Re: Canadian Documentary: The Parkinson's Enigma

[Guest guest]

I watched the Canadian Documentary: " The Parkinson's Enigma " last night.

For those in Canada who missed it, it will be shown again on the Canadian

Discovery channel on:

Thu, Apr 11, 2002 at 9:00 PM

Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 2:00 AM

Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 3:00 PM

I don't know if it will be shown in future on American channels. Maybe

people should write to the American Discovery Channel and PBS and see if

they can get it.

Here is a link to the Canadian Discovery channel website with more

information.

http://www.discovery.ca/stories/2002/04/05/51.asp

I would imagine the reason the show was produced in Canada was because there

is a distinct Canadian angle to it. It started out discussing the strange

coincidence of 4 people coming down with Parkinson Disease who all worked on

the set of a Canadian TV series " Leo & Me " in the late 1970's. The most

famous of these 4 people is J. Fox. Four researchers were

interviewed throughout the show as well as J. Fox and Sally Gardner,

one of the other 3 people from the tv series with Parkinson's.

The researchers interviewed were:

Dr. Calne, neurologist and director of the Neurodegenerative

Disorders Centre at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre,

University of British Columbia.

Dr. Calne's research on the single event hypothesis for the cause of

Parkinson Disease was the main focus of the show. Read his research paper

at http://www.bcma.org/BCMJ/April2001/PDSyndrome.asp and you'll see the

main points discussed in the later half of the article.

Dr. Jon Stoessl, professor of neurology, University of British Columbia

Dr. Oliver Sacks, clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein

College of Medicine, New York. Dr. Sacks is best known for his book and

subsequent movie called " Awakenings " which starred De Niro and Robin

. See: http://www.oliversacks.com/awakenings.html

Dr. Langston, President of the Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvalle,

California

Dr. Langston is also the co-author of " The Case of the Frozen Addicts " , a

book which describes the discovery of MPTP. The toxic effects of MPTP were

also discussed in the documentary. You can read some background on MPTP

toxicity causing parkinsonism at

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1988/dec/research5_881212.html

The show discussed past cases of parkinsonism caused by a virus or exposure

to toxins. In the movie " Awakenings " , patients had contracted viral

encephalitis which left them bed-ridden in a sleep-like state. When they

were given L-Dopa (the parkinson's medication) they miraculously recovered

movement.

Researchers have also injected the influenza virus directly into the brains

of mice and the dopamine producing neurons were killed off. This research

seemed to show that for some reason the substantia nigra region of the brain

is a target for viruses.

There were cases of severe parkinsonism occurring overnight in California in

the early 80's. Six cases were reported where people had taken a dose of

what they thought was pure heroin. It turned out to be an overcooked batch

of synthetic heroin which formed a simple molecule called MPTP which is

severely toxic to dopamine producing neurons in the substantia nigra region

of the brain. These people became bedridden overnight, unable to move.

L-Dopa did not help them significantly but one of the patients later

received fetal cell transplant surgery and recovered enough to be able to

ride a bicycle... he was shown on the program on his bike. This case

proved to scientists that neural cell transplants could work. Stem cell

research was also mentioned on the program as having great hope for the

future.

Dr. Calne's theory is that parkinsons may be caused by a single

event... either an exposure to a virus that attacks brain cells or to a

neurotoxin. At the time of the exposure many neurons die immediately and

others get sick but maintain some function. Then in future there may be no

futher exposure to toxins and apparent recovery from the virus. Nerve cells

that were damaged though continue to slowly die off. Eventually enough

dopamine producing cells die off that symptoms begin to appear.. in many

people it starts off with a strange twitch or a tremor. Dr. Calne thinks

that this slow dying off of cells gives the appearance that Parkinson's is

an ongoing disease process when it could actually be the result of this past

single exposure to a toxin or virus. He also believes that certain

occupations are more prone to developing Parkinson's. Teachers, medical

workers, loggers and miners were all mentioned with the theory being that

there might be a respiratory virus that could make these groups of people

more susceptible. Parkinson's is known to be less common in people who do

not work outside the home.

