Re: J. Fox Foundation Grants

[Guest guest]

I agree with your position that all NDD ie PD, MSA, Alzheimers,etc have some

common symptoms and what cures one might help the other. I therefore watch

the PD and the MSA sites for info.

My Lay " research " on the web has brought me to the " feeling " that many NDD

are caused by the same problem. The difference is that the " problem " just

attacks different parts of the brain in different order, thus giving you

different symptoms, and thus a different disorder name.

My feeling is the underlying cause of NDD is the loss of neurons that produce

the neurotransmitter dopamine. It seems that there is a protein called

alpha-synuclein which is abundant in the healthy brain that undergoes a

transformation from normal to protofibrils to fibrils. Some where in this

chain of events some researchers feel that dopamine and L-Dopa seem to block

the normal formation of fibrils thus leaving protofibrils. The protofibrils

seem to cause more damage to the neurons and you get a " problem spiral " for

the neurons thus a progressive disease. I am only addressing Functional type

disorders. The very ones that CT/MRI provide very little info and perhaps

PET,MEG and SPECT can help.

If this concept is correct then some method of monitoring neurons/brain

function could greatly:

1.Improve the DX of NDD.

2.Help Drug Companies Develop Better Drugs.

3. Monitor patients under treatment via a more quantitative method then 6

week office visits. Naturally Treatment for Cure or perhaps prevention is the

real target.

4. Perhaps you could preempt NDD by very early DX.

While not a direct approach to the CURE a step in the right direction.

Again only a Lay person's comment. Keep the Faith!

AL