Dear Murray,

Why injure me with a title like this?  What
exactly do you mean by "don't give Ivan
the money"??  I need an explanation,
and so do my many friends on the PIEN
list.

I look forward to your response.

Ivan Suzman
Porland, Maine

On Mon, 18 Feb 2002 13:05:06 -0800 Murray Charters
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
> Reno's doctor says Parkinson's should not affect run for office
> By Nancy McVicar
> Health Writer
> Posted September 4 2001, 5:49 PM EDT
>
> The doctor who has been treating former Attorney General
> Janet Reno for Parkinson’s disease for the past year says
> there is no medical reason she should not run for governor.
>
> “We had a very long and frank discussion about it, and she
> wanted to know all the potentialities,” said Dr. William Koller,
> professor of neurology at University of Miami School
> of Medicine and director of the Movement Disorders Center
> at UM/National Parkinson Foundation. Reno gave him
> permission to speak about her condition.
>
> Koller said Reno’s disease has progressed slowly since her
> diagnosis seven years ago. She requires only low doses of
> two drugs, Sinemet and Mirapex, to control her symptoms,
> he said.
>
> Parkinson’s disease is caused by a gradual deterioration of
> nerves in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra,
> which controls movements such as arm swinging when walking.
> When nerve cells in this area die, production of a brain chemical
> called dopamine decreases. Dopamine aids neurons in the brain
> to pass signals back and forth.
>
> Some patients progress rapidly and reach a devastating,
> debilitating point in four to five years, Koller said, while some
> don’t progress much in 20 years.
>
> “It’s hard to predict with any certainty. The yardstick we usually
> use, because patients ask us, is that your prior rate of progression
> is a good predictor of your future rate of progression,” Koller said.
> “She has not progressed very much.”
>
> Koller said the drugs Reno takes, which stimulate the dopamine
> receptors in the brain (Mirapex), and boost the body’s production
> of dopamine (Sinemet) control her symptoms — “a tremor and
> a little slowness in her left hand.
>
> “Her left hand is not as quick as the other hand. One of the
> symptoms of Parkinson’s is slowness of movement, particularly
> of the hand,” Koller said.
>
> Reno has not let the tremor keep her from living a full life,
> including kayaking for relaxation, he said.
>
> “I told her I don’t see any reason why she shouldn’t do
> whatever she wants in her life, and that’s kind of the way
> I am with all my patients. If you have Parkinson’s, it doesn’t
> preclude you doing anything if you have the capability to
> do it,” Koller said. “You lose out to the disease when you say
> ‘I can’t’ because of Parkinson’s.”
>
> Possible side effects listed in drug reference books for Sinemet
> include uncontrolled muscle movements, shaky hands,
> headache, nausea, hallucinations, anxiety, tiredness and
> euphoria. Mirapex can cause sleepiness or sleeplessness,
> tiredness, constipation and nausea. Patients may develop
> some or none of these effects.
>
> Koller said Reno is very knowledgeable about her disease.
>
> “She’s pretty amazing. We’ve given her books for doctors
> and she’s read them and understands them, and I’m impressed
> by that,” he said.
>
> During the three months she has spent traveling the state
> exploring a possible campaign for governor, Reno’s hands
> shake noticeably. She often keeps them behind the lectern
> or at her sides during stump speeches.
>
> She has repeatedly answered questions about her illness
> and gives a variation of the comment she made in mid-May
> in Miami:  “I spent seven years coping with the difficult job
> of Attorney General and it never was a problem.”
>
> She frequently mentions that Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had
> mobility problems because of polio, is her favorite governor.
>
> “He wore 10 pounds of iron on his legs and still accomplished
> so much,” she says.
>
> Dr. Barry Baumel, a South Florida neurologist who was in the
> audience when Reno addressed a meeting of the American
> Academy of Neurology in May, said he was impressed.
>
> “She was as sharp as she could be. The tremor which is
> noticeable in Ms. Reno is not an indication of the severity
> of the disease,” he said. “Some people have almost no
> tremor and they’re a mess,” Baumel said. “I think her mental
> abilities seem to be totally intact. In listening to her speak,
> the woman is bright and quick.”
>
> He said she spoke about people with disabilities and how
> much they have contributed to society, and how proud she
> was of the steps she felt her administration had taken to help
> disabled Americans.
>
> “She was able to make a public speech in front of 5,000
> neurologists, and the talk around the meeting was ‘Wow,
> did you see Janet Reno? She looked great and sounded
> great,’” Baumel said.
>
> “It wouldn’t be such an item for discussion if not for that
> tremor, but she walks okay and she talks okay. The problem
> is that she shakes,” he said. “It’s not something that should
> impair her ability to think clearly.”
>
> Political writer Buddy Nevins contributed to this report.
>
> Nancy McVicar can be reached at [log in to unmask]
> or 954-356-4593.
>
> On The Web:
> http://www.sptimes.com/News/072201/State/The_Parkinson_s_quest.shtml
>
> SOURCE: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
>
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-rxpark905.story?coll=s
fla-news-florida
>
> * * *
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
> In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn