Re: A Link between Allergies and Parkinson's?

[Guest guest]

-Thanks KC, good find.I'm thinking this is the same one who

determined chronic sinusitis was from mold and also plays a role in

asthma.-- In , " tigerpaw2c "

<tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

>

> A Link between Allergies and Parkinson's?

>

> http://sciencedaily.healthology.com/focus_article.asp?

> b=sciencedaily & f=allergy & c=allergy_link2parkinson

>

> By: Barrow

>

> People who suffer with long-term nasal allergies may be up to three

> times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who

> don't, researchers from the Mayo Clinic have found.

> While Parkinson's disease is not well understood, previous studies

> have shown that people who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory

> drugs, such as ibuprofen, are less likely to develop the disease.

> So, researchers believe that inflammation in some way increases the

> risk of developing Parkinson's.

>

> " There is accumulating laboratory and clinical evidence that

> inflammation may play a role, " wrote Dr. Bower and colleagues

> in Neurology.

>

> To further determine the role that inflammation may play in the

> development of Parkinson's, Bower looked at the medical records of

> 196 men and women with Parkinson's disease and 196 people of a

> similar age and gender who did not. For each patient, they looked

to

> see if there was any history of inflammatory disease, such as

> allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies), asthma, hay fever, anemia,

> lupus and arthritis.

>

>

> While no association was found with any other disease, those

> patients with allergic rhinitis were 2.9 times more likely to

> develop Parkinson's. Allergic rhinitis is characterized as any long-

> term nasal allergy to things like dust, pollen and pet hair. It is

> caused when the body's immune system tried to attack these foreign

> invaders, causing the inflammation of the nasal and sinus regions.

>

> While the connection between allergic rhinitis and Parkinson's is

> unclear, Bower thinks that having this type of allergy over a long

> time is a sign that one's body is more likely to have excess

> inflammation than a person without it.

>

> " People with allergic rhinitis mount an immune response with their

> allergies, so they may be more likely to mount an immune response

in

> the brain as well, which would produce inflammation, " said

> Bower, " The inflammation produced may release certain chemicals in

> the brain and inadvertently kill brain cells, as we see in

> Parkinson's "

>

> Bower cautions, however, that his study was small and more work

> needs to be done to truly link Parkinson's with inflammation of any

> kind.

>

> " I wouldn't worry if you have allergies, " he said, adding that the

> clues found in this study may help researchers develop medications

> to block inflammation and prevent Parkinson's disease.

>

>

> To learn more about similar topics,

> please visit our Allergy section.

> Published/Last Reviewed: September 6, 2006

>