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Junior Member
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 82
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 82
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Could Giardia be a factor?
In my quest to discover the source of the "idiopathic" part of Parkinson's, even though I had no symptoms, I had a stool analysis as a last ditch effort to find a cause and then could possibly prevent more progression. Result was: giardia infestation.
I was stunned because I don't fit the profile of risky behavior. I wash my hands constantly, am very careful about washing food and my dishes and flatware are sterilized in the dishwasher. I don't drink from rivers or streams and used to drink city water (now drink bottled because city water can also be a source). Also, I've had no symptoms so I don't how long I was infected.
Of course I googled "giardia parkinson's" and found this:
http://www.coreonehealth.com/common-...s-and-bacteria
"Giardia also produces neurotoxins—toxins that harm the nervous system. These toxins cause depression, sleep disorders, and an inability to concentrate, among other symptoms. Giardia is linked to autoimmune disease, particularly with neurological autoimmune processes such as multiple sclerosis, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Parkinson’s disease."
And this, which is the process of causing leaky gut to give birth to autoimmunity:
https://online.epocrates.com/u/29243...asics/Etiology
"Pathogenesis of giardiasis is not completely understood and several hypotheses exist. Theories include direct damage to the brush border intestinal mucosa either by trophozoites or by host immune-response activation..
..Giardia disrupts tight junctions in human intestinal monolayers, which increases epithelial permeability [24] [25] and results in fat malabsorption. Weight loss and malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins, lactose, and vitamin B12 are commonly seen in chronic giardiasis. Children can present with failure to thrive.
Giardia induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) in infected cells. [26] [27] This causes malabsorption of sodium, water, and glucose and reduced disaccharidase activity due to loss of absorptive surface area of the epithelium."
Have you had a stool analysis or endoscopy with giardia positive? I'd like to know if this could be a factor that the neuros haven't investigated.
I found another website that lists giardia infestation as a diagnostic marker of PD.
Egg or chicken first? Have they looked? Lynn
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