^^^^^^WARM GREETINGS FROM^^^^^^^^^^ Ivan Suzman 48/10 [log in to unmask] Portland, Maine land of lighthouses 34 deg. Fsunny *********************************************************** -Dear Listmembers, About a week ago I posted some ideas on Research Priorities. The only response so far is from Mary Helen Davila in Arizona (thank you!). DID I MISS SOME MAIL?? Maybe my incoming mail is incomplete--anyway, would listmembers PLEASE share their ideas about Research Priorities? I really think we must not let the NIH folks dole out $100,00,000.00 of Udall Bill money without hearing OUR priorities as PWP's. Our input, I am sure, is VALUABLE. Hoping to dicover a chain of responses on the List, over the next few days or weeks,, IVAN ^^^^^^WARM GREETINGS FROM^^^^^^^^^^ Ivan Suzman 48/10 [log in to unmask] Portland, Maine land of lighthouses 20 deg. F northwest wind-bbrrr *********************************************************** Dear cyber-family of Listmembers, Ken Becker writes: "Most of us would rather find the cure for PD than win the lottery. Ken B" Ken, I'm with you on this! I think we should all help out by posting our views on what KINDS of research will speed the pathway to the cure for PD. Having had the privilege of being a National Science Foundation grant reviewer in Physical Anthropology,and having published in the fields of human evolution, paleontology and human anatomy, I would like to encourage a dialogue on research priorities, by anyone on the List. I believe that at any convention, we PWP's and carepartners will benefit by expressing what WE would like to see as research priiorities. Here are my own: I would emphasize medicine, not surgery. I would ultimately want to see medicines or supplements needed to control, or possibly cure, Parkinson's as the TOP priority. Here are some areas that intrigue me as rich with potential to lead to the cure(s): 1. Genetic research which may point towards inborn enzyme coding errors that cause the manufacture and the delivery of dopamine to be impeded. 2. Biochemical research on different aspects of the uptake of dopamine at its receptor sites. 3. Screening tests for Parkinson's. 4. Neurophysiological research on cellular growth, development and aging in different brain tissues. 4. Differentiation of research treatment for the different doparmine deficiency disorders grouped under the word, "Parkinson's." These include tremor-dominated, stillness-dominated, early onset, and late onset, among other sub-types we PWP's all recognize as somewhat distinct. We ought to try to define what we feel the research priorities are, just as researching scientists do, by open discussion on our List, don't you think? I hope JR Bruman, Brian Collins, Donna Bassolino-Klinas and others in scientific fields will help lead here, both with your comments, and questions for all of us.