A Link between Allergies and Parkinson's?

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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