from pipeline email:

Olanow thinks pd is a prion disease.

http://www.collegian.com/index.php/b...isease_related

dunno, says if they can create a vaccine that doesn't damage the good protiens it may be able to stop the progression in someone who's already aquired it.

hypothetically, if the tests show similar functions and results.

while it's being debated about the glass being half empty or half full.

i've already drank it and now it's empty, and i'll have to go pee.

not to be flip, but try not to worry over much about preliminary theories.

love to ya paula

First, I kinda resent that the article presents as fact things that I do not think are established as such, namely, that the build of the protein "kills neurons". I have read several places where the dead-neuron claim is disputed (they may be sick, malfunctioning, you get the idea). And I think it's quite a stretch to claim that it is the protein clumps that kill the neurons, assuming they are, in fact, dead.

A more plausible theory to me, IMHO, is that of an increasing number of experts, which is that Alz. and PD and perhaps others are a third type of diabetes, of the brain.

Many may remember Dr. Newport, whose husband has Alz., she has been mentioned here a few times. She believes that the plaques are actually a result of the cell malfunctioning, as it dies, the tubules (of which there are many, they are the "skeleton" of the neuron's extensions) collapse and tangle amongst each other. She believes that the neurons lose their ability to take up glucose (for reasons explained in her book) and simply begin to malfunction and ultimately die as they run out of fuel. I have just finished reading her book "Alzheimer's: what if there was a cure?" and how she has helped her husband IMPROVE FROM ALZ. with coconut oil. I will post more about her theory which incredibly ties many things which have been discussed for years here on the forum together.

Whatever one may believe of Dr. Newport's research, beliefs, and theories, it is pretty hard to deny the improvement her husband has experienced while taking the coconut oil, which provides an alternative fuel source for neurons other than glucose. MRIs don't lie, nor do mental exam scores. She has both on her side. I'll be posting more about Dr. Newport's book, I find myself rereading passages because despite her best intentions, the second section is quite techinical and a bit over my head with all the molecular drawings and chemistry analysis!

I would be a bit skeptical of this announcement, and just see what comes of it...vaccines are big money-makers as we all know, and generate lots of dollars for research.

After using a few choice expletives, I read it a second time and found that the sentence near to the end "I'm excited........." did not fit my feelings. I am putting this one on a back burner in my mind, I really do not want to think about it.

Just how accurate has Olanow been over the years?
I know he is a big cheese.

This is another example of non-news being used to highlight the efforts of researchers at a specific institution to attract attention (aka funding). Olonaw published an article with Stanley Prusiner in 2009. BTW, Prusiner is the Nobel winning scientist who discovered and conferred the name prion. The article: Is Parkinson's disease a prion disorder?

PD is prion related if we all have misfolding alpha-synuclein that spreads in an infectious manner to infect normal healthy cells. We have evidence this happens in PD in some of us. There are forms of genetic PD in which there is no proteins gathering for a rumble at all. This just highlights to me that in refusing to admit that PD is a result of chronic inflammation in the same area, of the brain and beyond that you have little in common beyond damage to SN. We are being outright neglected. Beyond that we could probably be sorted into groups based on similar atypical things like who can still smell? or who anxiety vs depression? This would yield interesting data but no interest.

I think the bigger picture is key here. Can you recall hearing of animals coming down with PD or AD? Well this may very well be the animal equivalent of those. We do not know that animals have long term memory though I speculate they do, but we can recognize other symptoms including impaired gait, neuropathy, etc.

The key difference is in our immune system's reaction. With Jakob-Creutzfeldt (Mad Cow in humans) the assault on the brain is quick and people don't last very long. In animals prion disease can be dormant for years and something can trigger it just like PD. The key difference is our brain does a slow burn, so we have chronic inflammation and here we are. All of this fits in nicely with evolutionary biology theory that microbials play a big part in all this. Animals do not get something like CWD or Scrapie by sniffing Paraquat or drinking well water. They too have a blood brain barrier so what is happening with that? I think we may as well spend a year studying goats and humans to see what's up. Sure would yield more than the useless studies on dance or the Parkisnonian personality.

