moondaughter,

I take your point about the response to an "insult". Not only will it vary from person to person, but the same person will respond differently at different times.

Regarding your forest fire analogy. It seems to me that, in contrast to Parkinson's, as soon as people see the signs of the fire they do something to put it out.

GerryW,

It's a long shot, but it's worth reading:
Can My Bird Make Me Sick?
Common Zoonotic Diseases in Pet Birds
By Alyson Kalhagen, About.com Guide
http://birds.about.com/od/birdhealth...icdiseases.htm
which gives details of the diseases you can catch from pet birds.

Given that you have an identical twin who doesn't have PD, I think you could do us a great service by creating a thread on yourself; starting by listing the things that you have done differently. It might be just the thing that gives us the crucial hint on where to look. It would also be useful to see if he has any symptoms of PD. For instance, does his side-to-side tap rate show any sign of slowness?

John

See "Bird Ownership Statistics in USA"

http://www.parrots.com/parrot-ownership.htm

"Using the AVMA [American Vet Medical Association] data, along with previous surveys in 1991 and 1996, the following conclusions have been drawn: Birds are the third most popular companion pet owned, behind dogs and cats. 4.6% of all households own at least one bird, with households in the Pacific region having the highest concentration, averaging 6.3% of households".

It goes on to show a map of how pet bird ownership varied across the US. An "eyeball" comparison between this and the Willis paper showing the distribution of PD suggests it shows roughly opposite patterns.

John

There is much interest at the moment in the role of alpha-synuclein in the pathogenesis PD. I thought it would be interesting to go through my posts, most of which were based on epidemiological evidence, and see if there were any implications of an involvement of alpha-synuclein.

"At least one strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus leaves survivors at significantly increased risk for Parkinson’s disease and possibly other neurological problems later in life, according to new research from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital."

"Researchers also found evidence that the avian flu infection led to over-production of a protein found in the brain cells of individuals with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The protein, alpha-synuclein, collected in H5N1-infected cells throughout the brain, including the midbrain where key dopamine-producing cells are located. There was little protein accumulation in the brain cells of uninfected mice."

tag johnt:alpha-synuclein

References:

[1] "Avian Influenza Strain Primes Brain For Parkinson’s Disease"
January 17, 2013, Northwest Neurology
http://www.northwestneurology.net/av...nsons-disease/
John

Hello,

You state that you will not change your method of calling things as you see them. When challenged to back up your statements you once more respond with you will not change your opinion. This is a circular argument that can not be resolved. Your refusing to change your approach to responding to other viewpoints means you have the irrational expectation that everyone else who posts must change to be more tolerant of your postings, yet you have the expectation that what you state as opinion is truth?

I know my post will anger and hurt you, and I apologize for this. I only wish you would take more time to think about the effect on others when you give your opinions on a thread. Remember there is a different choice. Just don't respond to the thread. You are drawing too much attention by arguing about the right to determine what should be allowed to be posted, making this thread become a fight not about his theory. but his right to express it. Perhaps you should start a new thread about what can be posted and can't be posted here.

In Sincerity,
Vicky

Sadasivan et al.write [1]:

"Influenza A viruses infect a number of different species, ranging from birds to mammals including humans... In addition to the well-defined respiratory effects, acute influenza infection in humans can lead to the development of a number of encephalitic syndromes, each having neurological consequences... We demonstrated that acute infection in mice with two different influenza viruses, A/Vietnam/1203/2004 (highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus)... and A/California/04/2009 H1N1 virus,.. induces an inflammatory response in the brain, consisting of activation of microglia and secretion of cytokines/chemokines... This suggested that the peripheral immune response activated following influenza infection ... was likely responsible for the observed secondary Central Nervous System (CNS) inflammation."

They point out that flu jabs and anti-virals may help reduce the likelihood of PD developing.

Reference

[1] "Synergistic effects of influenza and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) can be eliminated by the use of influenza therapeutics: experimental evidence for the multi-hit hypothesis"
Shankar Sadasivan, Bridgett Sharp, Stacey Schultz-Cherry & Richard Jay Smeyne
npj, May 2017
Synergistic effects of influenza and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) can be eliminated by the use of influenza therapeutics: experimental evidence for the multi-hit hypothesis | npj Parkinson'''s Disease

John

In the process of getting a copy of John's reference, I came across a good source of background information (IMHO):

Avian Flu Diary: Nature Comms: Revisiting The Influenza-Parkinson's Link

... and buried within all that background information is a link to the research paper that was the subject of John's previous post (07-31-2013):

"Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus can enter the central nervous system and induce neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration", Jang H, Boltz D, Sturm-Ramirez K, Shepherd KR, Jiao Y, Webster R, Smeyne RJ. PNAS August 18, 2009 vol 106 no. 33, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0900096106.

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus can enter the central nervous system and induce neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration

(this is an open-access document)

5 years later ...

"Although a wide variety of potential pathogens have been reported in starlings, the strongest evidence suggests that they may be responsible for harboring and dispersing some species of enteric bacteria, with Escherichia coli and Campylobacter jejuni of perhaps greatest interest, and primarily in the context of dairies, concentrated animal feeding operations, and other intensive livestock agriculture."

Reference:
"European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) as Vectors and Reservoirs of Pathogens Affecting Humans and Domestic Livestock"
Animals (Basel) 2021
Paul R. Cabe
European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) as Vectors and Reservoirs of Pathogens Affecting Humans and Domestic Livestock - PMC

John