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I answered Hilary's letter off list, but after thinking about it I thought maybe it should have been answered on list, instead. So this was my message to her. You too?? I spoke briefly with the folks at the Sunnyvale PD Institute and was told that there was a study either being written or just underway to check out hormones and dopamine levels. I will continue to bug them because I think it is very important. When Janet posted, about 4 or 5 months ago, a notice about estrogen therapy use for Alzheimer's and possibly for PD, I talked with my neuro and my gp (who is actually a pa and midwife and has been taking courses on menopause) and I was started on mild estrogen (mild birth control pills) to do 2 things. 1) to even out my periods which of late have been out of control (yes I am trying to go through menopause), and 2) to see if it made a difference in my Sinemet use. Where for 3 or 4 days before my periods I needed to take extra Sinemet to just be able to move (sometimes in order to be able to just get up out of bed), now I do not take any extra Sinemet. My regular med schedule works fine all month long. I really feel that getting rid of pms (yes I had that very bad before) has changed that one week a month in which I could eat (seemingly) a month's worth of Sinemet in just one week. If you think you are pre-menopausal or such you should have your hormone levels checked. And even if you are not, maybe you should talk with your doctors about estrogen therapy (or just mild birth control pills, if you are not already on them). One other thought. I know that some people can be at a cancer risk on birth control pills (my sister died from breast cancer and my daughter has tumors in her uterus), but for me the relief is worth the risk. As I stated before, if any women are having this type of problem, or have solved this problem please let me know. I have gone through the archives and continue to gather information about women and pd, especially women who have not finished menopause yet. "don't forget how to laugh, and do it often" [log in to unmask] http://members.tripod.com/~marling