Not that it would change anything but I have been trying to figure out what may have led to my contracting PD-occupation, environmental triggers, etc. I pretty much figure that in my case this was a genetic thing. I have long known that my mom is schizophrenic which is a dopaminergic disease. I have a maternal uncle who has MS which also is a dopaminergic disease, and I have PD. In fact I have been in contact with NIH regarding getting into some of their clinical trials and I wonder what my genetic pattern would show. Has anyone found out that they have the presumed genetic flaw or "link"? Those of that have PD-do you have another relative with a neuro disease as well?

I am also puzzled as to what may cause my mother to have a disease related to excessive dopamine while I get one that is related to low dopamine?? Another question that I am going to research is if my mom was taking medications during her pregnancy with me to treat the schizo could that contribute to my PD? Hmmm.... Just some stuff that's been on my mind lately. Interestingly enough I have read where there is the occurrance of PD and schizo in the same patient!!? Don't know how that happens. Must be pretty bad when the voices start telling you to do stuff but you can't move, lol!!

My mother, maternal grandmother,uncle, maternal great aunt, and cousin all had or have Alzheimer's. Another maternal uncle had PD and I have PD. I also have one son who is schizophrenic. Enviornment may have a little to do with neurodegeneration, but I believe 95% of it is genetic. And in reference to PD.........it is my understanding that it was isolated and identified in 1817 by Dr. Parkinson. If this is true, where did those folk in 1817 contract PD.....there were virtually no enviornmental factors back then.????

Caya

My aunt ( my father's sister ) had restless leg syndrome. My mother had severe migraines and intermittent depression. So only a hint of genetic influence, but:
My whole family smoked - I was the only non-smoker - I grew up in pollution.

There has always been pollution of a kind, especially to people with allergies:
Coal dust, coal smoke.
Wood smoke from fire places and open fires.
Pollen, dust, animal dander.
Wet lath, tar, paint, mold, damp.
Food poisoning.
Etc. etc. etc.

I too have neurological illnesses in my maternal side of the family. There's evidence of my mom being bi polar but untreated, did drink a bit. Also, I have two half brothers with bipolar/schizoaffective disorder,& my daughter is bipolar. Several maternal relatives with alcohol problems. A maternal aunt with a brain tumor.There has been some other reported behaviors in family history that lead me to believe that there may be more but nobody talked about it. There has to be a familial cause. My mother drank when she was pregnant with me, and was a heavy smoker. I too was exposed to lots of second-hand smoke. I didn't walk until 18 months, and have always been, my whole life from about age 12 or 13, long before any diagnosis of any PD, just A little shaky, and never very coordinated. Of course now, I'm more shaky, and definitely out of sync. The other thing I wonder about is my maternal heritage. Mom was Czechoslovakian, 100%. I know there are jewish Askenazi genetic ties with PD, but I Also think that eventually it will be that almost all PD is hereditary.

...and at the risk of being hammered on here....I will say it again.I am convinced that much of it has a link to how we are personality wise.
And don`t all throw stones at me yet.!!!! Hear me out first.And after all it is purely my own "take" on this so yes...I ad,mit..I could be very much barking up the wrong tree.

This is why I think this...and of course there may be exceptions to the rule.
My mum had Parkinsons disease...and my gran [mums "mum"] had some sort of neurologfical condition but I never got to know what it was.
Both were gentle,kind people ...extremely hard workers,highly respected in the community BUT both worried unduly about little things.
I too used to worry unnecessarily..to the point where I became a perfectionist and couldn`t take it if I failed myself in ALL areas of my life.The stress was enormous but I wasn`t aware of this way back then.
However...both my mums symptoms and my own began at roughly the same time...and we were both undergoing a stressful situation,which we both handled rather badly [for ourselves]

So...the genetic link may be a personality trait..

Also,someone who ran a pd group in a town near to me mentioned once,that out of twins...[of which I am a twin] the one who is the perfectionist is the most likely to get pd out of the two.

My twin sister is laid back,as are my other two sisters to a point.And my brothers are different again...all hardworking folk .
But when I look back at some of the trivia that stressed me out...I dearly wish I had listened to them.

