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I have noted the letters recently about statistics concerning the number of people with Parkinsons. They range from "one in 20 in the U.S." to "1,000,000 in the U.S." to "7,000,000 around the world," and from "60,000 in Canada" to "100,000 in Canada." As far as I know, there is no registry of Parkinsonians, and no firm numbers anywhere. They are all estimates. Some will be more accurate than others. I doubt that the statistics were part of the New England Journal of Medicine article, but were added by the news agencies. As a former newspaperman, I know that such numbers are pulled from archives to insert in stories, as background material. It would be nice if an authoritative body such as APDA, NPF or the Canadian Parkinsons Foundation would do a survey of neurologists around the county/world to get firm numbers on which to base the guesstimates. And it would be even nicer if all journalists would "cite your sources!" It's a basic rule of good reporting! Some time ago there was a proposal that a Parkinsons Registry be set up, but the subject was dropped when many people objected because of privacy concerns, etc.; without a registry, ccurate statistics are impossible. Alan E. Richards, London, Ont., Canada --