Automatic digest processor wrote:
>
> There are 19 messages totalling 651 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
>   1. D.C. Gene Fair 5K on September 22
>   2. Nancy's Journal
>   3. Falling too often. (2)
>   4. Body count funding- - Long post
>   5. Udall Bill and NIH Reauthorizationn (2)
>   6. Pressure down the stretch
>   7. 50 for Udall Bill
>   8. Suitable Computer Keyboard
>   9. New Member (2)
>  10. Communication aid
>  11. Re[2]: I'm new, also
>  12. Call Kassebaum now
>  13. Call from anywhere in the world.
>  14. Encephalitic Parkinsons
>  15. CONSTIPATION X PARKINSON (fwd)
>  16. HALLUCINATION X PARKINSON fwd)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 00:00:19 -0400
> From:    Sherri Cave <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: D.C. Gene Fair 5K on September 22
>
>                                  RTK.NET Mail 173051   Jul 16 00:00:14 1996
>
> The Washington, D.C. chapter of the National Parkinson's Foundation will
> hold its first annual Gene Fair 5K in West Potomac Park on September 22
> at 8:00 a.m.  We have a goal of 2,000 runners and walkers and need lots of
> help to make that happen. If anyone you know might wish to
> volunteer or participate, please let them know about this exciting
> research fundraiser.  This course is level and wheelchair accessible,
> and it travels around the tidal basin passing the Jefferson Memorial.
>  To receive more information, contact Brian Morabito,
> Executive Director of the Capital Chapter of the National Parkinson's
> Foundation, at (202) 466-0550 or [log in to unmask]
>
> We need about 120 volunteers on race day from 6-7 a.m. thru 9-10 a.m., and
> we need volunteers to person our packet pick-up tables from 11-4 on Friday
> and 12-5 on Saturday before the race at Pentagon City Mall.  To volunteer
> to help on any of these days, contact Sherri Cave at (301) 559-7626 or
> [log in to unmask]
>
> The Gene Fair 5K Run/Jog/Walk Events for Parkinson's disease are dedicated
> to increasing awareness of Parkinson's and raising needed funds for research.
> Gene Fair is a 39-year-old Parkinson's patient who has dedicated his life
> to increasing awareness of this debilitating disease.  Fair, who has great
> difficulty walking due to the severe shaking associated with Parkinson's,
> is an accomplished long-distance runner.  Running helps Gene Fair focus his
> energies and maintain a positive outlook.  He always looks forward to
> meeting his 5-year-old daughter Rachel at the finish line and educating
> more people about PD.  Fair is literally running for his life and for the
> lives of other PD patients.  Patients around the world share Gene's dream
> of finding the cause and a cure for Parkinson's disease.  Help bring that
> dream closer to reality by participating in this important event.
>
> Having 2,000 people at a Parkinson's run in D.C. on September 22 will make
> an important statement in this year of heightened political activity and
> awareness, and it's sure to be a lot of fun.  Combine it with some
> sightseeing plans and visits to your Senators or Congressperson's D.C. office
> on Monday or Friday, and you've got a great weekend trip planned!
>
> Do what you can, and help spread the word,
>
> Sherri Cave
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Mon, 15 Jul 1996 23:12:31 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Nancy's Journal
>
> Nancy,
>       Thank you for sharing your deepest, most personal thoughts.  It must
> have taken alot of courage.  You are in my thoughts and prayers.  God works
> in mysterious ways.  You will find answers and relief.  Don't give up!
>
> Pam Dalby ([log in to unmask]) daughter of Ardith 74/9+
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 00:59:07 -0400
> From:    Phillip Dunn <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Falling too often.
>
> I am beginning to fall over far too often and am anxious to avoid hurting
> myself seriously.
> It seems that I get onto my toes when turning, or starting off, or
> hesitating,then I begin to stutter with my feet and loose my balance and
> fall.All this happens very quickly and as I do tend to do things quite fast
> my feet suddenly don't move.I think this is linked with my medication as I
> also notice that  when I feel unsteady my medication has not worked fully.
> I have the same kind of problem when going down slopes and this is becoming
> a sort of Psychological problem as I hesitate and stutter with my feet.
> Does anyone have any ideas as to how I may overcome this problem?
>
> Syd Adams. 106072,[log in to unmask]
>
> __________________________________________________________
> Firstname Lastname    Philip Dunn NORTON PC ANYWHERE FOR DIRECT CONTACT.