The theory is very interesting and was backed up by the other researchers

interviewed who all said studying these coincidental clusters of Parkinson's

was greatly adding to their knowledge of the disease.

Multiple System Atrophy was not mentioned in the show.

Regards,

Pam

Please join the Multiple System Atrophy/Shy-Drager mailing list at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shydrager

[Guest guest]

My mother was a teacher and always very healthy. She never had the

flu or a cold that I can recall.

By the way, she is complaining that her nose is running all the time.

I don't see it running. But she does sound like her nose is stuffed

all the time.

\

> I watched the Canadian Documentary: " The Parkinson's Enigma " last

night.

> For those in Canada who missed it, it will be shown again on the

Canadian

> Discovery channel on:

>

> Thu, Apr 11, 2002 at 9:00 PM

> Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 2:00 AM

> Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 3:00 PM

>

> I don't know if it will be shown in future on American channels.

Maybe

> people should write to the American Discovery Channel and PBS and

see if

> they can get it.

>

> Here is a link to the Canadian Discovery channel website with more

> information.

> http://www.discovery.ca/stories/2002/04/05/51.asp

>

> I would imagine the reason the show was produced in Canada was

because there

> is a distinct Canadian angle to it. It started out discussing the

strange

> coincidence of 4 people coming down with Parkinson Disease who all

worked on

> the set of a Canadian TV series " Leo & Me " in the late 1970's. The

most

> famous of these 4 people is J. Fox. Four researchers were

> interviewed throughout the show as well as J. Fox and Sally

Gardner,

> one of the other 3 people from the tv series with Parkinson's.

>

> The researchers interviewed were:

>

> Dr. Calne, neurologist and director of the Neurodegenerative

> Disorders Centre at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre,

> University of British Columbia.

> Dr. Calne's research on the single event hypothesis for the cause of

> Parkinson Disease was the main focus of the show. Read his

research paper

> at http://www.bcma.org/BCMJ/April2001/PDSyndrome.asp and you'll

see the

> main points discussed in the later half of the article.

>

> Dr. Jon Stoessl, professor of neurology, University of British

Columbia

>

> Dr. Oliver Sacks, clinical professor of neurology at the Albert

Einstein

> College of Medicine, New York. Dr. Sacks is best known for his

book and

> subsequent movie called " Awakenings " which starred De Niro

and Robin

> . See: http://www.oliversacks.com/awakenings.html

>

> Dr. Langston, President of the Parkinson's Institute,

Sunnyvalle,

> California

> Dr. Langston is also the co-author of " The Case of the Frozen

Addicts " , a

> book which describes the discovery of MPTP. The toxic effects of

MPTP were

> also discussed in the documentary. You can read some background on

MPTP

> toxicity causing parkinsonism at

> http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1988/dec/research5_881212.html

>

> The show discussed past cases of parkinsonism caused by a virus or

exposure

> to toxins. In the movie " Awakenings " , patients had contracted

viral

> encephalitis which left them bed-ridden in a sleep-like state.

When they

> were given L-Dopa (the parkinson's medication) they miraculously

recovered

> movement.

>

> Researchers have also injected the influenza virus directly into

the brains

> of mice and the dopamine producing neurons were killed off. This

research

> seemed to show that for some reason the substantia nigra region of

the brain

> is a target for viruses.

>

> There were cases of severe parkinsonism occurring overnight in

California in

> the early 80's. Six cases were reported where people had taken a

dose of

> what they thought was pure heroin. It turned out to be an

overcooked batch

> of synthetic heroin which formed a simple molecule called MPTP

which is

> severely toxic to dopamine producing neurons in the substantia

nigra region

> of the brain. These people became bedridden overnight, unable to

move.

