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VA AND DEFENSE BUDGETS BEGIN TO LOOK TO PARKINSON'S AS RESEARCH TARGET In developments separate from the NIH research funding initiatives (which are the subject of the Udall bill, and NIH appropriations line items and report language), research budgets in other parts of the federal budget are beginning to register the importance of increased Parkinson's research funding. Defense Request: On July 2nd, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command announced that it is soliciting research proposals for "studies on the pathophysiology and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, and including environmental and stress exposure factors encountered in military operations which may be neurotoxic or lead to neurodegenerative conditions." The research, which is to be coordinated with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), will be selected on the basis of peer reviewed scientific merit and "potential military relevance." Research has developed a substantial body of data linking environmental toxins to Parkinson's symptoms and the neurodegen-erative pathogenesis; this data could be of use to military medicine, now grappling with such conditions as "Gulf War Syndrome," which also may be linked to environmental exposures. This initiative resulted from a Congressional directive in the Army's 1997 appropriation. Veterans Affairs: The House recommendation for the 1998 VA appropriation for medical research adds report language directing the VA to "utilize $10 million to continue and expand research efforts into Parkinson's disease." This "line item" followed VA 1997 appropriations report language that, for the first time, urged the VA to develop a Parkinson's research emphasis, in light of the significant Parkinson's incidence in the aging veterans community. ----------------------- Parkinson's Action Network 800-850-4726 Headquarters: 818 College Ave., Suite C Santa Rosa, CA 95404 707-544-1994 phone 707-544-2363 fax Washington, DC 202-628-2079 email: [log in to unmask] DC email: [log in to unmask]