November is all about preparing for Thanksgiving and holiday shopping and diving in with both feet into the spirit of the season. Garnets and rose colored quartz are just so very festive. And in Swarovski crystal burgundy just shines and is sure to catch the eye. That's why we chose to focus on those warm colors of the heart. And the charity we are pairing these works with is one close to our hearts. American gem Michael J. Fox has a wonderful record of pushing through advances in order to find a cure for Parkinson's. We are donating 25% of all we do this month to Michael J. Fox's Foundation For Parkinson's Research.
According to their website, as recent as November 14th they were published for their study, published online in
Annals of Neurology, the researchers interviewed 99 twin pairs in which one twin had Parkinson's Disease while the other did not. The interviews focused on each individual’s work history and hobbies. The researchers were probing for situations that would have exposed individuals to the solvents perchloroethylene (PERC), carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) — both commonly used dry cleaning agents — and TCE. TCE was banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 1977. It once was used in dry-cleaning solutions, adhesives, paints, carpet cleaners, as a metal degreaser and as an anesthetic, skin disinfectant, and coffee decaffeinating agent, among other uses. TCE is also the most common organic contaminant in groundwater, and is found in up to 30% of drinking water supplies across the United States. (In September, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that TCE was also carcinogenic.)
Several studies have linked an individual’s exposure to solvents with an increased risk of Parkinson's Disease. But the Goldman Tanner study is the first to report population-based findings data on the relationship between TCE exposure and Parkinson's Disease.
To date, no definitive cause for Parkinson's Disease has been discovered, yet environmental factors may in fact trigger the disease and have long been the focus of intense interest among Parkinson’s researchers. Michael J. Fox's Foundation (MJFF) has funded multiple studies into environmental factors believed to play a role in Parkinson's Disease research,
including a portion of the work being carried out by Tanner and Goldman.
Other studies include:
- A 2006 grant to the Harvard School of Public Health was the first large scale study to examine the possible links between chronic, low-dose exposure to pesticides and PD risk. Data showed that individuals reporting exposure to pesticides had a 70 percent higher incidence of PD than those who did not.
- This past May, a team of researchers headed by Dr. Brad Racette of Washington University in St. Louis reported final outcomes of their work investigating how exposure to metals might lead to a higher risk for PD. Racette’s team studied 600 welders across the world, finding that, according to Positron emission tomography (PET) scans, welders had an average 11.7 percent reduction in a marker of the chemical dopamine compared to those who did not weld (Dopamine is decreased in certain brain regions in people with PD).
All this according to the wonderful work described when you go visit MJFF's website at http://www.MichaelJFox.org. Yay Michael. We celebrate your devotion to a cure the best way we know how: with our pledged support. You can help too by donating directly or purchasing one of our One-Of-A-Kind pieces as a gift (or gifts) this holiday season. Check out our latest creations at www.ebay.com by doing a search for -- Missing Links Lisa Lindo --.
Never too early to get those gifts on their way for the holidays. And our best to you and yours.
Lisa Lindo
misssinglinksfiound@gmail.com