> L-Dopa did not help them significantly but one of the patients later

> received fetal cell transplant surgery and recovered enough to be

able to

> ride a bicycle... he was shown on the program on his bike. This

case

> proved to scientists that neural cell transplants could work. Stem

cell

> research was also mentioned on the program as having great hope for

the

> future.

>

> Dr. Calne's theory is that parkinsons may be caused by a

single

> event... either an exposure to a virus that attacks brain cells or

to a

> neurotoxin. At the time of the exposure many neurons die

immediately and

> others get sick but maintain some function. Then in future there

may be no

> futher exposure to toxins and apparent recovery from the virus.

Nerve cells

> that were damaged though continue to slowly die off. Eventually

enough

> dopamine producing cells die off that symptoms begin to appear.. in

many

> people it starts off with a strange twitch or a tremor. Dr. Calne

thinks

> that this slow dying off of cells gives the appearance that

Parkinson's is

> an ongoing disease process when it could actually be the result of

this past

> single exposure to a toxin or virus. He also believes that certain

> occupations are more prone to developing Parkinson's. Teachers,

medical

> workers, loggers and miners were all mentioned with the theory

being that

> there might be a respiratory virus that could make these groups of

people

> more susceptible. Parkinson's is known to be less common in people

who do

> not work outside the home.

>

> The theory is very interesting and was backed up by the other

researchers

> interviewed who all said studying these coincidental clusters of

Parkinson's

> was greatly adding to their knowledge of the disease.

>

> Multiple System Atrophy was not mentioned in the show.

>

>

> Regards,

> Pam

> Please join the Multiple System Atrophy/Shy-Drager mailing list at

> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shydrager

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

There is one thing that my mother used to do that could have been

part of her coming up with a neurological condition. She used to take

diet pills.

In the 50's she would go to Wisconsin to visit her sister and come

home with lunch bags of rainbow colored amphetimines from a doctor

who was a friend of her sister and brother-in-law.

She never lost weight on those pills. She took the pills and ate

coffee cake so it was self defeating--but she did take the pills.

I don't suppose most of the men with LBD were amphetimine users????

> > I watched the Canadian Documentary: " The Parkinson's Enigma " last

> night.

> > For those in Canada who missed it, it will be shown again on the

> Canadian

> > Discovery channel on:

> >

> > Thu, Apr 11, 2002 at 9:00 PM

> > Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 2:00 AM

> > Fri, Apr 12, 2002 at 3:00 PM

> >

> > I don't know if it will be shown in future on American channels.

> Maybe

> > people should write to the American Discovery Channel and PBS and

> see if

> > they can get it.

> >

> > Here is a link to the Canadian Discovery channel website with more

> > information.

> > http://www.discovery.ca/stories/2002/04/05/51.asp

> >

> > I would imagine the reason the show was produced in Canada was

> because there

> > is a distinct Canadian angle to it. It started out discussing

the

> strange

> > coincidence of 4 people coming down with Parkinson Disease who

all

> worked on

> > the set of a Canadian TV series " Leo & Me " in the late 1970's.

The

> most

> > famous of these 4 people is J. Fox. Four researchers were

> > interviewed throughout the show as well as J. Fox and

Sally

> Gardner,

> > one of the other 3 people from the tv series with Parkinson's.

> >

> > The researchers interviewed were:

> >

> > Dr. Calne, neurologist and director of the

Neurodegenerative

> > Disorders Centre at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre,

> > University of British Columbia.

> > Dr. Calne's research on the single event hypothesis for the cause

of

> > Parkinson Disease was the main focus of the show. Read his

> research paper

> > at http://www.bcma.org/BCMJ/April2001/PDSyndrome.asp and you'll

> see the

> > main points discussed in the later half of the article.

