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To all; The talents and generous spirit shown by our list members impresses me more every day. As my own little research project, over the past two months while I've been 'lurking', I've downloaded and edited all of the parkinsn log files in the archives since January. (I haven't quite finished - still have to go through August's files - we are prolific!) This has helped me 'get up to speed' on all the recent developments re PD, as well as let me get to know a bit about this incredible group. (For any 'newbies' out there - every message that has ever been sent in to the list since its creation in November 1993 is on record in the archives. The implications of that fact didn't really sink in to this little Parkie brain for awhile - we have access to probably as much information - or at least references to the information - about PD as exists anywhere. Thank you, Barbara P.). Recently, Pat Martin posted an offer to send out a file he had compiled called 'Our Favourite Drugs' to any member who requested it. After I received the file, I sent him a note to thank him for all his good work, and asked about the island that he had mentioned in one of his earlier posts, where he had inhaled "daily doses of DDT that was sprayed over our island to keep the mosquitos down". I've lived in Bermuda for the past 14 years (I'm originally from Toronto), and I have unwittingly exposed myself to some locally available pesticides, which I'm convinced would be illegal in North America. Pat sent me this reply, and I'm now forwarding it on to all of you: ---------- forwarded message part 1 of 2 ---------- Date: 24 Oct 95 15:39:13 EDT From: "PATRICK J. MARTIN" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: DDT and things Our Favorite Drugs Janet Paterson responded to my drug interaction file with a few questions. This prompted my thoughts re a database of our medical indications/drug usage - a common thread in our correspondence. I submit an offer to the 900+ Club to prepare a compilation if there is an interest. Pat([log in to unmask]) Dear Janet: When I was in the Phillipines on the island of Samar from about September 1945 until June 1946, the island was sprayed daily with DDT to keep mosquitoes (and malaria) down. We lived in tents that were screened and used individual aerosol "bombs" to saturate our air each night. I will never be able to isolate the effects of this exposure from all the other toxic chemical exposures I have had during childhood and my working career in laboratories. I would speculate as a chemist that DDT had an effect comparable to a number of semi-volatile organic compounds I have inhaled or ingested. I do believe that my exposure to such things reduced my neuronal reserve to set me up for PD. The "trigger" was a high-fever flu that lasted for a week. I am preparing a revised listing of drug interactions that will include Luvox. Any other suggestions ? I have not yet received much in the way of anecdotal references but have not given up on that yet. What if I prepare a database of the 900+ Club individual's data along these lines : ***** Name:Patrick J. Martin e-Mail Address: [log in to unmask] Zipcode:95126-1546 Age:69 Weight:178 Sex:Male Years Parkinsonian:9 Years Medication:6 Medical Indications: 1.hypertension 2.parkinsonism 3.tremor Medications: Name Dosage(mg)XDaily Frequency 1.Procardia XL 60X1 2.atenolol 50X1 3.Sinemet CR 50/200X3 4.carbidopa/ldopa 25/250X2 5.selegiline 5X1 6.amantadine 100X1 Comments: 1.Tremor is my biggest problem 2.Bradykinesia tells me when I need to dose 3.I take my medications with orange juice and a tea biscuit ***** We all are curious about the medical menus our doctors have selected. Our doctors may be curious about the selections being made by their peers. If all of you 900+ Club members took this outline onto your word processors, deleted my data and replaced it with yours and sent it to the list or to me, I will prepare a database for us. All the best Pat 69,9 ([log in to unmask]) ---------- forwarded message part 2 of 2 ---------- Date: 24 Oct 95 15:45:06 EDT From: "PATRICK J. MARTIN" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Whoops Janet, I just sent you a note that I propose to send to the List - please make suggestions or comments before I actually include everybody -- or, if you like the idea and format, just endorse it and send it to the list indicating your approval. All the best Pat 69,9 ([log in to unmask]) ---------- end of forwarded message ---------- Pat, consider yourself endorsed and approved!! What a great idea, and what a generous offer. I think this group could provide enough data for a 'killer database', scientific, or anecdotal or whatever. Who knows, we might discover something odd like the MPTP situation, which might lead to something brilliant. (A possible discovery: If you are of Scottish descent, had a high fever before the age of 3.259, studied physics in Guam, never drank water from the same well as your twin sister, wore shoes made from leather tanned in a certain factory in Milano, and consumed a minimum of one Fava Sunrise cocktail in September during the full moon; your chances of developing PD are 43,657,897,343 times the norm.) But seriously gang, the amount of work involved in compiling such a database would be tremendous, and I hereby offer my help in any way that Pat thinks would be useful. For example, if he is willing to do all the data entry and number crunching, I would be more than happy to act as the intermediary, i.e. if you all want to contribute, you could send your info to me, and I could then do any editing or reformatting needed before sending it on to our data wizard. (This would be perfect for me - I've been an organizer and a 'neatener' since birth). In terms of the development of the personal computer, we could be on the cutting edge of combining the best of the old (mush those numbers) with the best of the new (collect those numbers in nano-seconds from the global PD village). What do you think, Pat? And everyone else? Janet Paterson, 48, 7, [log in to unmask] Bermuda