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Charles T. Meyer, M.D. wrote: > I think I may have misunderstood your initial point. I certainly haven't been clear. Charles T. Meyer, M.D. wrote: > As I said before however in the final analysis the value of the > procedure has to be evaluated on the basis of substantial clinical > improvement (or slowed deterioration) compared to a placebo. > Nothing else justifies the risks of that procedure. (fetal > transplant) as a regular treatment for PD. I recognize the power of placebos, but I wonder if there is a way around having to use placebo surgery. It would be silly to require placebo surgery to evaluate hand transplants or cosmetic surgery, because the results are right in front of our faces. (Ken Becker routine needed here!) PET scans were used following the fetal tissue transplants to record any increases in dopamine activity. In the not too distant future there may well be advances in imaging techniques that allow us a form of visual access by which we will see whether dopamine activity is due to the transplanted tissue itself. Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ age 61/dx 1990