> >

> > Dr. Jon Stoessl, professor of neurology, University of British

> Columbia

> >

> > Dr. Oliver Sacks, clinical professor of neurology at the Albert

> Einstein

> > College of Medicine, New York. Dr. Sacks is best known for his

> book and

> > subsequent movie called " Awakenings " which starred De Niro

> and Robin

> > . See: http://www.oliversacks.com/awakenings.html

> >

> > Dr. Langston, President of the Parkinson's Institute,

> Sunnyvalle,

> > California

> > Dr. Langston is also the co-author of " The Case of the Frozen

> Addicts " , a

> > book which describes the discovery of MPTP. The toxic effects of

> MPTP were

> > also discussed in the documentary. You can read some background

on

> MPTP

> > toxicity causing parkinsonism at

> > http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1988/dec/research5_881212.html

> >

> > The show discussed past cases of parkinsonism caused by a virus

or

> exposure

> > to toxins. In the movie " Awakenings " , patients had contracted

> viral

> > encephalitis which left them bed-ridden in a sleep-like state.

> When they

> > were given L-Dopa (the parkinson's medication) they miraculously

> recovered

> > movement.

> >

> > Researchers have also injected the influenza virus directly into

> the brains

> > of mice and the dopamine producing neurons were killed off. This

> research

> > seemed to show that for some reason the substantia nigra region

of

> the brain

> > is a target for viruses.

> >

> > There were cases of severe parkinsonism occurring overnight in

> California in

> > the early 80's. Six cases were reported where people had taken a

> dose of

> > what they thought was pure heroin. It turned out to be an

> overcooked batch

> > of synthetic heroin which formed a simple molecule called MPTP

> which is

> > severely toxic to dopamine producing neurons in the substantia

> nigra region

> > of the brain. These people became bedridden overnight, unable to

> move.

> > L-Dopa did not help them significantly but one of the patients

later

> > received fetal cell transplant surgery and recovered enough to be

> able to

> > ride a bicycle... he was shown on the program on his bike. This

> case

> > proved to scientists that neural cell transplants could work.

Stem

> cell

> > research was also mentioned on the program as having great hope

for

> the

> > future.

> >

> > Dr. Calne's theory is that parkinsons may be caused by a

> single

> > event... either an exposure to a virus that attacks brain cells

or

> to a

> > neurotoxin. At the time of the exposure many neurons die

> immediately and

> > others get sick but maintain some function. Then in future

there

> may be no

> > futher exposure to toxins and apparent recovery from the virus.

> Nerve cells

> > that were damaged though continue to slowly die off. Eventually

> enough

> > dopamine producing cells die off that symptoms begin to appear..

in

> many

> > people it starts off with a strange twitch or a tremor. Dr.

Calne

> thinks

> > that this slow dying off of cells gives the appearance that

> Parkinson's is

> > an ongoing disease process when it could actually be the result

of

> this past

> > single exposure to a toxin or virus. He also believes that

certain

> > occupations are more prone to developing Parkinson's. Teachers,

> medical

> > workers, loggers and miners were all mentioned with the theory

> being that

> > there might be a respiratory virus that could make these groups

of

> people

> > more susceptible. Parkinson's is known to be less common in

people

> who do

> > not work outside the home.

> >

> > The theory is very interesting and was backed up by the other

> researchers

> > interviewed who all said studying these coincidental clusters of

> Parkinson's

> > was greatly adding to their knowledge of the disease.

> >

> > Multiple System Atrophy was not mentioned in the show.

> >

> >

> > Regards,

> > Pam

> > Please join the Multiple System Atrophy/Shy-Drager mailing list at

> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shydrager

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Actually, Cheryl, the military has supplied men with amphetimines

under some circumstances where they wanted them awake. So military

men might have taken such pills--but no, you're probably right that

that is not the cause.

> In a message dated 4/8/02 1:20:10 PM Central Daylight Time,

> stephanie_brent@h... writes:

>

> > I don't suppose most of the men with LBD were amphetimine

users????

> >

> Not my husband, . The only things that we can figure that

might

> have led to his developing this disease are:

>

> 1) He boxed briefly while in the Navy. After being KOd he decided

it was a

> pretty stupid sport and quit. But head injuries can cause problems

way down

> the road . . .

