Here's the agenda for the conference I'm attending, as well as the abstract
for the 'poster' presentation I'm doing.  My poster is gonna  be big, with 2
real, live, Sunny Yellow Flags attached to the top to get attention!
 
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The general outline of the conference is as follows:
 
The Role of the Environment in Parkinson's Disease
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
 
Sunday 9/17
    Posters from speakers and others (including me!)
 
Monday 9/18
   Welcome - Annet Kirschner
   Chairman's Opening Remarks - Doyle Graham
      (will stress that primary focus is on possible contribution of the
etiology of the disease)
 
   Overview
 
   Two Perspectives on Epidemiological Studies in PD:  Convergent and
Divergent Views - Jay Gorell and Caroline Tanner
 
  The Role of Pesticides and Herbicides in PD -  Karen Semchuck
   Environmental Toxicants as Models for PD:  The MPTP Experience - William
Langston
 
   Reassessing a Genetic  Role in PD - Duvoisin, Rutgers
 
   Panel Discussion:  Exogenous and Genetic Factors of PD
(Panelistst will discuss points of controversy in each of the areas raised by
the presenters) - Christine Johnson and Lorene Nelson
 
  Neurotoxic Models of Cell Injury in PD - Donato A. DiMonte
 
   Dopamanergic Neurotoxicity:  Chemical and Biological Requirements - Neal
Castagnoli Jr.
 
   Neuromelanin and Transitional Metals - Tom Montine
 
   Organochlorine Pesticides in Pd - Juan R. Sanchez-Ramos
 
   Carbolinium Derivatives:  Environmental/Endogenous Toxicants? - Michael
Collins
 
   Panel Discussion:  Neurotoxins and Mechanisms of Neuronal Injury - Gerald
Cohen,  Larry Sayre, William Nicklas, Lucio Costa
 
Tuesday 9/19
 
    Molecular and Biochemical Changes in Tissues of PD Patients - Anthony
H.V. Schapira
 
   Genetic Risk Factors in PD - Stephen Fink
 
   Heavy metals in the Brain - Warren Olanow
 
   Potential Biomarkerks in the Cerebrospinal Fluid for the Early Detection
of PD - Greg Gerhardt
 
   Inclusion Bodies in Humaan and Experimental Parkinsonism - Lysia S. Forno
 
   Preclinical Detection of Pd with PET - Donald Caine
 
   The DATATOP Experience - Carl Kieburtz
 
   Panel Discussion - Role of the Environment in PD Research Needs  (Based on
previous discussion, identify those areas most ripe for further
investigation) - Doyle Graham, Leonard Kurland, Peter S. Spencer, Dan Perl
 
*****************************
 
So that's it for that!  My poster will be on Correlatiion of Scientific
Researc Data with that Available on the Internet.  Here's my abstract:
 
                                   ABSTRACT
                  AN ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS
           FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH:
  INTEGRATING THE USE OF ON-LINE RESOURCES
  FOR THE CORRELATION OFSCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DATA
 
 
Parkinsons Disease is generally considered to be a  relentlessly progressive
 disease of the nervous system, which ultimately results in physical
debilitation and dependence for the victim.  The majority of Parkinson's
related treatment and research focusses on symptomatic relief, via drug
therapies, fetal transplants, genetic therapy, pallidotomies, etc.   In the
past, this sort of focus was both prudent and sufficient, allowing victims,
primarily in their senior years, to live out those years as actively as
possible.
As the median age of the onset of PD decreases, as will be contended later,
 the focus of PD research should adjust accordingly, with greater emphasis
being put on addressing the root causes of PD, its prevention, and methods to
slow or even halt its progression.   Not only would this proactive vs
reactive approach possibly eliminate much human suffering, it provides a cost
 benefit to society, especially considering the decades over which PD's many
younger victims may require specialized medical care and disability benefits,
not to mention loss of income.
 
A common denominator affecting the understanding of disease causes,
prevention, and progression, and which itself demands further inquiry, is the
role of environmental factors.  There is a growing awareness that the toxic
byproducts of human activity are not only adversely affecting wildlife and a
remote, external nature,  but that they are also affecting human health and
quality of life.     It is imperative that this possible link between
environmental factors, particularly with regards to human generated toxins,
and any subsequent health effects be addressed.  While the issues involved
are complex, as well as are any solutions, should these factors be shown to
play a role in disease processes, to ignore them is folly.  Regardless of the
theorized genetic susceptibilities of the victims, either to the disease
itself or to the toxin(s), concentration solely on the aspect of  fixing  the
deficient victim, especially after he/she is already incapacitated, rather
than  fixing  a deficient and possibly toxic environment, does not  represent
a cure, but rather a band-aid, masking rather than resolving the underlying
problem, which remains to exert its negative influence.   It may well be
determined that there are as many causes as there are victims, but
nevertheless, it is proposed here that exposure over time to an abundance of
varied and potentially toxic man-made chemicals eventually has a cumulative
and synergistic effect on living organisms, often leading to devastating
health problems such as Parkinsons Disease.
 
In keeping with the theme of a new environmental focus for PD research is the
related idea of the incorporation of the 'newest' available resources into
the search for answers to these complex issues.   Just as the questions and
the solutions surrounding the proposed role of the environment in the
etiology of disease are inherently complex due to their relationship to
almost all areas of modern civilization, the only comprehensive way to
understand all aspects of this role is to make use of the wealth of existing
information created by this infrastructure to correlate the data generated by
standard scientific research methology.   This information is readily and
abundantly available via on-line resources, in the form of searchable:
 Databases, Archives, Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Books, News Services,
Bulletin Boards and ListServ (e-mail) discussion groups dedicated to specific
topics, e.g., Parkinsons.
 
Information in the forms listed above is provided by sources ranging from
government institutions such as:  NLM, NIH, EPA, ATDSR, NIEHS, FDA, NCHS,
OSHA, etc.;  to other organizations/sources such as:   Universities,
Hospitals, World Health Organization, Pharmaceutical/Chemical Companies and
Organizations, AMA and other Medical/Specialty Organizations,
Environmental/Pesticide/Agricultural Organizations, National Disease-Specific
Organizations, Television Networks, ad infinitum.
 
This presentation will demonstrate some of these resources, give examples of
some of the actual data found, and how this data can be used to correlate
scientific research data.  An argument for the role of the environment in the
etiology of PD will be explored using this set of data.  It will also be
pointed out that use of these already existing resources of information has
benefit in that it is cost-effective, facilitates the exchange of information
across many seemingly disparate yet interrelated perspectives, prevents
duplication of information, and minimizes the need for the use of animals in
research.
 
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So, that's enough info for now I'm sure!
 
Wendy Tebay