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On Thu 19 Feb, Wanda & Gail wrote: > Brian, > > I have no idea if this is accurate or not...but at a Parkinson's Disease > lecture given by a research scientist at National Institutes of Health > in Bethesda Maryland...we were told that only a PET scan would be able > to show the living brain and show how much of the substantia nigra was > still functioning and be able to determine your dopamine levels...it was > so expensive to run the 2 day testing involved that it was only done for > research purposes (even though it really could confirm a diagnosis of > Parkinson's in the research subjects). > > When an audience member asked if a research volunteer could then be > informed as to the percentage of dopamine producing cells that were > found from his own PET scan results, the researcher said that > information would be made available to them if they requested. > > Regards, > > Gail Vass email [log in to unmask] > > > Hello Wanda & Gail. Yes, you are correct in stating that with the aid of high-powered scanners, it is finally possible to measure a person's complement of Dopamine producing cells while they are still alive. My 'local' University (Nottingham ) has (I have been told) one of the most powerful installations in the UK. I have seen incredibly detailed scans from it: For instance, the patient was told to move his little finger, and the scans showed the thought forming, the general message being sent out (This is when the dopamine would be activated) and finally the electrical signal being sent. I have not seen the evidence, but I have heard that a number of scans of 'normal' people seem to be showing that we are all part of a wide distribution of dopamine production capability, not (as I thought) two entirely separate groups (PWPs and everybody else). However they were early indications, so maybe we should treat that as unproven at this point. The scanners can also monitor the progress of such things as fetal cell transplants, which should speed up the progress in this field, where the only way to assess the viability of a trensplant up to now has been to measure the performance of the person receiving the transplant: a very inexact method. -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>