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A recent segment on public radio reminded me of the March of Dimes, a major charitable organization which had its own beautiful headquarters building, an excellent staff, an effective fund raising facility, strong grass roots support, and a fantastic cause: the eradication of polio in children. It failed as an organization but succeeded as a cause. The reason: Jonas Salk. Rosemary Russell writes: "Although I am a novice at politics (but learning fast), I wonder why some of the major drug companies (ie..medications for PD) wouldn't help with the Udall Bill? Also, the major PD doctors, clinics, etc...even our own personal neurologists just writing letters to their congressmen." I'm sure that Jim Cordy and Joan Samuelson would love to put PAN out of business by eliminating the cause of Parkinson's and reversing its progress in those of us afflicted. So would the leaders of APDA and NPF and other similar organizations. But I'm not certain that the motives of the drug companies, PD doctors, clinics, etc., are quite that altruistic. In fact, the closer we come to a cure, the less interest in Parkinson's we might expect them to take. Also look at it this way: If there are 1.5 million people in the United States with Parkinson's and only 10% take eldepryl, which costs them or their insurance companies $60.00 each per month, then the expense for us Parkies is $1,080 MILLION for this drug alone in the Unites States alone. That's over ten times what we have asked for in the Udall Bill. Why would you as a drug company want to lose that? That's why when Barb Schirloff offered cards to mail to our Senators and Representatives, I was happy to not only hand them out to friends and relatives but also to spend my own twenty cents each to stamp most of the cards I passed out. To ease the suffering: the medical establishment may profit from that. To find the cure: not likely to be nearly as remunerative, if at all. Art Hirsch [log in to unmask] Lewisville, TX