Spencer P S
Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y. 10461.
Can J Neurol Sci. 1987 Aug;14(3 Suppl):347-57. doi: 10.1017/s0317167100037732.
Parkinsonism (P) with progressive dementia (D) of the Alzheimer type is recognized as a clinical variant of a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that has occurred in high incidence among the Chamorro people of the islands of Guam and Rota in the Marianas chain of Micronesia. The declining annual incidence, upward shifting of the age of onset, narrowing of the sex ratio, and occurrence of the disease among non-Chamorros, point to a disappearing environmental causation peculiar to the traditional culture of these islands. Evidence is presented in support of the proposal that heavy use of certain toxic plants, notably cycads, a traditional source of food and medicine for the Chamorro people, plays an important etiological role. Clinical and epidemiological approaches are offered to test for a relationship between ALS/P-D and long-latency plant toxicity.
帕金森综合征（P）合并阿尔茨海默型进行性痴呆（D）被认为是肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）一种临床变体形式，在密克罗尼西亚马里亚纳群岛链上关岛和罗塔岛的查莫罗人群中高发。年发病率下降、发病年龄上升、性别比缩小以及非查莫罗人群中出现该疾病，表明这些岛屿传统文化特有的环境致病因素正在消失。有证据支持这样的提议，即大量食用某些有毒植物，尤其是苏铁类植物，查莫罗人传统的食物和药物来源，在病因学上起重要作用。提供了临床和流行病学方法来检测ALS/P-D与长期潜伏的植物毒性之间的关系。
