>Could I, as a brazilian citizen, make something to promote Udall Act? > > I firmly believe that it is in the best interests of everyone in the Parkinson's community, including non-U.S. residents to promote the Udall Act. It is not interference by foreign citizens to compliment elected representatives in the U.S. for their emphatic support of the National Institutes of Health funding of health-related research. It is good for Americans and it is good for people all over the world to fight disease and suffering. Not only is basic healthcare research important on ethical grounds, it makes good business sense with respect to American exports. Better pharmaceuticals, improved surgical procedures and equipment and medical information is the type of product that we should be providing to the rest of the world - certainly better than Marlboros and Coke. Besides promoting the Udall Act for more Parkinson's dollars in the U.S. it would be helpful to encourage your government and representatives to use an NIH type model to funding basic research in your own country. Just think how soon we could cure PD we if every country budgeted more for PD research and supported basic research strictly on the basis of merit and need. By the way, what can we in the U.S. learn about how successful research is accomplished in other parts of the world? Certainly there is no guarantee that the cure will be found here no matter how many dollars are spent. Regards, Ken Aidekman Fund the Research. Find the Cure.