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RTK.NET Mail 193634 Aug 13 21:01:51 1996 >At 06:55 PM 8/13/96 -0400, you wrote: >>Tuesday August 13 6:53 AM EDT >> >>Amgen Begins Parkinson's Drug Trial >> ><snip> >> >>Following the onset of symptoms, Parkinson's patients typically survive >>for 10-15 years. Conventional drugs which help symptoms early in the >>disease are less effective and have toxic side effects as the disease >>progresses. >> >I'm glad to hear about a new drug.... > >Is this statement accurate? Is it true that at 45 I can expect only 15 more >years? The statement may or may not be accurate, but it's quite misleading. If you remember that about 60% of people diagnosed with PD each year are over 60, and you can assume a fairly significant percentage of that group is considerably over 60, that kind of puts the numbers in a different perspective. I remember talking to some women a couple months ago who were diagnosed in their 30s. The first fact they heard about PD is that the "life expectency" was 10 years. I'm glad you brought this up because I was hoping to address this estimate anyway. >For physical reasons surgery is not an option for me. >Guess I don't need ta worry about retirement except for my wife. *smile* >Marvin Is that all types of surgery or just types such as pallidotomy or tissue implants? The GDNF procedure is considerably less invasive (and will be cheaper) but still does involve getting a hole in your skull. They are hoping to find better ways to get GDNF across the blood-brain barrier in the future, though. Sherri [log in to unmask] >