Re: Some discussion points

[Barb_MSN <Barb_MSN@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

You've certainly got THIS Parkie taking an about-face in her
thinking, Dennis.   I'd never even questioned those "sacred
cow-type points" prior to your commentary, and welcome your
realistic (and prolly right on point) viewpoint.

Thanks Dennis for daring us to see reality for what it is.

Barb Mallut
barb_msn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Greene <dennisg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: PARKINSN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <PARKINSN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 10:58 AM
Subject: Some discussion points


>I have noticed a tendency of late to treat some far from certain
things
>about the cure as if they were articles of faith. These include:
>
>- The cure is coming soon
>
>- The cure will be found .
>
>- the cure will benefit everyone
>
>- the cure should be the paramount consideration of the PD
community
>
>- time is running out - we must have the cure now
>
>- And finally (the one I shall no doubt run foul of) - anyone who
disputes
>any of these is thinking negatively.
>
>I have no wish to start an argument but I would love to start an
exploration
>of these statements in the hope that should we find in practice
that any of
>them is not in fact true we will be better prepared to deal with
that
>reality. To this end I offer the following thoughts.
>
>## The cure is coming soon:
>
>Of course it depends on how you define 'soon' but I see the
following as
>indicators that the cure is still some years away.
>
>* they are still at the basic research stage with the most lines
of
>investigation - no-one has yet got past the 'this looks very
promising'
>stage. As the lead time from E Day (Eureka Day) to C Day (Cured
Day) is
>anything from 5 to 10 years we have that period of time still in
front of us
>AS A MINIMUM.  It could well be very much longer.
>
>* I would suggest that the medical establishment anticipates that
the
>cure will be some while yet. A strong indicator of this is the
>proliferation of centres performing PD surgery and the numbers of
doctors
>learning the techniques. You don't invest that much time money
and
>infrastructure unless you anticipate a return on your investment
over a
>reasonable period.
>
>## The cure will be found
>
>Again it depends on exactly how you define cure. If we are
talking about
>eradicating a disease so that it no longer exists then we are
really going
>up against the odds. I tried to think of how many and which
diseases
>medical science had eradicated and there aren't many - and most
of those
>were
>'cured' by preventing people getting them in the first place. If
the 'cure'
>for Pd falls into that category it will only occur after they
find the cause
>and wonderful as that will be it won't be of much help to those
of us
>already
>afflicted. As any cure of this nature is only likely to occur
after a cause
>has been found I would think it is a long way off yet.
>
>Any cure which will benefit those of us who already have PD will,
by
>definition, be one that cures the individual but does not remove
PD from the
>earth.  Which means that the often expressed wish - for the day
to come when
>we are cured and PD is no more - is meaningless unless we are
talking about
>two different days and two different cures.
>
>## The cure will benefit everyone
>
>This, as already discussed, will depend on what form it takes.  A
>preventative helps only those who don't yet have PD, an inhibitor
is better
>for those in the early stages than for those in the later, and so
on.
>
>## the cure should be the paramount consideration of the PD
community
>
>I believe that it is far from certain that the cure is imminent
and also
>that we do not know that it will be of equal benefit to all of
us.
>Consequently I believe that research into managing the disease
should have
>at least equal priority.  This type of research has the added
advantage that
>benefits flow from it continually as opposed to us all waiting on
a cure
>that will be some years yet and may be a great many years yet.
>
>##  time is running out - we must have the cure now
>
>I too would like to see a cure in my lifetime (preferably one I
can benefit
>from), but I have never quite worked out why so may of us seem to
think that
>it MUST happen in time to save THIS generation - what's so
special about us?
>
>## anyone who disputes any of these is thinking negatively.
>
>It is not negative to see things as they are.
>
>A positive attitude which exists by ignoring the realities is
really denial
>
>
>
>Dennis.
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Dennis Greene 49/dx 37/ onset 32
>There's nothing wrong with me that a cure for PD won't fix!
>email - dennisg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Website - 
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++