To all;
 
The talents and generous spirit shown by our list members
impresses me more every day.
 
As my own little research project, over the past two months
while I've been 'lurking', I've downloaded and edited all of the
parkinsn log files in the archives since January. (I haven't
quite finished - still have to go through August's files - we
are prolific!) This has helped me 'get up to speed' on all the
recent developments re PD, as well as let me get to know a bit
about this incredible group.
 
(For any 'newbies' out there - every message that has ever been
sent in to the list since its creation in November 1993 is on
record in the archives. The implications of that fact didn't
really sink in to this little Parkie brain for awhile - we have
access to probably as much information - or at least references
to the information - about PD as exists anywhere. Thank you,
Barbara P.).
 
Recently, Pat Martin posted an offer to send out a file he had
compiled called 'Our Favourite Drugs' to any member who
requested it.  After I received the file, I sent him a note to
thank him for all his good work, and asked about the island that
he had mentioned in one of his earlier posts, where he had
inhaled "daily doses of DDT that was sprayed over our island to
keep the mosquitos down".  I've lived in Bermuda for the past 14
years (I'm originally from Toronto), and I have unwittingly
exposed myself to some locally available pesticides, which I'm
convinced would be illegal in North America.
 
Pat sent me this reply, and I'm now forwarding it on to all of
you:
---------- forwarded message part 1 of 2 ----------
 
Date: 24 Oct 95 15:39:13 EDT
From: "PATRICK J. MARTIN" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: DDT and things
 
Our Favorite Drugs
 
Janet Paterson responded to my drug interaction file with a few
questions.  This prompted my thoughts re a database of our
medical indications/drug usage - a common thread in our
correspondence.  I submit an offer to the 900+ Club to prepare a
compilation if there is an interest.
 
Pat([log in to unmask])
 
Dear Janet:
 
When I was in the Phillipines on the island of Samar from about
September 1945 until June 1946, the island was sprayed daily
with DDT to keep mosquitoes (and malaria) down.  We lived in
tents that were screened and used individual aerosol "bombs" to
saturate our air each night.  I will never be able to isolate
the effects of this exposure from all the other toxic chemical
exposures I have had during childhood and my working career in
laboratories.  I would speculate as a chemist that DDT had an
effect comparable to a number of semi-volatile organic compounds
I have inhaled or ingested.  I do believe that my exposure to
such things reduced my neuronal reserve to set me up for PD.
The "trigger" was a high-fever flu that lasted for a week.
 
I am preparing a revised listing of drug interactions that will
include Luvox. Any other suggestions ?
 
I have not yet received much in the way of anecdotal references
but have not given up on that yet.
 
What if I prepare a database of the 900+ Club individual's data
along these lines :
 
*****
Name:Patrick J. Martin
e-Mail Address: [log in to unmask]
Zipcode:95126-1546
Age:69
Weight:178
Sex:Male
 
Years Parkinsonian:9
Years Medication:6
 
Medical Indications:
1.hypertension
2.parkinsonism
3.tremor
 
Medications:
Name                            Dosage(mg)XDaily Frequency
1.Procardia XL                  60X1
2.atenolol                      50X1
3.Sinemet CR                    50/200X3
4.carbidopa/ldopa               25/250X2
5.selegiline                    5X1
6.amantadine                    100X1
 
Comments:
1.Tremor is my biggest problem
2.Bradykinesia tells me when I need to dose
3.I take my medications with orange juice and a tea biscuit
*****
 
We all are curious about the medical menus our doctors have
selected.  Our doctors may be curious about the selections being
made by their peers.  If all of you 900+ Club members took this
outline onto your word processors, deleted my data and replaced
it with yours and sent it to the list or to me, I will prepare a
database for us.
 
All the best
 
Pat 69,9 ([log in to unmask])
 
---------- forwarded message part 2 of 2 ----------
 
Date: 24 Oct 95 15:45:06 EDT
From: "PATRICK J. MARTIN" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Whoops
 
Janet, I just sent you a note that I propose to send to the List -
please make suggestions or comments before I actually include
everybody -- or, if you like the idea and format, just endorse
it and send it to the list indicating your approval.
 
All the best
 
Pat 69,9 ([log in to unmask])
 
---------- end of forwarded message ----------
 
Pat, consider yourself endorsed and approved!!
 
What a great idea, and what a generous offer. I think this group
could provide enough data for a 'killer database', scientific,
or anecdotal or whatever. Who knows, we might discover something
odd like the MPTP situation, which might lead to something
brilliant.
 
(A possible discovery: If you are of Scottish descent, had a
high fever before the age of 3.259, studied physics in Guam,
never drank water from the same well as your twin sister, wore
shoes made from leather tanned in a certain factory in Milano,
and consumed a minimum of one Fava Sunrise cocktail in
September during the full moon; your chances of developing PD
are 43,657,897,343 times the norm.)
 
But seriously gang, the amount of work involved in compiling
such a database would be tremendous, and I hereby offer my help
in any way that Pat thinks would be useful. For example, if he
is willing to do all the data entry and number crunching, I
would be more than happy to act as the intermediary, i.e. if you
all want to contribute, you could send your info to me, and I
could then do any editing or reformatting needed before sending
it on to our data wizard. (This would be perfect for me - I've
been an organizer and a 'neatener' since birth).
 
In terms of the development of the personal computer, we could
be on the cutting edge of combining the best of the old (mush
those numbers) with the best of the new (collect those numbers
in nano-seconds from the global PD village).
 
What do you think, Pat?  And everyone else?
 
Janet Paterson,  48, 7,  [log in to unmask]   Bermuda