Ron
 

quoted by Ron Huton: At least 3 diseases could be attacked by a single piece of research. There is a Nobel prize awaiting the first researcher who can read

Ron - you crack me up with your dry wit. Ron, did you ever get your paper on the BBB threory published? if so,ha jotnal?

Thanks, everyoone.

Peg

BBB in other neurological diseases
 

Hi Peg,
Hey, who is joking!!! I'm serious, honest.
Yes, I got it published on PD Online Research.
See
http://www.pdonlineresearch.org/resp...ain-barrier-pd
It is the most comprehensive account of the information I have gathered.

So all we need now is a researcher who can read!!
Ron

Ron, you remember the old saw about if you gave enough monkeys type writers that they would come up with Shakespeare? If they would pay a little attention to us, they might find a sonnett or two. :D

Did that beastly weather impact you?

-Rick

BBB in other neurological diseases
 

Hi Rick,
If you read the PDonline paper above, it explains almost every question, from why PD is predominently an older person's disease to why do we freeze. You can add answers to so many other questions I have not posed, such as why do we tend to show somewhat different symptoms.
This could be because we will all be at differing permeabilities.
Assume the threshold permeability is say 100, above which symptoms are shown, then PWP's with say 120 will let in a limited number of toxins and show lesser symptoms compared to someone who has a high permeability of say 150. The person with high permeability could let in a toxin which the lower permeability does not let in, which maybe causes a symptom that is not seen in the other PWP.
I don't know about giving monkeys typwriters, but when Professor Barry Marshall suggested stomach ulcers could be caused by the bacteria helicobacter Pilori, he was lampooned. In the end he infected himself to prove his point and was finally awarded a Nobel prize. We already have PD, so what do we have to do to get progress?

Fortunately we have escaped the floods, but in the north, there are whole communities totally cut of by collapsing (stone!!) bridges.
Best wishes
Ron

Particulates and the BBB
 

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/he...-dementia.html

Published: 7:30AM BST 21 Oct 2009

A study carried out in Germany on women who had lived at the same address for at least 20 years found those near busy roads were more likely to show signs of mild cognitive impairment, early memory problems that may lead to dementia.

The research published in the journal, Environmental Research, suggests that air pollution from traffic fumes may lead to inflammation in the brain. ...

It is thought the fine particles in air pollution can pass through the lungs and lodge in the brain where they cause inflammation which is associated with dementia. ...
(by implication passing through the BBB)
*************************
From http://www.naturalnews.com/z027557_t..._dementia.html


It is widely accepted that air pollution particles are so small that they are able to pass through the lungs and make their way into the brain. As a result, the brain tissue becomes inflamed and cognitive decline begins to occur. By crossing the blood-brain barrier and lodging themselves in the brain, these particulates are the primary suspect in causing cognitive dysfunction.

Where do meds fit in?
 

Ron,

I think that you provide compelling evidence that the BBB may play a prominent role in developing PD. We know how a higher permeability can result in more 'bad' substances seeping in like particulates, pesticides, etc. What happens to the 'good' stuff like levodopa? Doesn't it stand to reason that a person with a higher permeability will also process or metabolize anti-PD drugs differently? Would they not then, in theory, work better or at least more quickly? Or do they play a never-ending game of catch up to the misfiring that is running amok in our brains? I'm just wanting to understand how the BBB would reflect our varying responses to medication?

Thanks!
Laura

Bbb
 

Hi Laura,
The question of whether a substance passes through the BBB does not only depend on the size of the molecule. It also depends on the lipid (fat) solubility. For example, levodopa is a larger molecule than dopamine. Yet it passes though the BBB whilst dopamine does not. The reason is levodopa is more fat soluble than dopamine. Since levodopa so easily passes a normal BBB, I doubt if it passes any more easily through a defective (wider) BBB.
However, the dopamine produced inside a healthy person's brain can't leak out into the blood stream, ours may be able to do so particularly in moments of stress which opens the BBB further, thus causing a freeze.
You may be right that some larger molecules that could be beneficial, such as having antioxidant properties, which don't pass a heathy BBB, may pass a defective one. However, I have never seen any research on this possibility. As we have said, there is little enough research done on repairing the BBB, by reducing the permeabilty.
Ron