> EMAIL THE TIME TO CONNECT. [log in to unmask]
> Telephone number and any other information you wish to add
> ---
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Mon, 15 Jul 1996 20:35:06 -0400
> From:    Margaret Tuchman <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Body count funding- - Long post
>
> Thought you might want to read this.
>
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/1996/July/01/story4.htm
>
> The Journal of NIH Research
> 06/01/96
> Body-Count Budgeting: New Pressure To Shift Funding Among Diseases
> Bruce Agnew
>
> "During all the 15 years that I have served on this subcommittee," said
> Rep. John Porter, R-Ill., chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee
> on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education, early in this
> spring's hearings on NIH's budget, "I always thought it was understood that
> there would be nothing, ever, more destructive than to set disease against
> disease by adjusting [funds] between institutes, taking from one and giving
> to another."
>
> But this year, Porter warned, "I know I'm going to have a hard job
> convincing a number of people on our side that that's the case."
>
> Whether Porter likes it or not (he doesn't--and neither does NIH Director
> Harold Varmus), some fellow Republican members on his subcommittee are once
> again promoting the idea that NIH funding is not being divided fairly among
> diseases. They may try to force a shift in NIH spending priorities later in
> June, when the panel begins drafting NIH's funding bill for fiscal year
> (FY) 1997, which starts Oct. 1.
>
> The primary target for congressional critics of the way NIH divides the
> research-funding pie is the $1.4 billion allocated for AIDS research in the
> administration's proposed $12.4 billion NIH budget for FY 1997 (see April
> issue, page 23).
>
> During the House Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee's NIH hearings April
> 18-25, Rep. Jay Dickey, R-Ariz., asked HHS Secretary Donna Shalala for a
> comparison of the percentage of AIDS-research proposals and the percentage
> of cancer-research proposals that win funding. (Shalala promised to provide
> the answer for the record--a fairly common response to that sort of
> question at appropriations hearings--but had not done so by the time The
> Journal of NIH Research went to press.) Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Tex., asked
> Varmus to provide for the record a breakdown of how much research HHS
> funded per death from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, human
> immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1)/AIDS, and stroke in FY 1995, the most
> recent complete year. And Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., a second-term
> conservative who has a knack for asking NIH officials nettlesome questions,
> came to the hearings armed with a chart showing dramatic disparities
> between HIV/AIDS and other diseases in research dollars spent per death and
> in relation to medical costs.
>
> Istook's chart--prepared by James Crapo, a professor of medicine and
> pathology at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and brother of Rep. Michael
> Crapo, R-Idaho--indicated that in 1991, HIV/AIDS was the ninth leading
> cause of death in the United States. In that year, AIDS accounted for 11.7
> deaths per 100,000 population--far below the 285.9 deaths per 100,000 due
> to heart disease, 204.1 deaths per 100,000 due to cancer, and 56.9 deaths
> per 100,000 due to stroke. But NIH research funding for those diseases
> worked out to $110.81 per AIDS death, compared with $2.77 per death for
> heart disease, $10.39 per death for cancer, and $1.85 per death for stroke.
> NIH research funding in relation to the cost of medical care for each
> disease showed a similar pattern.
>
> "HIV/AIDS [funding] is runaway," Istook said--although he emphasized that
> he is concerned about AIDS funding "not because it's not a terrible
> disease, but [because] it's one of many terrible diseases."
>
> Ironically, an NIH report was the source of the numbers Istook was citing.
> Responding reluctantly to a 1994 order from the Senate Appropriations
> Committee, NIH on Feb. 28 sent Congress a hefty statistical compilation of
> death rates, direct costs, and indirect economic costs of 66 major diseases
> and conditions, together with a breakdown of NIH research funding on each.
> But accompanying the figures was a 28-page report cautioning repeatedly
> that the data--largely a conglomeration of previously published material
> rather than the result of a new study--are incomplete, imprecise,
> inconsistent, variable, speculative, occasionally contradictory, sometimes
> overlapping, and potentially misleading. Not surprisingly, the report
> cautioned that the cost-of-illness analyses "do not provide a simple
> formula for the allocation of research resources."
