Hi AuroraWA: You are right about the genetic factor which raise the risk of PD & plus more sensitive to pesticides. Not everyone is allergic to raisins like my kid, she has hay fever and many food allergies, which make her sensitive to pesticides. Raisins also has sulfur dioxide added as preservative. Sulfur dioxide is highest in yellow raisins, and that's her favorite for the past years. Thank God that my kid stops stuttering and neck-muscle-spasm after removal of raisins and dirty-dozen produce from her diet. Sam's Club, Walmart, and Trader's Joe all have organic produce at decent price. Genetic factor: if I have 1/4 cup of wine, I break out in rash rather than muscle-spasm. There's a genetic factor in Parkison's which makes a person more sensitive to pesticides. In my previous link on PD and hereditary, a twin posted on how his identical twin has PD, and he doesn't, see below link: "My identical twin brother has had Parkinson's for 14 years or so and has diskonesia; a side effect from the drugs he takes to manage his parkinsons. As we know identical twins start out from one egg and split into equal parts. Needless to say I don't have Parkinson's and can guarantee I will not get it. My twin brother is confined to his unit where he lives mostly and has cracked 9 ribs as well as his sturnum with the many falls caused by parkinsons." http://www.caring.com/questions/parkinsons-disease-hereditary Here's an excerpt from WebMD: "The UCLA researchers also found that people with a common variant of the ALDH2 gene are particularly vulnerable to these ALDH-inhibiting pesticides, according to a university news release. People with the variant are two to six times more likely to develop Parkinson's than those without the variant when exposed to the pesticides. The levels at which the pesticides inhibit ALDH are much lower than those at which they are currently used, according to the study in the Feb. 5 online issue of the journal Neurology ... "These pesticides are pretty ubiquitous, and can be found in our food supply and are used in parks and golf courses and in pest control inside buildings and homes." http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/news/20140203/more-pesticides-linked-to-parkinsons-risk From the below link: "According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation: Epidemiological research has identified several factors that may be linked to Parkinson’s, including rural living, well water, manganese and pesticides. Some studies have demonstrated that prolonged occupational exposure to certain chemicals is associated with an elevated risk of PD [Parkinson’s disease]. These include the insecticides permethrin and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH), the herbicides paraquat and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and the fungicide maneb. In 2009, the US Department of Veterans Affairs added Parkinson’s to a list of diseases possibly associated with exposure to Agent Orange.” Separate research has further revealed that ambient exposure to organophosphate pesticides also increased the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.6 Rotenone and paraquat are two additional pesticides linked to an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, and both are lipophilic, meaning they resist breaking down in water and accumulate in your fat. Both are also known to cross your blood-brain barrier. Dousing our crops with large amounts of glyphosate ��" the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup ��" may be another factor in the rising rates of Parkinson’s disease we’re now seeing,7 as these residues are found in all virtually all food containing genetically modified ingredients. " Here is a link that might be useful: Pesticides that trigger PD This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 9:39

"I still believe it is the culprit and I researched AZ when my husband was diagnosed and found a document written by one of the top immunologist in this country saying he thought it was alum and said it was rampant in this country and one day there would AZ patients in the streets because there would not be enough homes for them. Aluminum enhances meds and it is in almost every shot you get, it's in 95%of all anti acids meds, etc." I agree. I also think we are getting too many toxic chemicals from vaccines. Emma, do you have the link to the document by the immunologist? I'd like to read it. Here are some more thoughts on this subject. "Studies confirm fluoride enhances 'bioavailability' of aluminum What apparently happens when individuals with aluminum-induced neural degeneration are exposed to fluoride is that the fluoride enhances the toxicity of aluminum. In terms of bioavailability, or the ability of aluminum to cause harm, fluoride greatly increases the overall toxic burden of this pervasive metal, rendering it exceptionally more toxic. "[A]luminum-induced neural degeneration in rats is greatly enhanced when the animals were fed low doses of fluoride," reads the news release for a 1998 study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Brain Research. "The presence of fluoride enhanced the bio-availability of aluminum (Al) causing more aluminum to cross the blood-brain barrier and become deposited in the brain. The aluminum level in the brains of the fluoride-treated group was double that of the controls." Links that might be useful. www.naturalnews.com/044366_fluoride_aluminum_brain_damage.html http://www.realfarmacy.com/22-medical-studies-that-show-vaccines-can-cause-autism/

Linda...beautiful. Those memories are what keeps you going. I have a similar one from about 4 years ago taped up in my bathroom....a reminder when I was feeling frustrated....My mother died two years ago this month....but it is still there. Thanx for posting it...Shalom. Derry

PB read the interesting article. i live by a Alz. day care and on our local cable access last summer they had an hour show about this fantastic programme they have, and singing was one of them. Also Al's older sister has mental health problems and one of the ways she gets less stressed is to sing. maybe that's why we used to sing in the car with our children on those long road trips, to settle them down!. ps reading j.evanovich's 11's book, a very,very, quick read. Happy thanksgiving to you and your family! debbie