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The Autumn 1998 issue of the NPF "Parkinson Report", which just arrived here, contains a number of articles summarizing recent promising research. There is also an article about drug development that outlines the long process - about 10 years - usually required to get from the initial research to the time a drug is available. Among the research articles is one about Coenzyme Q10, which is both an antioxident and a component of cell energy generation. My neurologist already recommends taking it, along with a few other antioxidents. Oxidation is now recognized as part of the disease process in PD and other neurodegenerative diseases, and numerous antioxidents are readily available as dietary supplements. Some of them are thought to retard the process of neurodegenration. About two weeks ago I ran across the web page of an ALS patient, Steven Shackel, who appears to have had some success in dealing with his condition using an antioxident in combinaion with dietary changes. He appears to be genuine, not a snake-oil salesman, he has done a lot of research, and, to the degree that neurodegeneration is similar in ALS and PD, he has much info to offer that is useful to us. See http://www.goulburn.net.au/~shack. He begins with this optimistic question: If doctors know so little about ALS, how can they be so certain of their grim prognoses? I didn't seem to stimulate much interest when I posted something about Shackel's webs site then, so I am trying again. It's really worth looking into. It seems to me a reasonable gamble to use antioxidents now, and not wait for the results of the scientific investigation. If it turns out that I have been taking something that 10 years from now proves to be beneficial, I'll be that much ahead, and maybe I will have kept dementia at bay for a while longer. That doesn't sound too crazy, does it? Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ age 61/dx 1990