Summary: In a recent study researchers found that about 82% of Americans believe that the health care system in America needs to be reformed. 90% believed that the presidential candidates need to develop health care reform plans to improve the quality and coverage of health care. 90% also believe that it is important to have one doctor responsible for their primary care and for coordinating care with specialists. 90% also reported believing that having access to their medical records, and doctors having the same access was important.

Comment: Parkinson's disease requires the best medical care possible, and many people in America do not believe that they are getting the level of care that they need. People with Parkinson's, and all other people in America, can affect their health care system by contacting their representatives and voicing their concerns and thoughts about the current health care system.

Summary: Researchers examined the death rates from the incorrect use of prescriptions in the home, called FMEs. There are four types of FMEs as classified by the researchers. Type one is the domestic use of prescriptions with street drugs or alcohol, which has increased by 3,196% between 1983 and 2004. Type 2 is the domestic use of prescriptions without drugs or alcohol, which has increased 5%. Type 3 is the non-domestic use of prescriptions with drugs or alcohol, and has increased 564%, and type 4 is the non-domestic use of prescriptions without drugs or alcohol, and has increased by 555%.

Comment: While many of the medications involved were safe in a clinical setting is has been suggested that they are more dangerous when used at home, since an incorrect dose or use with drugs or alcohol are more likely. It is suggested that more research is done about the safety of medications at home or work and that patients are especially careful when taking prescriptions at home.

Summary: With proper stimulation adult stem cells can produce new brain cells to replace those lost to disease or injury. Scientists have newly discovered that these cells exist in a different part of the brain that commonly believed and that they are, in fact, the ependymal cells that line the ventricles in the brain and spinal cord instead of cells in the subventricular zone.

Comment: Researchers note that knowing the precise location of these cells is cruical when attempting to develop stem cell based therapies. This research also lays the groundwork for therapies in which a patients own stem cells can produce neurological cells.

Summary: A collaboration between neurologists and a pharmocologist has led to interesting connections between blood-related genetic mechanisms and Parkinson's disease. It has been discovered that genetic mechanisms at play in blood cells also control a gene and protein that cause Parkinson's disease. Patients with Parkinson's disease were shown to have elevated levels of the alpha-synuclein protein in their brain. Clumping of this protein causes the death of neurons and produces the brain chemical dopamine.

Comment: The discovery of this link and the data and new knowledge collected from this study has given scientists a molecular switch that may trigger Parkinson's disease.

Summary: A new study shows that most people, about 78%, do not completely understand their doctor's instructions upon leaving the emergency room. Many of these people, about 80%, also are not aware that they do not comprehend all of the instructions given. 34% of the comprehension deficits were in the category of post emergency department care, meaning that one-third of the people in the study did not completely know what to do when the got home from the hospital.

Comment: Follow-up care after leaving the emergency room is very important to the recovery of the patient. If they do not fully understand their instructions they could encounter complications. People should always be careful to completely understand their doctor’s instructions, whether leaving the emergency room or just a normal checkup, to be sure that they will receive the best care possible.

Summary: Tremor is quite a common symptom in Parkinson's patients. However, only recently have scientists been able to discover the mechanisms by which these tremors occur. Tremors are caused by neuron clusters in the depths of the brain.

Comment: This new discover supports current treatment research centering around deep brain stimulation therapy. New deep brain pacemakers may be able to help Parkinson's patients on a large scale by 2009.

Summary: A healthy lifestyle is the key to treating, preventing, or lessening the effects of almost every disease and condition. These ten tips are designed to help build a healthier body and lifestyle.

Comment: Tips include: walking 20 to 30 minutes a day, for weight loss, eating "black" foods, such as black mushrooms or licorice, to prevent cancer, heart disease, and slow aging, and preventing dimensia by treating hypertension.

Summary: A new therapy, called deep brain stimulation, has great potential in relieving or eliminating tremors. The therapy works through the implantation of an electrode which then delivers mild electrical signals deep in the brain. This stimulation reorganizes the brain's own electrical impulses.

Comment: Deep brain stimulation has been called a "pacemaker for the brain". This therapy has also been used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and debilitating headaches. It has also become an approved treatment for Parkinson's patients who no longer respond to drugs or who experience severe side effects.

Summary: The Parkinson's Disease Foundation is awarding $950,000 in seed grants for 2008-2009 to its International Research Grants and Fellowships Program. This will support the research of 19 Parkinson's scientists.

Comment: The 19 scientists chosen for the grants are were chosen from a group of 100 and are all doing important research for those with Parkinson's. Two of the scientists chosen are working on herbal therapies, one is doing extensive animal research, and the rest are varied in their approaches to researching Parkinson's. By providing these grants the Parkinson's Disease Foundation is continueing to help those with Parkinson's.

Summary: Standard neurological tests should become part of physicians routine examination of older adults. The exams can become windows into future brain health, allow doctors to prevent disease in those at risk.

Comment: Researchers know that these exams will be extremely beneficial to patients and allow physicians to better understand the health of those they treat. They may also gain more knowledge about the development of these diseases overtime.