In fact one of the key problems in research is lack of accurate animal. When they induce PD in lab rats, they end up with an acute parkinsonism that does not degenerate. So those who say degeneration is one in the same with a big loss of dopamine are off track I'd guess. The why it continues on a chronic low level is the key to finding any sort of common thread.

to read more please go to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...a8A4rIlo.email

I have become a disciple of the theory of saying that we must find the cause before we can find the cure.
We have controlled many infectious diseases because we can go right to the source of the cause: bacteria - viruses - and parasites. This is why our work on controlling AIDS has been so effective. And take tuberculosis for another example. And we can go right t o t he organ(s) or system responsible for the initial flare-up (e.g. TB - bacteria in the lungs)

Etiology means "cause," and we do not know the cause of Parkinson's.
There has been research that indicates PD as an autoimmune disorder, which makes much more sense and is far more applicable to why we see such diversity of symptoms with Parkinsons'.

To quote lurkingforacure: A more plausible theory to me, IMHO, is that of an increasing number of experts, which is that Alz. and PD and perhaps others are a third type of diabetes, of the brain.

Diabetes is an autoimmune disease, and in the pancreas, insulin is not sufficiently produced. Patients may have symptoms of several organ-specific diseases at the same time.

Let's take a hard look at this theory: Taken from American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA)

Modern medicine is organized on the basis of the anatomy of disease, or where the disease occurs. There is no specialty that focuses on autoimmunity. Each disease is treated by the medical specialty that covers the particular anatomical part which is involved in a disease. Therefore, neurologists treat nervous system disorders; rheumatologists, rheumatic diseases; dermatologists, dermatological disorders; etc.
In the area of autoimmune diseases, which cross all of these specialties, it becomes clear that there must be cross-fertilization of scientific information in order to develop effective treatments that will treat the cause of these diseases, not just the symptoms. It is therefore necessary to conduct multidisciplinary scientific symposia to facilitate this vital cross-fertilization of research information.

The AARDA operates on the theory of autoimmunity as the underlying cause of over 100 chronic diseases. Diseases are triggered by various "shocks" or trauma to a system. Just being genetically predispositioned doesn't mean you will get the disease if the right precautions are taken (exercise, diet, environment, etc.)
Here's what the AARDA says:
The whole arena of autoimmune research and its impact on autoimmune diseases is in its infancy. In the past decade, 92 biotechnology companies have formed around autoimmunity; and 27 of the major pharmaceutical companies have some drug in development for an autoimmune disease.
We have only begun to discover the role that autoimmunity plays in many chronic illnesses. As evidence of this new knowledge, the NIH established Centers of Excellence in autoimmune diseases. AARDA provides funds for peer reviewed basic autoimmune research and donordirected specific disease research/fellowships.

Making more sense and relevancy? The AARD goes on:

over 50 million Americans have at least one autoimmune disease, the public does not understand that these diseases have the same cause and that they run in families. A major problem and cost factor of these diseases is the fact that they are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed early in the disease process when serious and costly complications could be prevented. The history of autoimmune disease within a family is rarely part of a medical history questionnaire; yet this information is what would make a physician suspect the possibility of an autoimmune disease, and the patients cannot offer the information because they are generally unaware of the connection among the different chronic illnesses occurring in their families.

The AARDA history says this:
Until World War II, until antibiotics were introduced, we did not have methods that cured disease. We had treatments that alleviated the symptoms* of disease, but we really didn't cure disease. With the introduction of antibiotics--penicillin, streptomycin, and other substances--we now have a way of treating. And that's why it is so important to understand etiology.

*Alleviating symptoms - sound familiar?
And our charge in theh Parkinson's community should be a charge like the one at AARDA:

Let us begin to get to questions of etiology, to get at the root causes of these diseases, rather than being left at the superficial level, that is, treating the symptoms after the disease has had its destructive effects.

http://www.aarda.org/aarda_facts.php

Peggy

lindy,

accuracy? is this about accuracy? er...um...who knows ?

i just know he ruled against the welders and made big bucks. And he owns the patent to mucuna prurien overseas for all neurological problems.

Thanks to all who refute this theory. I hope you are right and will join lindy in putting it on the back burner.

paula -
I'm off right now, feeling crappy, and know I should not push the submit button. But your comment singling out one person's opinion is out of order, in my humble opinion.

Lindy said ". . ., I read it a second time and found that the sentence near to the end "I'm excited........." did not fit my feelings. I am putting this one on a back burner in my mind, I really do not want to think about it"

All of us prioritize our items of opinion onto burners in our minds. The author has just put something out there to think about - you commented, gave us your thoughts and others their opinions. Why cause anyone to not feel free to also add his/her thoughts?
Respectfully,
Peggy

Peggy - I think you are right about the importance of knowing the PD etiology before a cure can be fully imagined.