Author: geoplotsadmin

Central and peripheral innate and adaptive immunity in Parkinson’s disease

>  Instead, PD can be considered to be a chronic inflammatory systemic disease  

Alpha synuclein potentially connects the gut-brain axis in Parkinson’s disease patients. Common inherited Parkinson disease is associated with mutations in the alpha-synuclein (SNCA) gene. In the process of seeded nucleation, alpha-synuclein acquires a cross-sheet structure similar to other amyloids. ^[27

< wiki alpha-synuclein

 

> Identification of RORγt+ MHCII+ antigen- presenting cells in the gut has raised the possibility of systemically regulating gut immune tolerance in early life to prevent or reduce the risk of PD development. …

 We need to harness this information to identify those individuals at higher risk of PD because of their genetics, environmental exposures, and lifestyle choices, as well as individuals in the prodromal stages who could be treated with immunomodulatory interventions to delay, slow, or arrest progression of the disease from the periphery to the CNS. 

Parkinsonism and carbon monoxide intox?

ChatGPT : Carbon monoxide poisoning and Parkinson’s disease both produce similar effects on the substantia nigra. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that can interfere with the normal functioning of the brain, including the substantia nigra. This region of the brain is responsible for producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in movement and coordination. When the substantia nigra is damaged or affected, dopamine production is disrupted, leading to symptoms similar to those seen in Parkinson’s disease. These symptoms may include tremors, muscle stiffness, and difficulty with movement. While the causes of Parkinson’s disease are still not fully understood, carbon monoxide poisoning provides a clear example of how damage to the substantia nigra can result in similar effects. 

Solvents and Parkinson disease: A systematic review of toxicological and epidemiological evidence

The Brain Lesion Responsible for Parkinsonism After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The Brain Lesion Responsible for Parkinsonism After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A partial list of famous people with Parkinson’s:

• Muhammad Ali, boxer (boxing-induced)
• Johnny Cash, singer
• Michael J. Fox, actor
• Estelle Getty, actress
• Billy Graham, evangelist
• Pauline Kael, film critic
• Deborah Kerr, actress
• Janet Reno, former U.S. Attorney General
• George Roy Hill, 81, director
• Michael Redgrave, 77, actor
• Pope John Paul II, 84, pope
• Terry-Thomas, 79, actor

    

https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Parkinsons-Disease#:~:text=Parkinson’s%20disease%20is%20a%20progressive,an%20important%20chemical%20called%20dopamine.

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_expression

 

My interest in writing in creoles was sparked by a poem in Sranantongo,

A closet Buddhist | But comparatist at heart

The gas heater we used to huddle around

Mon eau, je l’aime gazeuse

Chicken in cream 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0WdKgSuxmD/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Poulet à la moutarde!

AI should =  algorithmic not artificial intelligence. 

For one thing, it helps rid us of the silly dualism of the mind / matter dichotomy, here the illusion that human intelligence is natural. [X’d on 6.11.23]  

For another, it opens the door to there bring many kinds of intelligence (< Latin intelligentum, meaning to discern, from inter + legere, to choose or pick out).

 

Intelligence is from the Latin intelligentum, meaning to discern or comprehend, from inter + legere, to choose or pick out, from or between. Dictionary definitions of intelligence include the ability to acquire and retain knowledge, learn, grasp truths and patterns, reason, and apply all this toward solving problems. Intelligence defined this way may include understanding, if by understanding we mean a capacity to discern relationships and appreciate connections. There is no mention here of mind, mentality, or consciousness. By this definition, intelligence does not include awareness, inner subjective experience, or sentience. If intelligence is defined in this way, then machines have become very intelligent indeed, and there is no end in sight.

< foundational concepts 

The ability to create and deploy powerful weapons, a result of our sophisticated intelligence and ability to understand the world through physical and mathematical reasoning, has formed a deadly marriage with our primal capacity for fear and violence.

< FCN, David E Presti ucberkeley Neuroscience of consciousness, mind-matter relation, psychopharmacology, psychedelic science, clinical treatment of addiction.

“I admit to having used prostitute, for that matter I have prostituted myself. I’m not sure everyone else has but know that everyone does” < Christopher Marrow

 In the 70s I aspired to the Montréal bilingual elite which currently attracts such hated by the Westen riff-raff and simular deplorables.

Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic.[10] It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome.[10] It may also be used to cause memory loss during certain medical procedures.[11][12] It can be taken orally (by mouth), as a suppository inserted into the rectum, intramuscularly (injected into muscle), intravenously (injection into a vein) or used as a nasal spray.[6][12] When injected intravenously, effects begin in one to five minutes and last up to an hour.[12] Orally, effects begin after 15 to 60 minutes.[13

Gabapentin is recommended as a first-line treatment for chronic neuropathic pain by various medical authorities.[7][8][26][27] This is a general recommendation applicable to all neuropathic pain syndromes except for trigeminal neuralgia, where it may be used as a second- or third-line agent.[8][27]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia

Gabapentin is effective in treating sleep disorders such as insomnia and restless legs syndrome that are the result of an underlying illness, but comes with some risk of discontinuation and withdrawal symptoms after prolonged use at higher doses.[34]

Zhittya believes that this same drug that proved efficacious in the heart, could treat Parkinson’s disease, where recent evidence has demonstrated that a lack of blood flow to parts of the brain could be the initiating cause of Parkinson’s disease. < angiogenesis 

c1ccccc1C2=NCC(=O)N(C)c3ccc(Cl)cc23

c1ccccc1C2=NCC(=O)N(C)c3ccc(Cl)cc23

Human Connectome Project |  Mapping the human brain connectivity

Human Connectome Project |  Mapping the human brain connectivity

We’re more curious about ourselves than we are about each other

What part of the brain deals with honour and revenge?

