We have talked here often about the best theory being the one that answers the most questions (again, thank you Ron!). I'm throwing this out there in light of recent posts and discussions about MB and welcome any and all comments.

I'm beginning to think PD, Alz., and maybe even others are caused by pathogens, we dont' even know which one. To think we know all of the virus, bacteria, fungii, pathogen, on the planet is beyond arrogant. We don't, and even if we did, they mutate! So to me, it is entirely possible that there could be some stealth pathogen (or more than one, maybe you have XYZ pathogen, someone else has ABC) that invades us, maybe in our youth, maybe shortly before symptoms appear, that resides in our body and ultimately causes a neurological condition. Here's why.

1. we know PD "spreads" to healthy neurons (healthy stem cells were implanted in Canadian PWP and years later, on autopsy, they discovered the healthy cells had succombed to the same fate...we also progress...if it did not spread, I dont' think we would get worse over time).

I dont' think this is because a cell dies and the surrounding cells cannot communicate with it any more. I doubt very seriously that our neurons function like a strand of Christmas lights, the old ones, where if one went out, the entire remaining strand went dark as well. Rather, I think our neurons are like stars, with multiple connections, and if one goes out, the network has sufficient other connections with each other to keep functioning, until so many are lost that you have a problem. Comments?

2. Several folks have reported their symptoms disappear or radically improve when taking antibiotics. Why would this happen? I appreciate that antibiotics may reduce inflammation, which would help, but aspirin does that, as well as NSAIDS. So there must be something there at play besides just the inflammation angle.

3. There is the rather huge outbreak of PD in the 1900s, right after the flu pandemic, which points to something like this. I think the PD outbreak was actually far worse but diagnoses was much less precise then and of course no internet so folks not in large cities may not have even been aware of it.

4. As was pointed out to me by one researcher, PD is more common on farms. We posture that this may be because of the high use of pesticides (perhaps) and/or well water, but this researcher mentioned to me that he found it significant that farmers are exposed to far more "earth-borne pathogens" than most, with multiple times more potential for infection (cutting, bruising, hurting yourself while tending to farm chores). I have farmers in my family and I can tell you that yes, there are constant cuts, abrasions, openings in the skin where an opportunistic pathogen could get in.

5. Now for inflammation. That has to play a role, I think, and perhaps it is this. Maybe you get a pathogen in you, and it lies dorman like herpes, perhaps for years. It may even come and go, as in herpes: we all know stress triggers herpes fever blisters, so this makes sense.

But then, kabam, life hits you with major stresses....Rick has posted of several, we all have had them. When you are stressed significantly, the immune system gets compromised. At that time, the pathogen has the opportunity to really get busy and replicate and get a strong hold on the human body, and it tips the balance to where the body cannot overcome it and shut it down.

Additionally, the stress typically continues for some time and so your immune system cannot recover until the stress resolves, so it remains compromised. Meanwhile, the pathogen is in control of things, and the body desperately tries to gain control but fighting a losing battle as the pathogen gets an ever stronger gain on control. Comments on this line of thinking?

6. Enter methylene blue. Remember MB has been used OTC for fish tanks, to cure something called "ick" which can kill fish if not treated. I think ick is a fungus, but am not sure. Most white ratters using MB that I have read about get it from aquarium shops, don't know if that is a good idea, though. MB has also been used for years on people (including US military for malaria, I believe it was). It can turn your urine blue, and if you take a lot, apparently can turn the whites of your eyes blue. Freaky, yes. But what if it can help with PD as well?

We now have studies showing neuroprotection/improvement in both Alz. and PD: the TauRx study that diego24 posted (on humans, very impressive) and the MB study Rick posted (equally impressive study done on rats, coming soon to a human white rat near you for comfirmation by trial of one ). An internet search shows that MB has been studied for neurological implications for several years, so while these studies are relatively new, the idea that MB may be beneficial is not. There is something there.

Does MB help because it gives up an electron as we've discussed? Or because it is eliminating some pathogen we dont' know we have? Or both? In the study Rick posted, MB more than doubled the oxygen consumption rate-that is huge. If you go to the full article of that study, you can get exact results and they are significant. If that could be replicated in humans, well, that is also huge. Our neurons could well be suffocating, due to lack of sufficient oxygen, caused by, perhaps, some pathogen. Or MB gives up an electron and bypasses a defect in the mitochondrial process. Either way, MB helps PD.

7. Now, I have recently learned that the nasal mucosa is the ONLY place in the body where nerves go directly from the brain to outside of the body. What if someone has a pathogen on their hand/finger, and they rub or pick their nose? The pathogen gets in, and has a direct route to the brain.

8. This could also help explain why PD is found in some families. A family could have an inherently weaker immune system, which renders the host/family members more susceptible to invasion by a pathogen. Someone in the family has PD....and therefore, under this theory, a pathogen...the pathogen gets spread to another family member who just happens to have the same or similar inherently weaker immune system...and there you are. I'm not saying this explains everything, because there are millions of people who have PD but their spouse does not. But maybe that is because the non-PD spouse has a naturally stronger immune system and it simply is not as susceptible to the pathogen.

One problem with the pathogen theory is that it may defy detection: if we dont' even know a pathogen exists, we cannot possibly test for it. Compound that with the possibility that PD may be caused by different pathogens, some or all of which we have no idea exist, and testing, and treatment/cure, becomes even more difficult to develop. When you don't know what you are looking for, there really cannot be a meaningful search.

I have written this rather hastily this morning so forgive any grammar/punctuation, etc., errors!

Thoughts?