[reverett123]

Here's a pretty good explanation-

1: Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Systemic Inflammation Induces Acute Behavioral and Cognitive Changes and
Accelerates Neurodegenerative Disease.

Cunningham C, Campion S, Lunnon K, Murray CL, Woods JF, Deacon RM, Rawlins JN,
Perry VH.

Department of BiochemistryTrinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity
College Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

BACKGROUND: Chronic neurodegeneration results in microglial activation, but the
contribution of inflammation to the progress of neurodegeneration remains
unclear. We have shown that microglia express low levels of proinflammatory
cytokines during chronic neurodegeneration but are "primed" to produce a more
proinflammatory profile after systemic challenge with bacterial endotoxin
(lipopolysaccharide [LPS]). METHODS: Here, we investigated whether
intraperitoneal (IP) challenge with LPS, to mimic systemic infection, in the
early stages of prion disease can 1) produce exaggerated acute behavioral (n = 9)
and central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory (n = 4) responses in diseased
animals compared with control animals, and 2) whether a single LPS challenge can
accelerate disease progression (n = 34-35). RESULTS: Injection of LPS (100
mug/kg), at 12 weeks postinoculation (PI), resulted in heightened CNS
interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and
interferon-beta (IFN-beta) transcription and microglial IL-1beta translation in
prion-diseased animals relative to control animals. This inflammation caused
exaggerated impairments in burrowing and locomotor activity, and induced
hypothermia and cognitive changes in prion-diseased animals that were absent in
LPS-treated control animals. At 15 weeks PI, LPS (500 mug/kg) acutely impaired
motor coordination and muscle strength in prion-diseased but not in control
animals. After recovery, these animals also showed earlier onset of
disease-associated impairments on these parameters. CONCLUSIONS: These data
demonstrate that transient systemic inflammation superimposed on
neurodegenerative disease acutely exacerbates cognitive and motor symptoms of
disease and accelerates disease progression. These deleterious effects of
systemic inflammation have implications for the treatment of chronic
neurodegeneration and associated delirium.


PMID: 18801476 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

BTW, Ron, was your burrowing ability affected? :-)

[Ronhutton]

Hi Rick,
Well spotted, Any infection has this effect, so all you Parkies, wrap yourself in cotton wool,and keep out bacteria.
As to my burrowing ability, it is unimpared!!! I have bought myself a metal detector, and am steadily digging up the County of Kent. So far found a solid silver 1895 sixpence, a lead seal, a lead token, and a meteorite!!
The Battle of Britain in WW2 was fought in the skies above Kent, and metal detectors occasionally find the odd unexploded bomb!!
Ron

[Ibken]

So, does it follow that a nasty, lingering eye infection - prob bacterial, currently responding to antibiotic eye drops - could contribute to significant worsening of pd symptoms? It SEEMS to have done so...but there are always other possible culprits.

Good luck w/ detecting and digging, Ron. Sounds like fun and in these bizarre economic times possibly lucrative!

ibby

[reverett123]

With an infection, several chemicals are being added to the system-
1) Cytokines produced by our immune systems to attack invaders and which can cause collateral damage and also interfere with brain function;
2) Hormones which act to dampen number one above to keep it under control but which can also cause collateral damage and interfere with the brain;
3) Exotoxin produced by the growing bacteria and whose toxicity would depend on the type of bug;
4) Endotoxin released by dying bacteria as the immune system (or antibiotics) kill them off. These trigger #1 above. However, if you have been exposed in the womb to that toxin, your immune system is hypersensitive to it and the microglia defenders in the brain go nuts and collateral damage climbs. One of the things keeping that from happening is...(drum roll)- the BBB! And among the things that weaken it are the cytokines in #1.

So, everything loops back into the system for control, but when things go awry one possible outcome is PD.

[lou_lou]

Acid-Alkaline Balance and What it Really Means
by Rick Wagner, CN




Acid-alkaline balance is a popular subject these days and one I am asked about frequently. The theory is that if we can maintain a good balance between these two states, with a slight leaning towards the alkaline side, we will be in optimal health.

While I firmly believe the theory of a proper balance is correct, I disagree with the concept that testing your Ph on litmus paper via saliva or urine can easily monitor one’s alkaline state. A Ph test of saliva or urine is simply that-- a reflection of the parts hydrogen (Ph), of your saliva or urine at that point in time. I do not believe this approach accurately reflects the intricacies of Ph balance within all parts of the body.

This concept is not new and was actually being addressed as long ago as 1935 by Dr. Weston A. Price. I have included an article by Dr. Price addressing this very issue from the perspective I believe is most important--one’s mineral balance. The topic is discussed around the framework of primitive societies and their dental health, which Dr. Price spent many years studying. Before jumping into his timely article I do feel it is important to explain the variability of acid and alkaline states within our body. This is easy to describe by following the path of a food particle from your mouth to the inside of a cell. I will use a molecule of carbohydrate. Upon putting such a molecule into your mouth, it enters an environment of between 5 and 8 Ph with 7 being neutral.

An interesting point here is that you can increase the Ph of your mouth making it more alkaline by eating something acidic, such as a lemon or lime. The digestion of this carbohydrate molecule begins in your mouth. When you swallow this carbohydrate molecule it falls into your stomach and into a Ph environment of about 1.5. This is extremely acidic. Here, carbohydrate digestion stops for between one half and 2 hours. When your mouthful of food passes into your small intestine, it leaves a Ph of about 1.5 and enters a Ph of over 7. In this alkaline state, the digestion of the carbohydrate is completed over a period of hours where simple sugar molecules are created by the breakdown of the carbohydrate. These sugars are absorbed into the blood stream with a closely monitored Ph of 7.35 to 7.45. As these sugars pass into interstitial tissue, they again enter into a slightly acidic state of between 6 and 7 Ph. When they are absorbed into the cell they are entering into an alkaline state again as the Ph environment of a healthy cell is alkaline. As you can see, there are several different states of acidity and alkalinity within our bodies. The ultimate controlling factor in an optimal Ph level in each of these different areas of the body is a proper mineral balance.

Please read Acid-Base Balance of Diets Which Produce Immunity for an excellent synopsis of this theory.

http://eidon.com/acid_alkaline.htm

Acid-Base Balance of Diets Which Produce Immunity to Dental Caries Among the South Sea Islanders and Other Primitive Races



by Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation

by Weston A. Price, DDS, MS, FACD

Read before the New York Dental Centennial Meeting, New York, N.Y., December 4, 1934; reprinted from the Dental Cosmos for September 1935.

Among the many theories regarding the controlling factors for immunity to dental caries, “potential alkalinity” has been stressed by many as playing the controlling role. This has been strongly emphasized in the paper by Dr. Martha Jones entitled “Our Changing Concept of an Adequate Diet in Relation to Dental Disease.” She and her associates have emphasized this factor in several previous communications. I do not find in her reports, however, the type of quantitative data which seem to be needed for evaluating this problem. The fact that a given potentially basic diet has been found associated with immunity may have little significance regarding the role of acid-base balance in establishing immunity.

to continue reading go to link below


http://eidon.com/dental.htm