Hello, I have had Parkinson's Disease (PD), for 16 years, and recently have become convinced by the evidence that I have uncovered, that the BBB (blood brain barrier) plays a crucial role in PD. My post is at the end of this one.
I have published evidence that PD sufferers all have a leaky or defective BBB. This allows toxins already in the blood stream, which circulate harmlessly in a normal person, to penetrate the BBB and enter the brain.

see
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=12139

Any substance or treatment that increases the BBB permeability causes a worsening of PD sympmtoms. For example, stress widens the pores, and anyone with PD will tell you of the catastrophic effect on symptoms of PD.
Compounds that also cause a worening of symptoms, also cause a widening of the BBB pores, eg nitric oxide, carbon monoxide etc.
Compounds that close the pores of the BBB also improve the PD patient. Such as the antioxidant curcumin, or alpha lipoic acid. Are these used *** supplements in ALS?
I have now had a brief look at the role of the BBB in other neurologivcal diseases, and posted the following.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...2979#post72979

It looks as though the BBB is at the heart of many of our problems, and I would be very imnterested in your comments.

Ron Hutton

Original post
The more I see, the more I become convinced that PD is simply that we have a defective blood brain barrier (BBB). You can explain every fact with this scenario. First, Dutch researchers have confirmed that Parkies have a leaky or defective BBB.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/c...73259/ABSTRACT
In a normal person, the BBB is tight and stops toxins getting into the brain. THe toxins circulate harmlessly in the bloodstream. In our case we get leakage into the brain, and damage to the neurons.
Question, Why do parkies vary so much in their symptoms?
Because the defective BBB is on a score of 10, where 10 is perfect, say 6 in one Parkie, and 4 in another.

Question, Why is PD generally more in older people 55 years and above.
Because the BBB gets leakier and less efficient with age.
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/p...ns_disease.pdf

Question,Why do some people who have exposure to pesticides, or other toxins get PD, whilst the man alongside him does not?
Again, because the man who gets PD has a defective BBB.
Additionally, pesticides increase the porosity of the BBB
Sinha and Shukla Hum Exp Toxicol.2003; 22: 647-652

Question, A number of us have found curcumin helps to ease our symptoms, Why?
Because curcumin is known to close the pores on the BBB.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood-brain_barrier

Question, Why does stress make our symptons worse?
Because stress has been shown to widen the porosity of the BBB.
http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdf...4/15024-10.pdf

Question, What other chemicals cause our symptoms to worsen?
Nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and organic phosphates
Yes you have guessed it, they all cause an increase in the porosity of the BBB
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f.../carbmono.html

http://www.foresight-preconception.o...oklet_agro.htm

Are there other beneficial compounds which help reduce PD symptons, which also tighten the BBB?
Yes for example methylprednisolone.
http://bjo.bmj.com/cgi/collection/Mu...halmol&page=29
“Oral methylprednisolone improved symptoms and disability resulting from attacks ... Parkinson's disease.”

In fact, a similar mechanism has been proposed for MS
“We know that when a person with MS has an exacerbation of symptoms, the blood-brain barrier near the lesions breaks down, leaving the surrounding brain vulnerable to excitotoxin entry from the blood.”
http://www.althealth.co.uk/help_and_...ple_sclerosis4

Everything I have found that widens pores of the bBB also makes our symptons worse. Everything that tightens the pores improves our symptons.
I have found no exceptions, although there must surely be some.

So we need a new direction of research, to find treatments which repair the leaks in the BBB. Sounds easier than suffering a DBS?
The reseach on pesticide damage, bacteria damage etc is still relevant. It simply means we are more badly hit than those lucky souls whose BBB stops all aggresors trying to get in.
Ron