) they have. Also, when scientists converted skin cells into neurons, these neurons also had PD; but no bacteria or virus is causing it.
I tend to believe the common story a bit more; the story that some external events can trigger PD. And a bacterial or viral infection can be such an external effect that triggers PD. I heard that doctors have a much higher probability of getting PD than the normal population. Don't know whether that is true.
Anyway, the question you are asking is really a tricky one and I don't think anyone can answer it. Not even scientists know were PD comes from.
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All IMHO:
PD is seen primarily late in life because the immune system gets less efficient as we age. Those with stronger immune systems will get it, if at all, much later. I know of seniors close to 100 who never had PD and were rarely, if ever, sick. I'm sure there are lots of examples the other way, too, though.
I think we could look at the overall health of someone pre-PD perhaps, did they get sick very often, ear infections, colds, flus, general malaise? The problem here is, what is "pre-PD"? The predominant theory is that one has PD for years, sometimes decades, before the cardinal symptoms develop.
We are early onset and got tested at great expense (before 23me) and do NOT have the PD genes (at least, not the "PD genes" that were the main ones at that time, but it wasn't very long ago at all). Go figure.
Neurons made from skin cells of a PWP have PD because the PWP had PD and those cells came from him/her. This may be a stretch, for sure, but if correct it would mean that the pathogen is body-wide.
Perhaps as you suggest a pathogen triggers PD and then the brain imbalance triggers all of the cardinal symptoms. But to me, if that is the case, I see that as meaning a pathogen effectively causes PD. Get rid of the pathogen, there is no brain imbalance, and thus no resulting cardinal symptoms...
Thanks for your thoughts.