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>From the recent issue (vol. 17, issue 1) of the _Parkinson Report_ put out by the National Parkinson Foundation: "[There is no simple answer about whether PD is an inherited disease.] The vast majority of patients with PD do not have any relatives, near or distant, with the illness (sporadic PD). However, there are VERY RARE FAMILIES [my emphasis] in which PD is strongly inherited and never skips a generation. There are some families in which PD is occasionally present in several relatives but does not follow a definite pattern of inheritance. . . . Finally, the way some individuals metabolize chemicals or toxins may influence the risk for developing PD. The metabolic machinery of the liver is inherited, and thus the way a chemical is broken down is inheritable [not "inherited]. This may account for an individual's small but definitely increased probability of developing the illness if he or she has a relative with the illness." Joanne Sandstrom [log in to unmask]