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Dennis, the discussion you started is evidence of a large communication gap between the researchers and the patient community that needs to be bridged. We members of the latter group simply don't know enough about what the former are doing to have any sense of how far off the "cure" is. I agree that there will be several "cures". Based on my limited understanding, I envision the following three forms, but no time frames: 1. Neuroprotective drugs which greatly slow the progress of the disease. If PD is diagnosed before the symptoms evolve beyond the minor nuisance stage, ideally it would be arrested at that point. I base this on an article by Dr. Olanow and the late Dr. Marsden, "The causes of Parkinson's disease are being unraveled and rational neuroprotective therapy is close to reality" in Annals of Neurology 1998;44(Suppl 1). The article states that "advancements in science have provided us with a rather daunting list of neuroprotective agents" that need to be tested for applicability to PD, so many that current clinical trial procedures will be a bottleneck. It seems implicit in this that quite a few years are needed for testing of these agents, not only because of the large number of agents to be tested, but also because of the time needed to verify that the rate of progress of neurodegeneration, which without such therapy is usually already rather slow, has gotten acceptably slower. Such therapy will arrive too late for use on you and me. 2. Neural growth factors applied so as to stimulate re-growth of degenerated tissue. Should the recent report of an autopsy of a growth factor trials subject, revealing no effect, be taken as discouraging? Maybe just a little tweeking is needed in order to make it work. Or maybe not. I have no infornmation. 3. Tissue transplants. I am encouraged by Jim Finn's experience. However, I don't see surgery as a procedure to apply to several million patients. Regarding the urgency, I understand two aspects. First there is the personal. I do not want to suffer in my old age, nor do I want anyone else to, if it can be avoided. Second is a cost-benefit projection. The figures that have been developed show that the costs of developing and administering the "cure" therapies will be significantly less than the costs of having PD under the present modes of therapy. It would be nice to be able to define and outline the remaining research tasks that lead to conquoring PD, showing their order, duration and cost. This would be the plan to conquor PD. To what extent it is possible to do this at all would be a good question to ask the researchers. Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ Age 61/dx 1990