>
> Since March, the document and its 28 pages of caveats have been circulating
> among the research-advocacy groups in Washington, with surprisingly little
> effect. "I am surprised that I haven't heard more discussion about it, but
> that may be due in part to the way it's slowly permeating through the
> community," says David Moore, associate vice president for governmental
> relations of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington,
> D.C. "Whether people haven't gotten the report yet, or whether they haven't
> read the report yet, or whether they don't want to make those sorts of
> [disease-vs.-disease] comparisons, I can't tell."
>
> Varmus and Porter clearly hope that the silence means that the
> cost-of-illness report is being discounted as not particularly useful.
>
> "As many of my colleagues, especially Dr. Lenfant [National Heart, Lung,
> and Blood Institute Director Claude Lenfant] have pointed out to me,
> budgeting by body count is not the right way to go," Varmus told Porter's
> subcommittee on April 18. Other factors that must be considered in
> allocating funds, he said, include scientific opportunities, the variety of
> grant applications NIH receives in various categories, and the need for
> research into rare diseases (a favorite congressional subject). "Many of
> the most important discoveries that we have made have come from the pursuit
> of rare diseases," he said.
>
> Under persistent questioning by Istook, Varmus insisted that AIDS research
> deserves special emphasis now because "it's an infectious disease, it's a
> new disease, it's continuing to spread" into U.S. subpopulations "and it's
> spreading like wildfire internationally." And even if NIH did not have to
> comply with existing congressional directives, Varmus said, "I don't
> believe that there would be a major change in the [research-funding]
> pattern. There would probably be small changes, but not major changes."
>
> Will that satisfy Istook and his fellow skeptics? It may have to, at least
> for the moment, because the mood in Congress this year is running strongly
> against meddling with NIH decision-making. "The sentiment has been as
> anti-earmark as it has been for some time," notes Michael Stephens of Van
> Scoyoc Associates in Washington, D.C., a former staff director of the House
> Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee who is now a consultant to
> FASEB (the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in
> Washington, D.C.).
>
> Istook last month was still keeping open the option of offering an
> amendment to the NIH funding bill to reduce the AIDS-research allocation.
> An Istook aide says that, like Porter, Istook believes that "it ought to be
> science that decides where this money goes." But he adds, "there ought to
> be some kind of weighing factor we can put in place" to achieve "some
> correlation" between research funding and a disease's impact.
>
> In fact, simply making the argument may serve that purpose. "You have to
> understand this in its context," Porter said in an interview on May 8.
> "Congress does a lot of message-sending, and the patient-advocacy groups
> send messages, and the research community sends messages as well. Industry
> sends its messages. In the end, those messages have to be synthesized and
> evaluated by NIH itself--by science, and not by Congress." At the same
> time, Porter says, NIH officials "have got to evaluate all of our feelings
> and priorities, and I think they do." At the very least, Istook and his
> allies are sending a message.
>
> --BRUCE AGNEW
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Margaret Tuchman
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 04:31:13 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Udall Bill and NIH Reauthorizationn
>
> Goodshot, Linda !
> Getting back!
> Mary
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 05:02:36 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Pressure down the stretch
>
> Jim Cordy
> I'm  almost back n the saddle.
> (2majorsurgeries)Tony Fazio is working long and enthusiastically
>  here in Ny. I'm  trying to help by printing your posts: Effective advocacy
> )1-2), Momentum, etc. and sending to non-ONLINE members.
> MEHMOIRS
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 02:34:08 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Udall Bill and NIH Reauthorizationn
>
> It is the current thinking of our leadership that the NIH
> reauthorization is currently the best vehicle to move forward the
> Udall Bill.  If that is not successful or a better vehicle presents
> itself I am assured that we will take advantage of it.
>
> With respect to discussion with other prospective cosponsors, I
> suggest you simply put forum our desire to increase Parkinson's
> research funding via whatever vehicle presents itself.
>
> Thanks again for the timely  information.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 02:34:08 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: 50 for Udall Bill
>
> We officially now have 50 Senators  sign on  as cosponsors.  Senator Mack of Florida just signed on. Counting Senator Hatfield, the original
sponsor, means we
>
> First let me personally thank all of you on this list who have helped.  I
> cannot imagine having done this without the assistance of this
> electronic communications vehicle.
>
> Second, let me tell you that you   may savor this accomplishment for about the 30 seconds it takes read  this message.  Then I implore you to
pick up the phone
>
> Tomorrow they vote on rather they should attach the Udall Bill to the
> NIH reauthorization.  If they choose not to it will be a major blow
> to our efforts to increase funding for Parkinson's research.
