Paula,
Thanks so much. At last they are doing more work on the BBB, and admitting not enough has been done. Professor Leenders in Holland is my first reference. He is doing excellent work.
The big question is what can be done about it. You can have a faulty heart replaced, but a drefective blood brain barrier!!!. The only things you could do is 1. Avoid the things that opens the BBB further, eg stress.
2. Take supplements that tighten the pores, eg curcumin, alpha lipoic acid,
3. Remove the toxins that are in the bloodstream, or their means of generation, eg helicobacter P, detox heavy metals.
Hopefully, research will find a treatment that is even more efficient at repairing the permeability than curcumin etc., whilst leaving sufficient porosity to admit the few essential compounds which must be allowed through.
Thanks again
Ron
PS Viruses also open the BBB, and this week I have had a very stong head cold and sore throat. I have been much worse walking etc.

Paula,
I knew about the work of Prof. Leenders in Holland, but had not heard of Etienne Hirsch in Paris, or Angela Cenci-Nilson in Sweden. I have done a search on both, but came up with a blank on both.
Is it possible to get the details of their publications on the BBB?
Do you think you could ask Dr. Todd Sherer at FOX Foundation to pass a copy of my BBB summary to both these research workers, and ask them to give us their comments please?
Dr Todd Sherer says it is unclear whether PD caused the dysfunction of the BBB, or the defective BBB caused the PD. Surely it is the latter. The person who ultimately gets PD must have the defective BBB first, which then causes the onset of PD. Otherwise, if the PD comes first, and then causes a
dysfunction in the BBB, then we are back to what then caused the PD?
There are many cases of several men working with say pesticides. They
don't all get PD, usually only one or two out of a large group. Why shouldn't all get PD, if the PD comes first and then gives a defective BBB? The answer is the defective BBB comes first, and gives PD, and only a small number of people have defective BBB's. In the small number with a defective BBB, the
toxin enters the brain and does damage, causing the onset of PD. In the others, the toxin circulates harmlessly, with an effective BBB keeping it from getting to the brain. I admit this is not proof that the BBB comes first, but it makes more sense to me. Around 50% of the population has H. Pilori. Why hasn't half the population got PD? Because it only can attack the brains of those with a porous BBB.
Why is PD mainly a disease of older people? Because the BBB like every other organ in the body, deteriorates with age, and gets more permeable. The person only then develops PD. Why are there people aged over 100 with no PD then? Because these are the ultra fit people. How many times do we say we are all different. A doctor once told me that if you survived to 75 or over, you had a high probability of reaching 100. The ones with defective hearts, livers, BBB's and kidneys had died off, at an earlier age.
If the list of things that increase the permeability of the BBB, stress, nitric oxide, organophosphates, carbon monoxide, all cause a worsening of symptoms, whilst the list of things that are known to decrease the BBB permeability, curcumin, alpha lipoic acid, citicoline (CPD choline), GNDF, bilberry extract, all cause an improvement, this again in my opinion argues that the dysfunction of the BBB comes first. Again, this is not proof, but it makes more sense. You can give an explanation for every fact. If you say the PD comes first, you can't explain still what causes PD, or any of the above facts.

Best wishes
Ron

I have a couple of friends who are college librarians - it is so helpful to have more access to journals and databases. I will ask if they wouldn't mind doing a search on the researchers mentioned in the article. Will let you know...


paula

Etienne Hirsch
Research Director
French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Unit 289
Paris, France


Biography

Etienne Hirsch was trained as a PhD in biochemistry and pharmacology at the University Paris VI, France. In 1985 and 1986, he went to MIT as a visiting scientist in the laboratory of neuroanatomy headed by Pr. Ann Graybiel. In 1988, he obtained a permanent position as research associate at INSERM U289 (Salp'triere Hospital, Paris — FRANCE). In 1993, he was nominated to research director at the same institution and in 2001 he became chairman of the department.

Etienne Hirsch is a member of various professional societies, both in Europe and America. He has also served as member of several advisory boards in federal and private scientific committees. He's the present chairman for the board of Neuroscience at INSERM (French National Institute for Health). Dr Etienne Hirsch received several Awards including the Grand Prix de l'Acad'emie des Sciences Francois Lhermitte. His current research focuses on the mechanism of neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease and the pathophysiology of basal ganglia disorders.

RESEARCHER BIO
Home / Research / Researcher Bio - Angela Cenci-Nilsson MD, PhD


Angela Cenci-Nilsson MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurobiology, Section for Neuronal Survival
Lund University
Sweden


Biography

Angela Cenci Nilsson (M. A. Cenci in all published papers) received a Medical Degree in 1986, and a degree as a Specialist in Neurology in 1990 from the University of Verona. Thereafter Angela became interested in neural transplantation research, and joined the laboratory of Professor Anders Björklund at the University of Lund. From Lund University she received a PhD degree in Neurobiology (1993) on a thesis related to the functional effects of dopamine transplants in rat models of Parkinson's disease. She was then appointed assistant professor (1993-2002), and associate professor (from 2002 on) by the Medical Faculty at Lund University. Her present work addresses the molecular and cellular pathophysiology of parkinsonian-like motor deficits and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in rodent models of Parkinson's disease.