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My sister recently sent this article to me. Its a bit old but maybe not seen on the list. Quote Parkinson=92s sufferers are given new hope PIONEERING surgery using electrode implants could cure the debilitating tremors of Parkinson=92s disease. The surgery recently conducted at Dundee Royal Infirmary on six patients with severe tremors, blocks the faulty messages from brain cells that cause theshaky movement. The surgeon introduces a tinyy electrode through a small hole which is drilled in the patients skull. The electrode is inserted in an area of the brain called the thalamus, which Is responsible for causing tremors In Parkinsons sufferers. A small current Is passed though the electrode tip untii the trembling stop. The electrode is,then Implanted and connected to a generator the size of a matchbox which is sown beneath the skin In the chest. This battery-powered device can be switched on and off by placing a magnet over It and hopefully stop the tremors. There is no cure for Parkingon=92s disease, which afflicts 120,000 Britis= h people, usually In old age. The disease occurs because a type of cell In an area of the brain called the basal ganglia is destroyed. These cells produce dopamine, which Is sent to the thalamus, the movement centre of the brain. In people with Parkinsons, the. thalamus is deprived of dopamine. It reacts byy firing off randowm messages which cause a tremor. Drugs such a s levodopa which raise dopamine levels in the brain are a standard treatment, but they have substantial side effects including hallucination and confusion. Also. they can=92t halt the deterioration o= f brain cells and become less effective with time. Although expensive at =A35.900, the systerm, labelled the brain pace make= r could offer a permanent cure for trembling. It is a very complex procedure. but in most cases so far we have found it stops trembling altogether,=92 says Thelekat Varme, neurosurgeon at Dundee Royal Infirmary, who conducted the operations. Like drugs,=92 he adds, =91It does not the brain cells from deteriorating. But free of trembling, substantially mproves the patient=92s quality of lfe. Sufferers are able to do things that would otherwise be impossible such as read, write or make a cup of tea. ANASTASIA STEPHENS, Daily Mail 15 April 1997 unquote Also in another article a book on nutrition was discussed. I am waiting for a copy. It's called " Parkinsons Disease The New Nutritional Handbook" (Denon Press) It should be available from Nutri Centre UK 44 171 436 5122 priced at =A39.95. I hope that this is not old news to the news group. Regards