>
> Rumor has it that Republican support on this committee may be softening because of Kassebaum's stated opposition to earmarking (setting aside
specific funds fo
>
> disease specific items in the last NIH reauthorization.  I suggest you ask this question: How can you not provide the funding for Parkinson's
Disease when so m
>
>  They can be contacted via the toll free capital switchboard
> (800-962-3524)  or e-mailed at the listed address.
>
>   WASHINGTON
>      *  Sen. Gorton, Slade (R)
>               [log in to unmask]
>   VERMONT
>      *  Sen. Jeffords, James M. (R)
>               [log in to unmask]
>   TENNESSEE
>      *  Sen. Frist, William H. (R)
>               [log in to unmask]
>    INDIANA
>      *  Sen. Coats, Dan (R)
>    KANSAS
>          Sen. Kassebaum, Nancy Landon (R)
>          CHAIRMAN, HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
>   OHIO
>      *  Sen. DeWine, Mike (R)
>               [log in to unmask]
>   NORTH CAROLINA
>           Sen. Faircloth, Lauch  (R)
>               [log in to unmask]
>   MISSOURI
>           Sen. Ashcroft, John  (R)
>   NEW HAMPSHIRE
>            Sen. Gregg, Judd   (R)
>
> * indicates cosponsors
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 09:53:57 -0400
> From:    "N.P.F. Mailbox" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Suitable Computer Keyboard
>
> In reference to the question re: a keyboard for those with PD, Windows95
> Accesability Options allow
> the user to control the response from the keyboard.  One example, is the
> ability to have the keyboard produce
> only one character regardless of how long the key is pressed.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Michael A. Alicea
> [log in to unmask]
> www.parkinson.org
> National Parkinson Foundation, Inc.
> 1501 Northwest 9th Avenue
> Miami, Florida 33136
> 305.547.6666 - 1.800.327.4545
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.parkinson.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 10:03:35 -0400
> From:    WENDY HENRY <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: New Member
>
> Thanks for the reply, I'm going to double-check on those meds, and I'll post
> another message as soon as I have it straight.  I know that she was on Sinemet,
> but I'm not sure if she still is...they were changing them so much for a while
> that I lost track.  I know that it's inexcusable for me to be so lax about
> knowing what my mother is taking...she's been being taken care of in the
> personal care home, and even though I keep track of all her visits to the Dr.,
> and know that her meds have not been changed for at least 2 years, I'm
> uncertain what all she is taking.  I WILL change that.  Thanks again.
>
> Wendy
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 13:19:30 -0400
> From:    Camilla Flintermann <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Communication aid
>
> Friends--for someone in our group, I've been asked to inquire if any of
> you with voice problems have used the "CRESTALK" , a portable communication
> aid with a display for typed messages, a 20K memory for preprogramming
> sentences,and no voice amplification, just the printed "speech".  He is
> considering buying one. Any experience with this or a similar device would
> be appreciated.
> Camilla Flintermann,CG for Peter,78/7,Oxford,OH
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 13:27:08 -0400
> From:    WENDY HENRY <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: New Member
>
> OK--I finally checked it out, and it is the Amantadine that my mom is taking,
> the generic form of Symmetrel.  She is taking a 10CC dose of that daily, and
> it's 50 mg.  She is also taking 5 mg. of the Eldopryl once a day.  That's it.
> No Sinemet.  I'm going to call her Dr. to find out why.  Thanks again!
>
> Wendy
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 15:52:14 -0400
> From:    Linda Cooperstock <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re[2]: I'm new, also
>
>      We at least convinced Mom to have Dad visit at the local Easter Seals
>      Day Care Center.  He goes for 4 hours a day twice a week.  This is a
>      great help to mom, but rather than catch up on much needed sleep, she
>      does all the running around for the week.
>
>      I regret that they do not see a neurologist.  Do you think at this
>      late stage in his disease a different physician might do any good?
>      Dad walks only with assistance.  He sleeps a great part of the day in
>      his chair, but is up all night with restlessness and the urge to use
>      the bathroom.  This keeps mom up all night,, also.
>
>      He does eat very well.  I think that is a point in his favor.  The
>      part that saddens me is that he was the strongest, most active person
>      I knew.  He never smoked, drank, or overindulged in anything .  He
>      walked to work (steel mill) every day for 35 years. and on and on.  My
>      only consolation is that he is probably handling all of his falls
>      (including down the full flight of basement steps recently) with no
>      fractures, and has otherwise not shown signs of other diseases.