>

> 2) There is a history in his mother's family of various brain

problems, from

> Alzheimer's to brain cancer to schizophrenia to migraines to my

MIL's

> undiagnosed " my crazy head. " (However, now 92 she has only minimal

signs of

> dementia.) The older folks also say that HER mother shuffled about

in what

> we now call a Parkinsonian posture, very very stooped. And my BIL

is

> developing it, too. The neurologist wasn't much interested in this

history,

> but I wouldn't be surprised that someday, somewhere there is some

kind of

> link. (Hey, my 5th grade teacher poo-poo'd my observation that all

the

> continents might have fitted together once . . . )

>

> I think we are just barely scratching the surface in research.

> Cheryl

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My mother used hair dye for years--she was mostly grey by 30 but

never " let it go " --but I don't think that's it. Hope it isn't

anyway!!!!

> While were on the subject, has your loved one used hair color a

lot, sat up

> in bed for years watching tv late into the night,or at one time

suffered a

> neck injury, or had an epideral, just wondering. shirley

>

>

> >From: LewyLady@a...

> >Reply-To: LBDcaregivers@y...

> >To: LBDcaregivers@y...

> >Subject: Re: Re: Canadian Documentary: " The

Parkinson's

> >Enigma "

> >Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 21:43:17 EDT

> >

> >In a message dated 4/8/02 1:20:10 PM Central Daylight Time,

> >stephanie_brent@h... writes:

> >

> > > I don't suppose most of the men with LBD were amphetimine

users????

> > >

> >Not my husband, . The only things that we can figure

that might

> >have led to his developing this disease are:

> >

> >1) He boxed briefly while in the Navy. After being KOd he

decided it was

> >a

> >pretty stupid sport and quit. But head injuries can cause

problems way

> >down

> >the road . . .

> >

> >2) There is a history in his mother's family of various brain

problems,

> >from

> >Alzheimer's to brain cancer to schizophrenia to migraines to my

MIL's

> >undiagnosed " my crazy head. " (However, now 92 she has only

minimal signs

> >of

> >dementia.) The older folks also say that HER mother shuffled

about in what

> >we now call a Parkinsonian posture, very very stooped. And my BIL

is

> >developing it, too. The neurologist wasn't much interested in

this

> >history,

> >but I wouldn't be surprised that someday, somewhere there is some

kind of

> >link. (Hey, my 5th grade teacher poo-poo'd my observation that

all the

> >continents might have fitted together once . . . )

> >

> >I think we are just barely scratching the surface in research.

> >Cheryl

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/9/02 7:49:31 AM Central Daylight Time,

stephanie_brent@... writes:

> Actually, Cheryl, the military has supplied men with amphetimines

> under some circumstances where they wanted them awake.

Hmm, I didn't realize this. Thanks for the input!

Cheryl

[Guest guest]

-- Farmers are exposed to oodles of chemicals and pesticides

and one theory says that some Parkinsons might result from

pesticides. Besides-- don't take our speculations too seriously. We

really are grasping at straws. I would so much love to understand

what causes this but I don't guess we ever will know.

> > While were on the subject, has your loved one used

> > hair color a lot, sat up

> > in bed for years watching tv late into the night,or

> > at one time suffered a

> > neck injury, or had an epideral, just wondering.

> > shirley

> >

> >

> > >From: LewyLady@a...

> > >Reply-To: LBDcaregivers@y...

> > >To: LBDcaregivers@y...

> > >Subject: Re: Re: Canadian

> > Documentary: " The Parkinson's

> > >Enigma "

> > >Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 21:43:17 EDT

> > >

> > >In a message dated 4/8/02 1:20:10 PM Central

> > Daylight Time,

> > >stephanie_brent@h... writes:

> > >

> > > > I don't suppose most of the men with LBD were

> > amphetimine users????

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>