'Parkinson's Largely Is a Preventable Disease'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you explain millions of people who work with these same chemicals and yet never develop Parkinson's?

Isn't everything that has environmental causes also partly genetic? Like even if you get lung cancer from smoking it is likely that you had a genetic predisposition as compared to others who smoked and didn't get it, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH was at Camp Lejeune and he never trusted that it had all been cleaned up. No Parkinson’s though

Some of us civilians lived on base for a very long time. I have a lawyer as part of the law suit but it looks like they will never address the impact to the civilians. From the information I've received, they are only addressing cancers. They won't consider miscarriages or birth anomalies unless one gave birth on base. Nothing long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again-meant to also say, I don't really know what Dad could have done to prevent it? Like I said, he didn't smoke/drink/drug, he kept a healthy weight, and was relatively active, even playing league ice hockey until age 50. No one else in the family-not his siblings, cousins no one else, has it.

Parkinsons is awful, it was so hard and awful for him. He was so healthy otherwise that he live all the way to the end of stage 5-the very worst of it.

Some viruses can also trigger the development of Parkinson's years later, as well as chemical exposure. You said he was in the military?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So since I was never in the military, never dry-clean anything, don't drink any sort of coffee and have never de-greased anything other than a dish, I should be okay on the Parkinson's front? Am I understanding that correctly?

Uh, no.

You clearly don’t understand science.

But I think RFK has an opening for you.

[Anonymous]

My husband has Lewy Body (a Parkinsonism). I've known people with genetic PD, PD as a result of intractable Lyme disease, -there's a new research showing a large % of PD brains have evidence of a virus previously thought to be benign - also from chemicals -see Camp Lejeune and from burn pits. I believe I've read about evidence that people w/ ADHD have a higher percantage of PD too.

My own husband had at least 2 bouts of Lyme plus STARI tick infection, but it was the life threatening infection around his eye and the loss of smell following it that was his first symptom. So there are many causes!

I do believe there will be better treatment before long, but sadly not in time for my husband.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband has Lewy Body (a Parkinsonism). I've known people with genetic PD, PD as a result of intractable Lyme disease, -there's a new research showing a large % of PD brains have evidence of a virus previously thought to be benign - also from chemicals -see Camp Lejeune and from burn pits. I believe I've read about evidence that people w/ ADHD have a higher percantage of PD too.

My own husband had at least 2 bouts of Lyme plus STARI tick infection, but it was the life threatening infection around his eye and the loss of smell following it that was his first symptom. So there are many causes!

I do believe there will be better treatment before long, but sadly not in time for my husband.

I'm sorry. My DH is about to be officially diagnosed with Parkinsons, probably at his next MDS visit. How old is your DH?

[Anonymous]

What about all the elderly folks who died from it in their 80s or 90s in the last several decades? I can think of two women and three men I knew IRL. None served in the military or worked a job that would have out them in direct contact with these chemicals.

I agree we need to get rid of these chemicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Parkinson's can be caused by alcoholism. I've known a couple of sober people who developed it at a ypunger age. I think Michael J. Fox is also one.

My grandmother barely had a drop in her life. Shook so badly she struggled to eat towards the end.

[Anonymous]

My 80 year old MIL has it. No unusual chemical exposure that I know of outside of drinking massive amounts of diet soda/using only fake sugars for decades. She was always dieting in an attempt to stay thin and told me she disliked drinking plain water. There have been studies on possible links between aspartame consumption and the disease, but none seem to be conclusive.

I’m so sorry for those of you who have the disease or have family members with it. It’s rough. I will say my MIL has received excellent care at Georgetown. We are lucky to live in an area with so many great options for medical care.

[Anonymous]

I believe this. I know a dad who has it. Military, and he worked with substance that is known to cause Parkinson’s.

[Anonymous]

My mom was recently diagnosed. She never drank, smoked , or did drugs. My dad suspects that it’s caused by her unchecked sleep apnea. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea but refused to use a CPAP. Her brain was getting less oxygen for years. Although the dry cleaning theory is interesting. She used to drop off and pick up dry cleaning for my dad for years.

[Anonymous]

Hmm...interesting.

My Mom was diagnosed a couple of years ago and so far, has been doing as well as she can.

She has a slight tremor in her left hand. Moving much more slowly - legs feel heavy at times.

She grew up in Western PA when the mills were booming, so who know. Not a big drinker, quit smoking over 50 years ago, not a drug user.

Very active, even now. Loves water aerobics, plays in a Parkinson's Pickleball league (used to play tennis and racquetball), doing some Parkinson's boxing classes as well.

She's 77.

[Anonymous]

The boxing classes are great and I did not know about the pickleball league. That is fantastic!

[Anonymous]

This was so interesting to read. My father has Parkinson’s which is thought to be caused by his Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.
However, the home my parents lived in after I went to college was eventually found to be contaminated with TCE from an old factory that was there prior to the housing development. (the soil and water were contaminated). My mother had significant respiratory symptoms the entire time she lived there from TCE vapors. (She took jacuzzi baths all the time, yikes). Her symptoms all resolved when she moved out. They lived there about 5 years before this was discovered.
Maybe that contributed to my dad’s Parkinson's in addition to the AO. I’m sure it didn’t help.