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Stanley -

I echo the advice to find a neuro in the Springfield, Missouri, area.  Quite
frankly, your very best bets would be either Dr. William Koller at KU Med
Center in KC, Kansas, or someone at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
 Both Medical Centers have well-known and nationally respected PD/movement
disorder centers.  Dr. Koller's phone number is 913-588-6970.  Actually, Dr.
Koller is so busy it's possible you'd be referred to one of his colleagues.
 Dick (52/15) is now seeing Dr. Miyawaki (spelling?) because of Dr. K's busy
schedule, and we're quite pleased with him.

I know it's difficult to travel to another city with someone in the advanced
stages of PD, but if you could arrange it just once, it would be well worth
your while.  We have friends who get a hotel room overnight before their
appointment.  It takes the spouse plus a friend or family member along just
to get their PWP up and mobile in the morning, so it's quite a production.
 But they're assurred of the most knowledgeable and up-to-date treatment, so
consider it well worth it.

It's quite possible that there won't be a lot of additional medical help
available, and that the current neuro is actually doing the right things, in
spite of a lousy personality.  But I always suspect, in cases of a
personality conflict or obvious impatience on the part of the doctor, that
somehow a more patient doctor would provide better treatment.

One example is that many PWP who have hallucinations benefit from Clozaril.
 In cases of PD dementia, there's a new Alzheimer's drug, Aricept, that may
prove to be beneficial in some cases.  Has your current doctor addressed the
issue of the dementia at all? These are the kinds of questions to ask of your
doctor - the old one or a new one.  I might mention that Dr. Koller is also
active in Alzheimer's research, and is a pharmacologist as well as a
neurologist, so I feel that if there's a pharmacological answer somewhere,
he's the most likely to find it.

Good luck to you.  If you'd like more information from us personally, please
feel free to e-mail us at [log in to unmask]  Sincerely, Margie Swindler