23rd January 2010 - New research

THE AMERICAN PREVALENCE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Neuroepidemiology [2010] 34 (3) : 143-151 .Annals of  Neurology [2009] 66 (6) : 792-798 (Wright Willis A, Evanoff BA, Lian M, Criswell SR, Racette BA.) Complete abstract

The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in the U.S.A. has been found to differ enormously according to location, age and race. The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in some counties was found to be nearly 12 times higher than in other counties. Urban areas were more affected than rural areas. Elsewhere, the opposite is usually true.

Parkinson's Disease is far from being evenly spread across the U.S.A.. The study revealed a concentration of Parkinson's Disease in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the U.S.A.. Nebraska was previously shown to be the worst affected Complete abstract. In the over 65s there was found to be a prevalence in some areas of 1 in 7, making it in those places a common medical disorder. Whites were affected with Parkinson's Disease about twice as much as Blacks and Asians, though this difference is progressively decreasing, especially between Blacks and Whites. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

19th January 2010 - New research

PYRIDOXINE FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Annals of  Neurology [2009] 66 (6) : 792-798 (Elstner M, Morris CM, Heim K, Lichtner P, Bender A, Mehta D, Schulte C, Sharma M, Hudson G, Goldwurm S, Giovanetti A, Zeviani M, Burn DJ, McKeith IG, Perry RH, Jaros E, Krüger R, Wichmann HE, Schreiber S, Campbell H, Wilson JF, Wright AF, Dunlop M, Pistis G, Toniolo D, Chinnery PF, Gasser T, Klopstock T, Meitinger T, Prokisch H, Turnbull DM.) Complete abstract

An increased risk of Parkinson's Disease has been found for the gene for Pyridoxal kinase. Pyridoxal kinase is an enzyme. Enzymes  are chemicals naturally produced by the body that turn one substance in to another in the body. Pyridoxal kinase  ultimately turns the Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) via pyridoxal in to pyridoxal phosphate. This is why people need to consume vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in order to produce pyridoxal phosphate.

Pyridoxal phosphate (and therefore pyridoxine) is very important for Parkinson's Disease because it is essential for making use of L-dopa. So without pyridoxine and pyridoxal phosphate, L-dopa is virtually useless. L-dopa simply could not form dopamine. It is therefore not surprising that a disturbance in the gene that makes pyridoxal phosphate can make somebody more likely to develop Parkinson's Disease. Pyridoxine was actually one of the first means of treating Parkinson's Disease. In the 1940's pyridoxine was independently being used in the U.S.S.R. and in the U.S.A.. However, large quantities of pyridoxine (30mg or more) can have a detrimental effect, because it breaks down L-dopa in drug form before it is used. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

7th January 2010 - New research

WELL WATER AS A CAUSE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Environmental Health Perspectives [2009] 117 (12) : 1912-1918 (Gatto NM, Cockburn M, Bronstein J, Ritz B, Manthripragada AD) Complete abstract

Investigators have hypothesized that consuming pesticide-contaminated well water plays a role in Parkinson's Disease, and several previous epidemiology studies support this hypothesis. Researchers investigated whether consuming water from private wells located in areas with documented historical pesticide use was associated with an increased risk.

They separately examined six pesticides (diazinon, chlorpyrifos, propargite, paraquat, dimethoate, and methomyl) from among 26 chemicals selected for their potential to pollute groundwater or for their relevance to Parkinson's Disease, and because at least 10% of their population was exposed to them. People with Parkinson's Disease were more likely to have consumed private well water and to have consumed it on average 4.3 years longer than normal. High levels of three of the pesticides (methomyl, chlorpyrifos, propargite) resulted in a 70% to 90% increase in the risk of Parkinson's Disease. The study demonstrated that consuming well water presumably contaminated with pesticides can increase the likelihood of Parkinson's Disease. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.