So...I know not all PD patients are stress laden,.perfectionists but there may be something as to how we operate in life.Worth investigating.

My daughter doesn`t stand a hope in hell as her personality is much like mine,and there is a historyu of alzheimars on her fathers side,both his granparents having the condition.

So...I am desparately trying to show my daughter ways of chilling when things go pear shaped....attempting to prioritise the things worth worrying about and those things which can be set aside as not worth the stress.

Maybe my theory is totally OFF THE WALL...maybe there is a fraction of significance here. Whatever...it can`t hurt to be aware of minimising worry and stress in your children as a precaution against a number of stress rela\ted conditions.
Maybe it is simply that when I worried excessively...I forgot to eat,I didn`t sleep,therefore inadvertantly I was depleting my body of vital nutrients...and time to replenish itself through rest...my brain included.

So...please don`t all yell at me.I am dealing with something huge in ,my life back home right now....so if you respond...do it gently.
thanks
x

In order to draw fire away from Steffi's direction, here are some factors that explain a lot of this. Some of this is part speculation but far less than what most neuros have been taught. This is the emerging view of PD as well as several related disorders and most of it is backed up by some serious research. If you wish to go deeper, explore the work of P.M. Carvey at Luke's in Chicago, Bin Liu at the NIH in North Carolina, and Bruce McEwewn at Rockefeller University University in New York.

PD is not a neurological disease. Try to sell that to your neuro. PD is actually a disorder of the endocrine and immune systems that cause damage to the nervous system. The neurological stuff is symptom, not cause. Most current treatments are symptomatic and leave causes untouched.

Two basic forces at the core with one or more secondary ones around the perimeter. At the center are immune response to the bacterial toxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and endocrine response to stress. Both start in the womb and interact throughout our lives.

This intertwined pair both originate and work as a unit. If a fetus is exposed to LPS during a critical moment in development it has fewer neurons in the SN, its stress response is screwed up, and it is hypersensitive to future exposure. One source of LPS is maternal infections. Another is house dust. Either of these can easily look like a genetic family cluster.

If a fetus is exposed to maternal stress hormones during a critical moment the effects are similar. Damage to the nervous system. Screwed up stress response. Hypersensitivity to stress hormones. One result is that a stressed-out mama can produce a stressed-out baby. But what is really interesting is that she can also produce a stressed-out grandbaby! If the stress comes from the family structure (daddy a drunk?) then again the semblence of a genetic link.

At the same time there is an effect on the GI system both structurally and in the colonization of the bowel. Earlier conversations on this forum showed about half of us remember constipation as a childhood problem. Constipation allows time for toxins to reenter the system.

This is the core but is not enough alone to trigger PD. But start adding in those secondary factors... genetics, personality, pesticides, metals, gender, etc. The more of this the greater the chances of PD.

With the right mix we grow up to be people who deal with anxiety by taking charge so that the job is done right. We thus tend tto be overachievers.

We tend toward "cool, calm, and collected" but chronic elevated levels of cortisol eat at us over the years and eventually a ringing telephone can incapacitate us. Added to this endocrine problem is the immune counterpart - a constant systemic inflammation that eventually triggers our microglia to destroy our substantia nigra.

The odd thing is that all the explanations fit. Yes, the SN is damaged. Yes, dopamine makes us feel better. Yes, some families have more than their share of cases. Yes, NSAIDs lower the risk. Yes, stress sensitivity is one of our biggest problems. And on and on.

This is overly simplified, of course. It has to be. We have a very interesting disease, my friends.

http://www.athenadiagnostics.com
Jim,

Please click on the link above for information about the genetics of PD. type in Parkin in the search bar. I believe it is a combination of PD genetics and a environmental factor for those who do not have the gene defect. Read all the material. I believe it will answer your questions.

Thanks,
Vicky

No pd or schizophrenia in my family in 4 generations

I have a second cousin who has MS, but thats it

convinced it was due to random genetic disposition and the spark was a really stressful job I had in '97 to '98.

Doesn't directly answer your question Jim, but does in a roundabout manner.

Neil.