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John,
 
Thanks very much for finding that copy of the Swedish article about NADH.  I
had intended to find it eventually myself.  I do think it's good to explore
all possible all info available on a subject so that one can determine for
oneself what's the best for oneself and/or get those who've got the relevant
backgrounds thinking too annd get them interested enough to also explore it
further.  Especially after I read a doctor responding to a patient's letter
about the use of Ayurvedic for PD, who in his response, like the patient had,
also spelled it wrong and then proceeded to discount it as a cure.  First of
all, he's got no "cure" either (and they make an EXTREME effort to remind us
of this fact in all the gloom & doom literature on the subject) and second,
he obviously didn't know much about Ayurvedic, independent of its actual
effectiveness, cuz he couldn't even spell it.  It turns out  that the NIH
Office of Alternative Medicine is/was studying it  related to PD and the
actual treatment involves a bean which contains dopamine (someone recently
posted an article related to the topic of dopamine in fava beans, etc.).
 Whether this treatment with beans, or with NADH, or whatever, is truly
effective in the end, doesn't excuse doctors'  sometimes almost arrogant (too
strong?) discounting of these other methods, especially when they're
completely ignorant of them.  Many drugs that go to testing also ultimately
prove ineffective, or worse, cause other damage.  The only way to know how
something will perform is to give it a try.
 
Thus having said all this, I wan't to say that I'm not disagreeing with
John's comments about Dr. Atkins "salesmanship"  (I have found a bit of that
in his books too).  His writing style may be a bit gung-ho, but he does in
his  books have alot of good ideas, including pushing the AMA and the
government for more attention to alternative methods.  Also, like others
involved in alternative medicine, he makes the point that alternative
treatments, including such simple things as prevention and diet, are largely
ignored, cuz there's no money in them.  Talk about vested interests - If you
can't patent an orange for its vitamin C content, or an ancient herb for its
therapeutic benefits, then why would a health and medical research system
based on profit ever want to promote alternative treatments (or even staying
healthy in the first place)?  Drug companies advertise big time and the big
$$$ they feed into research willl naturally color things a bit in their
favor.  What researcher, who is dependent on  funding from drug companies,
would look into something in which there is no real method of funding it and
no way to patent any of the results?   They make more money off us by
emphasizing "sick" care (once things are already bad),  rather than
emphasizing "wellness" or "prevention."  Society also resists addressing the
source of the problem, as in the case of toxic chemcials, etc., because the
impacts to our society and lifestyle, as well as all the lawsuits, are just
too daunting to consider.
 
I've digressed a bit here, and  again I don't necessarily disagree with
John's comments, nor do I accept all the anti-establishment arguments of the
"alternatives."  I do think it's important, however, for all of us to do our
own research and to help each other find ALL pertinent info and innundate
those within the "establishment" with all viewpoints and arguments.  That's
the only way, I believe, we'll ever find a true "cure" and not just
band-aids.  It bothers me that a large portion of medicine only seems
concerned with treating me once I'm incapacitated.  I don't want to ever
reach that stage.  I've still got a career and hopefully marriage and family
to look forward to, and lest we forget, simply enjoying my life, however it
goes.  I really would enjoy it more if I could maintain my current state of
health, even tho' it's not perfect.  I don't view PD as the "enemy" to be
defeated, the "enemy" is whatever's causing this.  I view my pd as a teacher,
tho' not always fair, and I intend to learn all that it offers.  I also want
the "establishment" and the patients to start focusing on how to "live" and I
mean "LIVE" with this disease, rather than "dying" from it.  I personally
intend to use PD to my advantage and have a more rewarding life with it than
I would've without it.  Besides, that's the only way I know to stay sane in
the midst of all this chaos.
 
Anyway, Thanks again John for contributing that info and for all your other
efforts in forwarding info to us.  I find it all very interesting and useful.
 
Wendy