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Please tell everyone you know to watch this program!! ALERT To: People interested in Parkinson's disease From: Joan I. Samuelson, President Date: July 26, 1995 Subject: "PrimeTime Live" segment TONIGHT on "The Case of the Frozen Addicts" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- Tonight ABC News' "PrimeTime Live" will air Frozen Addicts -- the story behind the just-published book, "The Case of the Frozen Addicts." The show will air at 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. CDT). (Check your local listings.) "The Case of the Frozen Addicts: How the Solution of an Extraordinary Medical Mystery Spawned a Revolution in the Understanding and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease", by J. William Langston, M.D. and Jon Palfreman, is the story of a mysterious case of paralysis discovered in California in 1982. Neurologist Langston recognizes the symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease and administers L-dopa, the only known effective treatment, and "unfreezes" the patient. Five other patients are found, as is the source of the problem: a bad batch of heroin, a by-product of which attacked and destroyed the patients' substantia nigra, the same area of the brain that deteriorates in Parkinson's. The narrative goes on to describe the major breakthrough resulting from this saga: the discovery of MPTP as an animal model of Parkinson's. The story ends with the struggle to find long-term treatments for Langston's patients to replace the short-term relief of L-dopa. The then-daring solution lay in Sweden, where four of the victims were sent for fetal tissue transplants, with remarkable results. The results of this serendipitous beginning have advanced Parkinson's research on several fronts. Dr. Langston is president of the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California. Mr. Palfreman, a senior producer at WGBH, Boston, is an award-winning writer and producer of medical and scientific documentaries. The book is published by Pantheon ($25.00) and is now available in bookstores. # # # For more information about "The Case of the Frozen Addicts", please contact Jane Gabel at 202/628-2075.