Criiminology and neurology, what a combo!

REM sleep is procesing the previous day’s events, laying down tracks of memory.

 Caelun non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt

https://www.latin-is-simple.com/en/vocabulary/phrase/253/

1000101=69

The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, called releasing hormones or hypothalamic hormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, important aspects of parenting and maternal attachment behaviours, thirst,[3] fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms ( <Wiki)       

The subthalamus is located ventral to the thalamus, medial to the internal capsule and lateral to the hypothalamus. It is a region formed by several grey matter nuclei and their associated white matter structures, namely:[3]

• The subthalamic nucleus, whose neurons contain glutamate and have excitatory effects over neurons of globus pallidus and substantia nigra  < Wiki

 

 Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Developments in Meditation and States of Consciousness Hardcover – February 1, 2006

by James H. Austin (Author) 

A sequel to the popular Zen and the Brain further explores pivotal points of intersection in Zen Buddhism, neuroscience, and consciousness, arriving at a new synthesis of information from both neuroscience research and Zen studies.

This sequel to the widely read Zen and the Brain continues James Austin’s explorations into the key interrelationships between Zen Buddhism and brain research. In Zen-Brain Reflections, Austin, a clinical neurologist, researcher, and Zen practitioner, examines the evolving psychological processes and brain changes associated with the path of long-range meditative training. Austin draws not only on the latest neuroscience research and new neuroimaging studies but also on Zen literature and his personal experience with alternate states of consciousness.

Zen-Brain Reflections takes up where the earlier book left off. It addresses such questions as: how do placebos and acupuncture change the brain? Can neuroimaging studies localize the sites where our notions of self arise? How can the latest brain imaging methods monitor meditators more effectively? How do long years of meditative training plus brief enlightened states produce pivotal transformations in the physiology of the brain? In many chapters testable hypotheses suggest ways to correlate normal brain functions and meditative training with the phenomena of extraordinary states of consciousness.

After briefly introducing the topic of Zen and describing recent research into meditation, Austin reviews the latest studies on the amygdala, frontotemporal interactions, and paralimbic extensions of the limbic system. He then explores different states of consciousness, both the early superficial absorptions and the later, major “peak experiences.” This discussion begins with the states called kensho and satori and includes a fresh analysis of their several different expressions of “oneness.” He points beyond the still more advanced states toward that rare ongoing stage of enlightenment that is manifest as “sage wisdom.”

Finally, with reference to a delayed “moonlight” phase of kensho, Austin envisions novel links between migraines and metaphors, moonlight and mysticism. The Zen perspective on the self and consciousness is an ancient one. Readers will discover how relevant Zen is to the neurosciences, and how each field can illuminate the other. < Amazon blurb  

Why does Parkinson’s dopamine depletion affect movement and not so much or so visibly learning and reward mechanisms?

Deep and beautiful. The reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine – ScienceDirect

Twenty-Five Lessons from Computational Neuromodulation – ScienceDirect

 Access options for healthcare and patients

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine

 The substantia nigra is a small midbrain area that forms a component of the basal ganglia. This has two parts—an input area called the pars compacta and an output area the pars reticulata. The dopaminergic neurons are found mainly in the pars compacta (cell group A8) and nearby (group A9).[42] In humans, the projection of dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra pars compacta to the dorsal striatum, termed the nigrostriatal pathway, plays a significant role in the control of motor function and in learning new motor skills.[44] These neurons are especially vulnerable to damage, and when a large number of them die, the result is a parkinsonian syndrome.[45] < wiki

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypophonia

Levodopa is the mainstay of pharmacologic therapy for PD, although other agents are indicated for monotherapy or in combination with levodopa. These include traditional and newer dopamine agonists, amantadine, anticholinergics, selegiline, and an emerging class of agents called COMT inhibitors. < https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9597979/

 The main problem for most patients after prolonged treatment with L-dopa is the longterm L-dopa syndrome. Fluctuations and dyskinesias are usually the principal complaint in younger, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in older, patients <  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9426870/ 

Benign tremulous parkinsonism (BTP) is a tremor dominant syndrome characterized by mild, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism with limited disability or progression.<  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24019787/

Recent genetic discoveries support this idea because mutations in a few genes (α-synuclein, LRRK2, tau) can cause partially overlapping pathologies <  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29151060/

 For most of human history, Parkinson has been a rare disorder. However, demography and the by-products of industrialization have now created a Parkinson pandemic that will require heightened activism, focused planning, and novel approaches.  <       https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30584159/

Camptocormia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camptocormia#Neurological_origin

Chocolate : Clinical observations amongst in-patients with PD in Dresden suggested an increased chocolate consumption. We speculated that due to its high content of biogenic amines chocolate may partially substitute the dopaminergic system and may improve PD symptoms <  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00702-022-02509-1

Thinking like a neurologist

Hickam’s dictum, the idea that a patient’s symptoms might be due to multiple lesions or diseases, becomes more likely with advancing age.

Pace + Localization = Syndrome

Syndrome + Context = Differential Diagnosis