Raymond, Outstanding post! If we could somehow persuade everyone with Parkinson's to read your message, I believe half the battle would be won. I realize you have plenty on your plate, but want to repeat my offer to help. George L. Bousliman ----- From: "Raymond Barglow" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 2:24 AM Subject: Iraq and Parkinson's research -- an important connection > In the past few days, there have been several messages posted to this > group about the war in Iraq. > > At first glance, these messages seem completely irrelevant to our > concern in this group, which is Parkinson's disease. And so one wants > to say: hey guys, let's stay on the subject, OK? > > But actually, Parkinson's and the war ARE related. Let's explore the > connection. > > The message below, sent out to our group yesterday, reports a 9 million > dollar grant to a university in Florida to fund biomedical research to > find a cure for Parkinsons. This is good news. But it isn't enough. > Our country should be making a greater committment to finding cures for > conditions like PD. > > The problem is that our nation has finite resources, and with so many of > them going toward miilitary purposes, we can hardly expect there to be > adequate funding of the research we need to cure Parkinson's in a timely > way > > As you may know, the Bush administtration is not only spending hundreds > of billions of taxpayers' dollars to build more lethal weapons systems, > but is also literally buying political and military support for the war > against Iraq throughout the world. The biggest aid deal is being > offered to Turkey. The offer on the table has been 15 billion in > aid--$5 billion in grants and $10 billion in guaranteed loans--in > exchange for Turkey's agreement to host US ground troops for an invasion > of northern Iraq. > > Let;s consider just the 5 billion dollars in grants that have been > offered to Turkey (little of which is likely to trickle down to actually > help the Turkish people). That is enough money to fund 500 well-endowed > biomedical research projects (at $10 million per study) to find cures > for diseases like Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's, MS, ALS > and related conditions that affflict so many millions of people > worldwide, young and old. Our dedication to eradicating disease would > help to transform the way that people in other parts of the world view > our nation. > > Let's suppose that we were to take just 10 percent of the $5 bilion > being offered to Turkey -- 500 million dollars -- and devote that to > finding a cure for PD. There is every reason to believe that this > research effort would find a cure within a very few years. > > Is it being selfish to prioritize curing diseases over preparations for > war such as buying Turkey's support? I don't think so. Our support > of promising biomedical research is motivated not only by our desire to > relieve the suffering and save the lives of ourselves and our loved > ones, but also to help millions of people with conditions like > Parkinsons whom we do not personally know . We don't want them to have > to go though the difficulties that we have experienced -- as persons > with PD or as famliies and friends of someone with this condition. > > We know that cures can be found. In the domain of stem cell research > alone, it has already been estabglished that embryonic stem cells can > generate dopamine-producing cells in rats that reverse Parkinson's > symptoms. This research path, together with other research > explorations, would have an excellent chance of coming up with a cure > for Parkinson's very soon, if the research were adequately funded. The > 500 millions dollar figure cited above would be more than ample. In a > few years, the one million or so Americans with PD could be greatly > helped or cured. > > Ironically, it is quite possible that a war against Iraq will fan the > flames of anti-Americanism worldwide, thereby making us more, not less, > vulnerable to terrorism in the future. And it's widely agreed that North > Korea, for example, poses a much greater danger to world peace than does > Iraq. The only antidote is to work with other nations to build an > international framework of law to resolve human conflicts in a > non-violent manner. > > It is true that the potential war against Iraq is partly about securing > oil supplies in the region. And indeed, if "all goes well" with the war > (which may still result in the maiming and death of tens of thousands of > Iraqis, many of them children), we may save, let's say, a quarter of a > dollar on each gallon of gas. If you have Parkinson's, or know someone > who does, please ask yourself if the tradeoff is worth it. > > How can we get the word out about the crying need for medical research > to address curable diseases? One of our problems is that the war > advocates are more visible than we are. And they've wrapped themselves > in Old Glory (with all due respect to Brian, whose sincerity is well > known to people in this group). For me however, the greatest > representatives of our American ideals are people like Jonas Salk, who > developed a vaccine for polio -- or Dr. Paul Greengard, who will help > to advance the Florida Parkinson's research discussed in the news item > below. But Dr. Greengard is not going to get the publicity that the war > mak.ers receive. > > As for PD patients and their supporters -- folks, we aren't all that > visible either! > > We can change that. Let's work alongside people like Michael J. Fox and > Christopher Reeve to put a human face on the need for research. There > are effective biomedical research advocacy groups out there, including > the ones that I work with: http://www.stemcellaction.org and > http://www.sabr.us. It strikes me that this is a good way to help our > nation live up to its highest values of respect for life and the > alleviation of unnecessary suffering. > > Raymond Barglow > > > The following article appeared in the March 4, 2003 edition of the > > Orlando Sentinel (Florida) > > The University of Miami received a $9 million grant to study brain > > cells. (by Nancy McVicar, Florida correspondent.) MIAMI - The search > > for a cure for Parkinson's disease, which strikes one of every 100 > > people over age 60, got a $9 million boost Monday in a gift from the > > National Parkinson Foundation to the University of Miami School of > > Medicine. > > Dr. Abraham Lieberman, medical director of the foundation and a > > professor of neurology at the medical school, said the money will be > > used to hire top scientist in Parkinson' research. > > "They are charged with recruiting topflight scientists to come to > > Miami, and to provide the laboratory space for them. The University > > of Miami already has good people in Parkinson's research and we have a > > strong clinical program," Lieberman said. > > Dr. Walter Bradley, professor and chairman of the department of > > neurology at UM, said the money will be spread over five years - $1.8 > > million per year. The first step will be to hire a world-class > > scientist to be the program director, who will hire 10 other > > researchers. > > On Tuesday, Dr. Paul Greengard, who won the 2000 Nobel Prize for his > > work in neurobiology, will visit UM to suggest a list of scientists > > who might be recruited. An estimated 55,000 Floridians have > > Parkinson's, a progressive neurological disease that most commonly > > develops between the ages of 55 and 65 causing difficulty in > > initiating movement, slowness of movement, muscular stiffness and > > tremors. > > The disease develops when a small group of dopamine-containing neuron > > in part of the brain stem deteriorate. > > Bradley said laboratory research will examine why brain cells die in > > Parkinson's disease, and will expand on related discoveries in > > molecular genetics. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 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 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn