I think it is interesting that there is a high level of PD among vets. It may be politically incorrect to say this, but people serving in the military undergo stresses over and beyond anything that we experience in normal life, and are expected to get on with it, no matter how traumatic or shocking the experience, and sometimes only get treatment for mental/emotional stress way after the event. They also often also return to civilian life once the political need for military action has ceased, to a world that is no longer interested in the events that have played such a personal part in their individual lives, and had a profound impact on them. These things can be difficult to share with people who have not gone through them, and therefore they bottle things up, especially if they never receive any counselling. Seems like these are exactly the things to act as precursors to PD.......... it is not just about the chemicals, and the visible injuries.....

Rick - Since we can't just think our way better through such traumatiic instances, I think we should have heavy counseling along with PT, L-dopa pills, nutritional training, voice and swallowing therapy, and whatever other treatment is prescribed. To compare how those who had such counseling against those who do not would make for an interesting study anyway.

Lindy - so well said! Both of my older kids work at a VA facility, andn I worked in the Director's office for 6 years. Most vets get service-connected for PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). It's such a shame there isn't some way to better protect our soldiers.

Here's something else to make you weep:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...-dysfunctional

peg

Lindy: As you know, I am "in residence" with approximately 150 veterans from several wars, police actions,nation building etc etc A white rat study of this group would reveal a plethora of possible traumas capable of inducing parkinson-kike symptoms.

I find it very interesting that stress seems to lead, through various mechanisms, to conditions that will allow Parkinson's to develop. Yet, in both animals and humans (better demonstrated in animals) vigerous exercise has been demonstrated to prevent, slow the progression of, or possibly even reverse some aspects of Parkinson's. Would this be a result of the anti-stress effects - biochemical - of exercising?

Sasha

An idea only, that when people withdraw into themselves in stressed situations their whole being becomes less flowing, they become more rigid, tense, inflexible in body and mind, could this also extend to our tissues too. For instance posture is known to be affected, tightened jaw, head slightly lowered, jaw jutting just a little, hunched shoulders, tight spine, chest tightened, breathing shallower..... you get the picture...... in long strong stressed situations this becomes the way we are.........

exercise undoes this, as does meditation, dancing, singing, and a whole host of things where we feel freer and our attention is taken away from fighting with the uncontrollable things in our lives.....

We know that stress can cause high blood pressure and heart attacks, and if we have a genetic predisposition towards a particular disorder that is where it comes through. Or even environmental damage....

not saying this is a theory of Pd but a theory of disease, of which Pd is one of many..........

there is stress and stress........ not insignificant that where communities live with severe stress life expectancy plummets...... it is the chronic ongoing stress that does it. On the other hand where communities have a healthy attitude to life, and low expectations of what life ought to offer them often people deal with stress a lot better, have fewer stress related disorders, and maintain mental health better, on a fraction of what is accepted as normal in developed societies....... these are the places that are reputed to have low incidences of PD, though undeniably they also have very low life expectancy as a result of the prevalence of infectious disease, and lack of basic health care.......

Looks like it enhances release of the neurotrophic BDNF which in turn does result in new neurons! Only we'd need to exercise a lot to replenish - ha

The Effects of Exercise on the Brain

Exercise is a stressor too, but a good sort of stress. What interests me is that the pituitary gland gets cued to release endorphins a "feel good" chemical that helps your system to smoothly return to homeostasis.

Can anyone think of another "good stress"? These would be other things that should elicit same release of endorphins. Funny thing is I thought "landing a good job", "getting married or @your wedding" though for me these in the end were stressors each one bringing with it its own sort of angst. Can anyone else relate? I couldn't even fully savor accepting a good job offer. Instead, I went straight to worrying. For me there is only stress and really bad stress.

Why does good stress result in release of BDNF?


Also wondering did any of you ever have a bruxism (teeth grinding)prior to diagnosis? Funny thing is the doctor asked about any new stress in my life, I responded with a negative - How do you respond when you don't even recognize it in yourself. It is chronic and low level like your limbic system is always idling, but it feels normal, and you assume that this is how other people feel. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Laura

Stress is a factor in all illnesses...why we got pd and others get allergies is too complicated to figure. I grew up in a dysfunctional family and so is mine now. The parent that didn't exercise died at 56 of pancreatic cancer. The one that exercised died at 84. The longer living parent was by a large margin the 'uptight' one. The one that died held it all in.

Exercise is medicine.
IMHO

Stress - if I rememeber my studies from years ago - was a concept developed by Hans Selye who defined it as anything that required adaptation on the part of the organism stressed. So, getting married or being promoted at work would certainly be stressful! It feels to me that there must be some difference between positive and negative stress but I seem to remember that it is the degree and number of changes over time that add up to the total amount of stress. This is at a cellular level, I think, and perhaps has to do with the extent of the changes requires to adjust to the new situation and to respond to it adaptively.

Somehow, exercise - and I'm guessing meditation, social support, prayer, etc. seem to mitigate that stress reponse. Remember that scale where - if you scored 300 points or something in a year, you had a high probablity of developing an illness? That's it.

I do agree that this kind of works aS a general model of illness. Probably even helps account for who succombs to infection and who doesn't - as least statistically, probably not going to explain it on an individual basis. Then we have genetics, just to add a touch of complexity....