[paula_w]

I'll just casually start a thread and share a few impressions - will certainly be back with more info.

We didn't have to talk about stem cells this year. We were briefed about it if it came up, but there is nothing being decided upon in the near future.

It was refreshing. The issues included:
#1 ASK - $55 milion for the NETRP - a top quality and efficient Neuro Toxin Exposure Research Program in the army.

This is PD specific due to types of militry injuries and illnesses. It has to have direct military application. Anything they learn they share. They have come to PAN every year I have been there. The NIH does not earmark money. This is a research program advocated for by PAN and may not survive without us. They got $20,000,000 and only $22,000,000 down rom 27 m. We need it to get back up into the 50's.

2. Fund the FDA - the ask is in the billions. They are swamped.

3. Fund the NIH -

more later - feel free to jump in anyone.

paula

[lou_lou]

ask them a question for me -

Ask them what qualifies an Epidemic?
Why isn't PD being considered an epidemic for neurodegenerative disease?
the numbers in the US are 50.000 diagnosis a year?
if the stats are correct, that is epidemic...

thank you~

[paula_w]

Hi Tena,

Don't know about epidemic but heard an interesting but uncorroborated story that a company is trying to get pD classifid an orphan disease by classifying the types = pd rigid without tremor as a separate orphan disease.


paula

[lou_lou]

Hold Your Horses: Impulsivity, Deep Brain Stimulation, and Medication in Parkinsonism
Michael J. Frank,1* Johan Samanta,2,3 Ahmed A. Moustafa,1 Scott J. Sherman3
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus markedly improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but causes cognitive side effects such as impulsivity. We showed that DBS selectively interferes with the normal ability to slow down when faced with decision conflict. While on DBS, patients actually sped up their decisions under high-conflict conditions. This form of impulsivity was not affected by dopaminergic medication status. Instead, medication impaired patients' ability to learn from negative decision outcomes. These findings implicate independent mechanisms leading to impulsivity in treated Parkinson's patients and were predicted by a single neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia.

1 Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
2 Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
3 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurolog...3?pfc=241&spc=