Hi Soccertese,
I don't neccesarily agree with the paper, I call it "a suggestion" which I find interesting, and posted it for information. Are you correct when you say there are no clusters of PD in the UK/USA? Have you any data or links? Is there any data on zinc clusters?
I accept that this is not a peer reviewed article, but it sounds feasible to me, and I will search around it to see can I find any confirmation. A brief look turned up the ref.

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB...oduktNr=224263

"Conclusions: Parkinson disease is substantially more common in Whites, and is nonrandomly distributed in the Midwest and Northeastern US",

Thanks for your input, it is only by bouncing these suggestions off each other that we will make progress.
best wishes
Ron

RON,
i can't say there are no ECONOMIC clusters but zinc deficiency is tied to diet and you would think with the amount of hunger around the world pd would be rampant if zinc was a major factor.

Rick,
Your post came though while I was posting mine so I did not see it until after mine posted.
Very interesting also on the zinc comments, seems to be a connection.

I can't help feeling that the clusters idea is a red herring, since I feel sure the distribution of zinc and also PD is bound to have some clusters, whatever the mechanism of PD. If clusters are identified of both PD and zinc, the crucial question is do they occur together?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10100031
Evidence of functional zinc deficiency in Parkinson's disease.

http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/20/2/106
Zinc deficiency has been suggested to occur in Parkinson's disease and may be specifically related to the vision, olfactory and taste loss in these patients

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss03/zinc.html
The Antioxidant Function of Dietary Zinc and Protection Against Neural Disorders


There seems to be a lot of literature on the role of zinc in PD.

Ron

"Zinc" - just the sound of the word gives me the shivers! I wonder if my problem (and possibly others) has anything to do with my PD diagnosis. I can hardly stand to put "cheap" metals against my skin (watches, bracelets, and cheap earrings have something in them that my body rejects. I have a rash-like outbreaking when I wear earrings made of anything other than sterling silver or 14K gold.

And get this - I have this horrible intolerance for anything metallic in my mouth! In fact6, I havce a metallic taste mosot of the time, but if I pick u p an inexpensive fork or spoon or get a piece of foil from a candybar in my mouth, it sends me through the roof! Go figure this one out.

As a child, i had severe anemia and was treated with so much iron supplement that I th ink it did something permanent.

Any ideas?
Peggy

Peggy

that sounds like nickel allergy

here is an interesting related thread from a few years back
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=9067

Thanks, Chemar! This could be my source of exacerbation of PD symptoms, given the very real theory of inflammation of the brain. Ii have all of the symptoms associated with nickel: cough, congestion, rash, swelling, etc.

for those who may "resemble" these symptoms, I am copying from the link you gave me:

Should Foods Containing Nickel Be Avoided?
There is disagreement within the medical community as to whether a nickel-sensitive person should avoid dietary nickel. A nickel-restricted diet may be prescribed for highly nickel sensitive people for a few months to see if there is any improvement in symptoms.
In this instance, the foods to avoid include acid foods cooked in stainless steel utensils, baking powder, beans, buckwheat, canned fruits, canned vegetables, cocoa & chocolate, dried fruit, figs, green beans, kale, leeks, legumes, lentils, lettuce, licorice, linseed, millet, nuts, oats, onions, oysters, peas, pineapple, prunes, raspberries, salmon, shellfish, soy powder, spinach, rhubarb, sprouts, sunflower seeds, tea, tomatoes, wheat bran products, and multigrain breads.


Treatment for Nickel Allergy
There is no way to desensitize a person with nickel allergy with shots, pills, or any other method. Avoiding use of nickel containing products is the key in treatment. Often times a rash can be stopped by applying a cortisone cream or lotion, but it can and will return with exposure.

source: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=9067

Incredible! I may have just found a solution to keeping my symptoms under control! THANKS!
Peg