Oh man I can imagine. When my 11 year old niece was diagnosed with the worst grade two years ago, and her parents were told it was genetic, I remember the argument eventually came up over which side of the family has the bad genes. I am not even close to being persuaded that it is a genetic disease, I think cancer is still mostly a disease caused by the environment. To that end, I am happy to say, this is my third day off the 10 week nicoderm stop smoking treatment, and I feel great!
An interesting information about Parkinson's and how it may be caused by environment, from today's Science:
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PARKINSON'S DISEASE:
Coincidence or Connection?
Richard Stone
When actor Michael J. Fox revealed in 1998 that he has Parkinson's disease (PD), it caused a stir: a celebrity in his prime afflicted with a degenerative disorder associated with old age. Now a new twist to the story has emerged, and scientists are debating what, if anything, it means. A Canadian TV documentary has reported that three people who worked with Fox at a TV studio in the late 1970s also have been diagnosed with Parkinson's. One, like Fox, first showed symptoms in her 30s.
The cluster of four cases out of a 125-person production crew may not have a common cause. Indeed, disease clusters often turn into scientific dead ends. But the two instances of the rare early-onset form, in particular, have experts intrigued. "When you start seeing young patients, the odds increase dramatically" that a cluster is not due to chance, says J. William Langston, scientific director of the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California.
A handful of PD experts have known about the cluster for roughly a year. It first came to public light in a documentary, "The Parkinson's Enigma," aired last month by Canada's CTV. Fox and the three others had worked together in Vancouver, Canada, when the actor was taping the short-lived Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) sitcom Leo and Me. All of the patients except Fox are being treated by PD specialist Donald Calne, former director of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Centre at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.
Scientists have long known that PD, characterized by tremors and muscle rigidity, results from cell death in the substantia nigra, a brain region that produces the neurotransmitter dopamine. The vast majority of PD cases, many researchers believe, occur when genetic or environmental factors accelerate a gradual die-off of nigral neurons. Gene mutations are thought to be responsible for many cases of the early-onset form.
Calne and some others, however, argue that a brief environmental exposure, or "event," may kill some neurons in the substantia nigra and damage many others. "As these wounded soldiers die, you start to see symptoms," says Calne, who argues that a toxin or a virus could trigger such a cascade. Calne believes that the Fox cluster fits that hypothesis. All four patients first showed symptoms 7 to 13 years after working together--a lag one would expect to follow an event, he says. In addition, Calne says, "concern has been expressed about the ventilation" in the new, CBC sound-insulated studio they were working in at the time. CBC confirms that it has called in a UBC epidemiologist to examine this concern. To Calne, these facts represent "intriguing straws in the wind that the cause could be viral"--although he cautions that a toxin or other environmental factor is equally plausible.
The explosive mix of Michael J. Fox and speculation about a possible PD virus proved irresistible for many news organizations, including CNN. The coverage has triggered a "deluge" of inquiries, says Langston, who is also chief scientific adviser to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in New York City. The foundation has posted a statement on its Web site, signed by Langston, that plays down a viral link. "Lacking strong scientific evidence, ... the viral theory is not widely held by PD researchers and clinicians," the statement asserts.
The Fox cluster may turn out to be mere coincidence, but neurotoxicologist Peter Spencer of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland says a search for potential toxins or pathogens "should be vigorously pursued. Sure, it could theoretically have been something in the building, but TV crews eat, drink, and perhaps experience other things together." Langston agrees. If you could unravel just one cluster, he says, "boy, you could learn a tremendous amount." |
