Fluoride Belt. Goiter Belt. Parkinson's Belt?
 

Hi:

AS a native of the mid-West (U.S.) I grew up very familiar with term goiter and the fact that I lived in the Goiter Belt. It referred to the prevalence of Goiters in the population and the fact that this could be treated by periodic intake of iodine tablets. The ground water as well as surface sediments was depleted in iodine, in this case attributed to the continental glaciation recently visited upon this region. I use the term "recent" in a geological sense; the last glaciation ended some 10,000 years ago. Nevertheless, it imported a geochemical (as well as a geomorphological) imprint on the land that is still seen today. Similar comments may be made for Fluoride and there is a region in North America known as the Fluoride Belt. Too much as well as too little can be harmful.

This led me to wonder if there is a Parkinson's Belt. Is there a region (let's say, in North America) where Parkinson's is highly concentrated and, if so, is there something unique about surface sediments, recent Geologic history, Hydrology etc. I realize that there will be some smearing of the data because of the tendency of people to move about but something interesting may fall out.

All the best,


Lloyd

Interesting question
 

I know that for MS there is indeed an area where it is more prevalent (upper midwest like Iowa & Illinois - where my cousin -who has ms- grew up and still lives).

I'll be interested to see if this rings true for PD. And btw - I have a goiter - lived as a young child in Iowa - is that part of the "goiter belt?" :confused: Never heard that term before.

Interesting.
 

Now that is very interesting. Denmark has rather high incidence of PD, it should be easy to research a limited area like that with a steady, constant and very small population, and then compare it to similar latitudes or to places with similar geologic history.
An exciting idea, Burckle!
AND, I think there is a connection between the goiter belt and PD. A lot of us are hyopthyroiod, and must take thyroid medicine as well as PD medicine.

goiter belt
 

Yes JeanB Iowa is part of the goiter belt. Our school kept a large can of iodine tablets and they were given to us periodically.

All the best,


Lloyd

Goiter belt? Other autoimmune disease? I just added to the Narcolepsy, Parkinson's thread about this~

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...2&postcount=20

Thanks Lloyd
 

I bet I didn't get those iodine tablets while living on farm drinking well water. I don't remember getting tablets in school - but that would have been Kindergarten and grades 1-3. I moved to Arizona at age 9.

Very very interesting! Just one more thing to add to my list.

Thanks again for this.

This is interesting because my grandfather was from Sweden, which is in the same area and he had PD. He died with it and was never treated. I'm not sure about the goiter though. His diet was high in iodine (fish), and I've lived in the northeast my whole life. I did, however, have a partial thyroidectomy in 2003 to remove a suspicious growth, which turned out to be benign. My thyroid levels have been 'normal' ever since. Perhaps there's a link between thyroid problems and PD.

John

Parkinson's Belt
 

In 2010, researchers looked at the geographical distribution of PWP for ages 65 years and up. They found that the disease rates in this age group were highest in the Midwest and Northeast. You can Google the title of the study: Geographic and Ethnic Variation in Parkinson Disease: A Population-Based Study of US Medicare Beneficiaries.

Is there a relationship?
 

Is there a high incidence of thyroid issues? Do they ever blame the thyroid for tremors, even when it is low?

There might be a better map online somewhere but I found this one for PD dx -
http://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/center...s-disease.aspx