Hi, =46rom time to time you will read about our European Parkinson's Action Network (EUROPAN). It is amazing that only 5 people from 5 counties can launch an initiative from scratch. We simply had the conviction that the national PD associations in Europe were too clumsy and slow to foster the= European reseach in PD. Within a few months we have achieved something: Due to letters, petitions and talks to members of the European Parliament= , Parkinson will be research priority within medical research projects financed through EU funds in the frame of the upcoming research programme= (ageing population projects). We have coverage in newspapers and TV We have remained independent from pharma industry and national associatio= ns We have established contacts to leading PD researchers We will participate in February at European Conference for promotion of research Preparation of official legal structure is under way I would be interested to know to what extent "PD networks for researchers= " do exist in USA. Is there any concerted research programme, or does ever= y university (public financed reserach) selects themes according to its interest. Any comment is appreciated. Dietmar Wessel (44/10) Germany