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I was very happy to locate the Parkinson's Info Exchange Newtwork. I very recently hooked up to the Net, and have been surfing it, looking for Parkinsons info. I found this network while utilizing TurboGopher. A brief bio seems to be in order: I am a 27 year old male who was diagnosed with Parkinsons two years previously. Presently it affects my left arm and is moving to my left leg. I currently take Eldyprel, Sinemet CR, and Permex. I experience the usual symptoms: trembling of limb, rigidity, slowness of movement, and some side-effects from the meds, usually head and body twitching and drowsiness. I am currently a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, Ca, near Santa Barbara. I am a quiet, contemplative person who is extremely sensitive to the surrounding environment. Stressfull situations exacerbate my symptoms, even while I am experiencing my meds' "On-Time". I am curious if my personality type, my way of being in the world, is more the norm for Parkinsons' patients. Are non-sensitive people less likely to develope Parkinsons' symptoms? Does age of onset play a role? Are younger Parkinsons' patients more sensitive than older? If younger patients are more sensitive, is this further evidence in support of an environmental trigger? It is my theory, born out of acute awareness and study of personal experience, that the rising stress, noise, and pressures of the modern world are one main cause (perhaps the largest one) in the rise of younger people developing Parkinsons. In pursuit of this theory and other Parkinsons' mysteries, I am in the planning stages of a qualatative study of young Parkinsons' patients. I envision the study in the form of interviews, concerned with the coping mechanisms one utilizes, both generic and individual; awareness of how the illness has changed one's life perspective; personal perspectives on experiencing and studying the illnes; how one exists in and moves through the world, etc. It is my hope that this study would shed some light on the above theory and related questions, especially concerning the highly sensitive personality type. If anyone is aware of any previous Parkinsons' studies related to my pursuits, I would appreciate the info. I am also interested in alternative forms of treatment, one area being Bio-Feedback. I have experienced in my dreams an intriguing phenomonon: never, in any dream in which I am aware of my body, does my arm tremble, nor are any other symptoms present. If that dream-state of being can be fed back, at least in part, to a waking Parkinsonian body, perhaps useful, even incredible, benefits could result. However, since I am not versed in Bio-Feedback, I do not wish to propogate false hope. If anyone is aware of Bio-Feedback research info related to Parkinsons, please let me know. In advance, i wish to thank anyone and everyone I will hopefully be corresponding with via CyberSpace for their time and information. Sincerely, Jeffrey