>
>      But he is weak.
>
>      thanks for listening.
>      -Linda, Red's daughter
>
> ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
> Subject: Re: I'm new, also
> Author:  "PARKINSN: Parkinson's Disease - Information Exchange Network"
> <PARKINSN@      listserv.utoronto.ca> at MU-Internet
> Date:    7/15/96 8:45 PM
>
>         Linda: is there a dear friend, a church pastor, etc to whom your Mom
> would listen? Glordon's Mom always quoted her bridge groups(3 of them), but
> they took care of each other, too. They stepped in and called a son in
> Southern California as they were concerned about his mother. I recall
> that--the poor worman was very ill, it turned out, but before she would
> listen to us, it was them. Just an angle to consider. If she wears out, then
> who will take care of your Dad??  Good Luck, vbelieve me--Gordon's wife.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:56:19 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Call Kassebaum now
>
> I just called Senaytor Kassebaums office and they said they are taking names
> of everyone who calls about the Udall Bill S.684.
> Please call right now and leave a message for The senator.
>
> Call now.  There is no time to wait.  Ask every one in your home  to call
> right now.              Ask for Senator Kassebaums office.    800-962-3524
>
>  Say," Please ask her to provide funding for Parkinson's disease  when the
> Udall bill S. 684 comes up for a vote tomorrow."
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 17:08:41 -0400
> From:    [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Call from anywhere in the world.
>
> Call Sen Kassebaum  202-224-4774
>
> Sen. John Ashcroft   202-224-6154
>
> Sen. Judd Gregg   202-224-3324
> EVEN IF YOU ARE FROM OUT OF THE COUNTRY.  If you do not live in the United
> States you can still do something to help yourself and us to get the Udall
> bill through.  You can call the above offices with  the direct phone numbers
>  listed above and leave a message.
>
> Say,   " Please support funding  for Parkinson's research tomorrow when the
> Udall bill S.684 is voted on.  The rest of the world is watching."
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 17:13:10 -0400
> From:    will johnston <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Encephalitic Parkinsons
>
> --=====================_837562155==_
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> At 05:34 PM 7/15/96 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hi everyone,
> >I am  a new subscriber, and am here on behalf of my wife, now 61, and
> >diagnosed about a year ago. She has no tremors but is fast losing fine
> >motor control..ability to balance, and therefore walk, and speech is
> >becoming mechanical. At times not understandable.
> >
> >All this resulted, say the neurologists, from contracting ENCEPHALITIS
> >when young, leaving the brain scarred.
> >
> >We would like to contact anyone relating to this "encephalitic" Parkinsons.
> >
> >Graham Lacey.
> >[log in to unmask]
> >
> Dear Graham,
>   That is a very unusual diagnosis for 1995. She must have been born about 1935.
> There have been almost no cobfirmed cases of post-encephaletic PD where the
> encephalitis was contracted after the early 1920's.
>
>   A friend [an MD - a psychiatrist rather than a neurologist] had a mother-
> in-law with post encephaletic PD. Her husband was a veterans' hospital MD
> and won a $250 prize in 1928 for his essay on the ENCEPHALITIS EPIDEMIC which
> was history then.  [$250 would about buy a new Ford in '28]
>
>   I would suggest gettng a second opinion from another neurologist, preferably
> one with a movement disorder specialty.
>
> Will Johnston in Salisbury, MD
>
> --=====================_837562155==_
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> To: "PARKINSN: Parkinson's Disease - Information Exchange Network" <[log in to unmask]>
> From: will johnston <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Encephalitic Parkinsons
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> X-Attachments:
>
> At 05:34 PM 7/15/96 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hi everyone,
> >I am  a new subscriber, and am here on behalf of my wife, now 61, and
> >diagnosed about a year ago. She has no tremors but is fast losing fine
> >motor control..ability to balance, and therefore walk, and speech is
> >becoming mechanical. At times not understandable.
> >
> >All this resulted, say the neurologists, from contracting ENCEPHALITIS
> >when young, leaving the brain scarred.
> >
> >We would like to contact anyone relating to this "encephalitic" Parkinsons.
> >
> >Graham Lacey.
