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Charlie & others, I rarely come out on the drug company side, but this time I am. The testing process for many potential PD drugs is handled by the PSG [PARKINSON'S STUDY GROUP] working out of New York state, [in Rochester, NY, if I remember correctly] which then farms the testing details out to various drug testing sites, primarily in teaching hospitals. The test are double blind [the patients and the site personnel do not know who gets the real thing, variants as far as dosages is concerned, and who gets only a strange pill shaped lump of sugar and fillers. I have been in two studies.The test site personnel seemed to be recording the results honestly. I do know of cases where a site employee fudged the protocol to keep his patients happy, but that is a rarity I hope. A problem can arise when site personnel and the drug company get too close for unbiased testing. PD is difficult to measure even with the uniform scales. Evaluation is still a clinical decision call rather than a set of chemistry lab reports. Will Will Johnnston A.P.D.A. DelMarVA Chapter Pres. 4049 Oakland School Road Salisbury MD 21804 USA 410-543-0110 ---------- From: Charlie Black <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Drug firms go all out... Date: Friday, July 30, 1999 9:51 AM As a participant in the Tasmar trials, and yes it works for me with no ill effects to date, I would like to speak in what I feel is the inherently flawed trials process. Basically it is this, having drug companies run their own trials, is patently ludicrous. The process to my mind is one geared to generating mountains of paper and statistics, with a certain KNOWING eye to suppress bad results and glorify the products. We have a wonderful array of medical schools that could do these studies, essentially completely blind IMHO, giving us more more accurate results. What kind of compensation does the neuro receive from the drug company to test? I think this compensation, monetary or otherwise, would tend to color anyone's objectivity. These are but a few of the things that trouble me about the process. I wish I had some answers. Charles Black 49 dx 1991