just a thought
 

Did any/all of you see the Oprah MJF show last week. The always interesting Dr. Oz showed a real brain and showed us all what the Substansia Nigra or whatever looks like and how it is placed in the brain. My thought was: maybe we differ because only sections or segments of it are damaged, and in each case that would manifest itself in different symptoms?

Rosebud,
Just a quick reply and more later.
I am participating in a study that is correlating structural changes in the brains of PD patients with cognitive changes, sleep apnea and alterations in sleep patterns, memory. It looks like what happens, when and how much damage to substantia nigra is critical to the function of other parts of the brain and are reflected in the behavoir of PWP.
I will write more about this study later.
Girija

Girija - thanks - looking forward to what you find out. I've always wondered if, for a long time, researchers didn't look beyond the substantia nigra because they thought of PD as only a movement disorder: PD patients present with motor problems; they look for damage at the site of motor control, the substantia nigra. But then, what of the other symptoms? Are they also due to s.n. damage, or are other parts of the brain also damaged? (Braak's research would seem to implicate damage other than just to the s.n.) - or, do we have a lot more to learn about the role of the s.n.?

Oprah Show
 

What Dr.Oz was showing is the part of the brain that a F-Dopa scan watches to see how much radioactive isotope attached to dopamine is used by the dark ring of cells. Pathology reports also are used to determine if Parkinson's disease was part of a cadaver's physical makeup. If only a part of the brown cells are lightening, a diagnosis of PD is still made.

The question still needs to be answered, "What caused the death of the dopamine producing neurons?" There could be hundreds of reasons for the death of these cells. How the neurons are killed is what causes the different symptoms for each person. Does this make any sence? That is how I understand it anyway.

Vicky

How?
 

Vicky: you clarified my question further by stating "it is How....these cells are killed" And yes there could be a thousand ways. Which would explain the thousand different variations. I know I certainly feel like I have not lost my uniqueness in this shipload of dysfunctional persons. :eek:

Sidenote: The local PD association thought there were approx 7000 People with Pd in British Columbia, but were alarmed to find there were actually 11,000.+ and newly diagnosed stats are rising scary fast .... especiallly in the Y.O. group

better dx or actually increasing numbers of cases?
 

Do they believe the numbers are going up because of better dx tools or because more people are getting PD, and earlier? If the latter, to me that points to environmental causes (chemicals in our food, massive vaccinations of vulnerable infants) rather than genetics...thoughts?

The longer Homo Sapiens survive and populate the earth, the more variations of gentic make up. It seems that the greater the wisdom of science to manipulate chemicals to provide food for our species, the more the number of environmental causes are produced.Both? One or the other? I'm so dizzy!!!:confused::confused:

Let me know if someone can figure this out! It will take a miracle and I'm fresh out!!

Vicky

Advanced tools?
 

Well the DX tools haven't changed much. They look you over and pronounce the words PD over you, and thats about it. You don't get the more advanced "tools" (if you wish to call them that) unless you have lots of money to blow, complain long and loud for a further look or get into some sort of study with benefits. Do I sound cynical? Must be cuz I am.