> >[log in to unmask]
> >
> >Dear Graham,
>   This is a very unusual diagnosis for 1995. Apparently Mrs. Graham
>   was born in 1935 or thereabouts. There have been almost no new cases
>   attributed to encephalitis since the early 1920's as far as exposure
>   or initial onset is concerned.
>   A friend [an MD who has PD but is not a neurologist  - a psychiatrist]
>   had a mother-in-law with post encephaletic PD and her husband -a
>   veterans' hospital MD-won a $250 prize in 1928 for his essay on the
>   Encephalitis Epidemic which was history then.
>   [note: $250 would about buy a new car in 1928].
>
>    I would recommend a second opinion from another neurologist, preferably a
>    movement disorder specialist, if you have not already gotten one.
>
>    Will Johnston  4949 Oakland School Rd  Salisbury MD 21804
>    Voice 410-543-0110
>
> --=====================_837562155==_--
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 20:14:14 -0400
> From:    Barbara Patterson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: CONSTIPATION X PARKINSON (fwd)
>
> Date:=09Tue, 16 Jul 1996 20:09:19 -0400
> From:[log in to unmask] (Jo=E3o Roberto D. Azevedo)
> Subject: CONSTIPATION X PARKINSON
>
> Constipation is part of the Parkinson Sindrome. Every PD has at least some=
> =20
> degree of intestinal imobility. The drugs, specially bromocriptine, tend  t=
> o=20
> worsen constipation. In my vision two things are very important to lighten=
> =20
> the situation: fisical activities and fibres.Sedentarysm and diet are very=
> =20
> important.Propulsid, Senokot and Lactulose are good drugs but not so good a=
> s=20
> natural fibres.People who are plegic with cord lesion, for instance, can=20
> keep intestinal working with diet rich on natural fibres.
> jrobert
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 20:17:09 -0400
> From:    Barbara Patterson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: HALLUCINATION X PARKINSON fwd)
>
> From:[log in to unmask] (Jo=E3o Roberto D. Azevedo)
> Subject: HALLUCINATION X PARKINSON
>
> Hallucination is not a PD symptom. The principal cause of hallucination (=
> =20
> mainly visual hallucination ) is drug intoxication and the classic example=
> =20
> is alcohol intoxication. Some drugs used regularly on medicine can cause=20
> hallucination and the symptom goes away when stop the drug. The first thing=
> =20
> to do when we are in front of hallucination  is to study with care each dru=
> g=20
> on use to stop the correct one.I saw many times, hallucination appear later=
> =20
> on the PD treatment with levodopa and vanish with the withdrawl of the=20
> levodopa,  or sometimes just lessing the drug dose.
> We must understand that   PD patient often receive many diferent drugs (for=
> =20
> hipertention, diabetes, pain, etc) and eventualy they can interact. The las=
> t=20
> thing to do when in front of hallucination is to add another drug.
> jrobert.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 16 Jul 1996 23:53:24 -0400
> From:    "Bethany L. Johnson" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Falling too often.
>
> On Tue, 16 Jul 1996, Phillip Dunn wrote:
>
> > I am beginning to fall over far too often and am anxious to avoid hurting
> > myself seriously.
> > It seems that I get onto my toes when turning, or starting off, or
> > hesitating,then I begin to stutter with my feet and loose my balance and
> > fall.All this happens very quickly and as I do tend to do things quite fast
> > my feet suddenly don't move.I think this is linked with my medication as I
> > also notice that  when I feel unsteady my medication has not worked fully.
> > I have the same kind of problem when going down slopes and this is becoming
> > a sort of Psychological problem as I hesitate and stutter with my feet.
> > Does anyone have any ideas as to how I may overcome this problem?
> >
> > Syd Adams. 106072,[log in to unmask]
>
> My mother seems to have the same problem that you do. She can't seem to
> get her feet going, but I've found that if we verbally prompt her as to
> what to do (eg. say "left foot") then it helps to get her feet moving.
> At times when she's having a really bad day we'll just keep talking her
> through (left foot, right foot, left foot, etc.) until she seems to be
> fairly steady on her feet. She's grown a dependency on the objects around
> her recently. She doesn't use her walking stick very efficiently, and my
> dad and i find ourselves being supports for her as she walks.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Bethany
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of PARKINSN Digest - 15 Jul 1996 to 16 Jul 1996
> ***************************************************I have tried everyway I know to remove my name from the list.  Nothing
seems to work.  Does anyone have a suggestion?  I would greatly
appreciate your help.  Thank you.