POD and environment

["(Vern Dauphin) (VernD@xxxxxxx)" <vernd@xxxxxxx>]

Dear Alvis Clegg,
There is a lot of evidence that  environmental factors play a big part in the
above normal increased death rate of the substantia nigra cells in the body.
These are the cells that produce dopamine for the body.  Unfortunately, there
is also a lot of evidence that this cause is also attributable to genetic
and/or virual components as well.   Or  ......it may be a combination of all
three ...or any two of the above.    The truth is, that is something that is
not known, and there are strong arguments for each case (the permutations for
3 is 7).
I lean to the environmental side of the fence, but would not bet money on it
because some of the evidence in the other two areas are very compelling.
As for me, I am a photographer, developing my first roll of film at age 12
...over fifty years ago.  In those days you put your "hands in the soup"
(developers, short stops, and hypo)......as it was also for Margaret
Bourke-White, and Edward Weston (two very well know photographers in their
day).  All of us, plus a large number of other photographers, I know came
down with Parkinson's disease.  Environmental;  One would think so, and yet,
I know just as many photographers in the same time-frame that do not have
Parkinson's.  Maybe, someday, the true mechanisms of PD will be known.  Lets
hope, but in the mean-time, lets not think we have it all figured out 'cause
it t'aint necessarily so.   ....with aplogies to George Gershwin.
VernD  <verd@xxxxxxx