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> From: Bob & Joy Graham <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: research > Date: Saturday, 19 April 1997 5:15 > I would love to hear more about the epidemiology study you are in The study is by the Central West Parkinson's Disease Research Group. It covers about 1/3 of the central area of NSW, roughly from Lithgow in the East, to Cobar in the West, and from Merriwa in the north to Hay in the South. It is a full epidemiological study, considering many factors. It includes questions on emotional states, memory, hygiene, etc., as it is a study to ascertain the needs of sufferers in the district as to availability of transport, doctors, hospitals, etc. Information is obtained by interview, and the answers are recorded in individual answer books. There are separate books for sufferers and carers. If necessary, return visits are made. An initial database has been constructed to store the data. When completed, data will be extracted and processed by a non-prescriptive, heuristic analysis program, which will make no judgements, but only analyse trends. A pilot study was undertaken in 1995, which showed that the official figures for sufferers was grossly understated, and that the problem of care was far more complex than just the domestic issues. As one of our chief researchers, Dr. J. Selby said in relation to this subject, "Love can turn to hate, and care to neglect, as, with time, the physical, mental and financial state of both sufferer and carer deteriorate." We have had much contact with Professor Tong, of Beijing University Hospital, who is head of the Departments of Gerontology and Epidemiology. China has approximately 90,000,000 elderly at present, and the proportion will grow due to the "one-child" policy, the increasingly nuclear lifestyle, and the rising standard of living. So they are very interested in anything that could alleviate the situation. As well as exchanging data with our study, Professor Tong is taking part in a joint study of ethnic Chinese in China, Hong Kong, and Sydney. Preliminary figures suggest that the incidence of PD is much lower in China than in the West, and Prof. Tong is anxious to verify this, and to follow-up possible causes. Dr. Selby and I are PWP's, as is one other of our group, so we are really "on the inside, looking out". But, given our ages and the progression of PD in each case, we will not benefit from the results. > (PS Are you planning to come to the Conference in Perth in September?) Yes, I am planning to attend with my wife. Jim