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You wrote: > >This is in response to the note from Mr. Hoffheimer. > It is true that many medical/clinical breakthroughs come from the private >sector, but the governmental work is just as important - and maybe moreso. >Your note also seemed to limit the "private sector" to the US sector. > The primary medication we Parkies take is levodopa - The discovery of the >dopamine deficit was made in Sweeden. Application in Austria. Canada >contributed. The ldopa differentiation was I believe done partially with >government funds and part from private grants. > I take Eldepryl. That was developed in Hungary.. Comunist Hungary at the >time. > I have participated in two drug trials. Lazebemide was Swiss and a failure >so far as I can see. I am now on Entacapone from Finland and find that it >functions as a levodopa agonist fairly well. > As a Parkinson's patient, I will accept help from wherever it is available. >I would like to see more "developed in America" >Parkinson's products, but, again, I will take help from wherever it comes >from. We need to work together and independently. We need basic and applied >research. We need government and the private sector. The private sector is >people. Government is people. We need more dedicated people and their ideas. > Will Johnston in Salisbury, >Maryland > Don't forget that a large number of medical (and surgical) breakthroughs of the last 30 years or so came from people doing clinical research. Some professional, often but not always affiliated with a teaching hospital, conceived of some new procedure; and, after working in a lab for a while, tried it with patients who had little to lose. This kind of work is behind many of the neurosurgical procedures we currently use for other conditions (actually, the first pallidotomies that were done by Irving Cooper back in the 50's were as a result of a surgical "accident", and Dr. Cooper used his inquiring mind to follow through). Unfortunately, with the increasing involvement of Government (in financial aid and regulatory policies), this kind of research advance has become less frequent. The regulatory practices in effect now are really a two-edged sword; they protect human subjects from unscrupulous researchers, but they also, in some cases, frustrate innovative research. There is no easy answer. Best, Bob -- ******************************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S. Phone: 510-849-2555 Neurological Surgery FAX: 510-849-2557 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 USA E-Mail: [log in to unmask] CompuServe: 72303,3442 America Online: BobFink "Ex Tristitia Virtus" ********************************************************