INTRODUCTION to Current Science Reviews INDEX (revised April 1998)
As most of you know, I have posted a "CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS"
message every month for the past three years or so. Recently, I
added a separate cumulative INDEX to the CSRs, which I revise
each month to include the new material. The CSR INDEX is big
(700 or so lines) and grows at about 30 lines per month, so I'm
unsure how long I can continue without overloading the system;
but since a number of listmembers want it, we'll find a way.
For newcomers to the list, I need to tell you what the CSR is, and
what it is not: As a new PD patient I wanted to learn all I could
about the disease, especially the progress of research that might
lead to improved treatment. I joined a local support group, who
wanted a science input for their newsletter. While not a medical
professional, I had access to a small medical library, where I
could regularly scan a few of the more relevant journals, and
translate their scientific jargon into English. (The huge UCLA
library is open to the public, but a little hard to get to.)
So I started the monthly CSR, with these rules in mind:
-Stick generally to peer-reviewed articles, for authenticity.
-Avoid judgement, selection, or analysis, just list what turns up.
-Respect copyright restrictions. I don't retain an article unless
it is likely to have some historical significance.
CSR items describe current work which may or may NOT prove to be
important. Each one is just a piece of the big PD jigsaw puzzle.
So the CSR is NOT a good source for basic or comprehensive info
about PD. It is NOT a good reference for archival material; there
are big sophisticated services, such as Medline, which do that.
What the CSR does do is provide an inkling of where we are, what
lies ahead. I started it pretty much for my own use, but of
course am glad to share it with others of like inclination.
Likewise the CSR INDEX is not encyclopedic, but merely a clue to
locate any particular item. You can look it up in the CSR of the
date given, to see if you want to order the source article from
your local library. Or, you can go direct to the source as cited.
The reviews that I write for the CSR are not especially timely, as
it takes about a year after submission to a scholarly journal,
before an article finally appears in print; then the medical
library I use depends for some of its journals on donations from
personal subscribers, so it may be several months more before I
see a new article. Usually an exciting breakthrough is accompanied
by a news release, long before it is documented in the literature,
and it may take several months more for a new article or abstract
to get into Medline.
Back Numbers: I have posted Current Science Reviews (with some
variation in early titles) to this e-mail forum, now known as
"Parkinson's Information Exchange", each month beginning with
December 1994. They are now archived at two sites on the World Wide Web
(www), one maintained by listmember Simon Coles:
http://james.parkinsons.org.uk/ and another,
sponsored as a public service by the Swiss drug firm Roche:
http://www.parkinsonsdisease.com/
I can fill e-mail requests for individual reviews, as cited in the
cumulative subject Index (which appears as CSRINDX each month) but,
remember that these are only reference citations. To see an actual
article or abstract, you must use either Medline or a medical
library that subscribes to the journal in question.
J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694
3527 Cody Road
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013
