Keeping The Promise

A Message from The Executive Director

For someone such as myself who works in the great cause of ending a disease, only one New Year’s resolution matters: to do our job better, faster, more effectively. Which leads to an important question: how, at the beginning of 2003, are we doing? Are we “winning”? And if not, why not?

First, we need to understand that there is no one thing, no single “magic bullet,” that will get us to our goal of ending Parkinson’s forever. The solution is more likely to be found in a bundle of five or six complementary strategies, each one performing a crucial role and supporting the effectiveness of the others.

One way of illustrating this point is to take the image of an “all-star” team based on examples from other disease-related causes: the scientific genius of a Jonas Salk (polio); the dedicated celebrity of a Jerry Lewis (muscular dystrophy); the public service flair of an Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health (AIDS); the grassroots network – sometimes described as “boots on the ground” – of a March of Dimes (birth defects); the private research leadership of a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Type-2 diabetes); and the public financial commitment that was represented decades ago by the War on Cancer.

How do we in Parkinson’s match up on the scale of this all-star team? Not badly.

The quality and quantity of our science – whether measured by the number of promising research pathways to be pursued or by the number and talent of the serious researchers who are pursuing them -- is at an all-time high.

Our public awareness has reached new heights, thanks to the considerable, serious constructive, intelligent contributions of public figures such as Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox and Janet Reno.

Government leadership, though not always consistent, received a major boost during the two-year tenure of Dr. Gerald Fischbach at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It also shows big promise in the appointment to the top NIH spot of Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who has already demonstrated a keen interest in Parkinson’s as a “role model” for the agency’s approach to specific disease entities.

Then there are the “boots on the ground “ – the grassroots Parkinson’s juggernaut that led us to the ground-breaking Morris K. Udall bill on 1997 and is now under the able leadership of the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN). PAN is poised to work with dozens of state and local groups in the creation of the first nationwide grassroots organization in Parkinson’s history.

For private research leadership, we have a record level of contributions from PDF, the NPF, APDA and the admirable Michael J. Fox Foundation. Last year, almost $20 million was poured into research by these organizations and the level is rising despite the recession.

It is in the area of public contributions, more than any other, that we have cause for concern. After five years of spectacular increases that have resulted in a near-doubling of the budget of the National Institutes of Health, our prospects for future growth are clamped in a pincer movement from recession on the one hand and deficit budgets on the other. Budget increases for the next several years are going to be much harder won than they were in the past several. And that’s where you – our readers, our members, our donors – come in. If the research gains are to continue, we are all going to have to learn to work harder, more cannily and more creatively. PDF is proud and determined to play a leadership role in this mix of organizations, issues and challenges.

For suggested advocacy activities, watch for PAN’s newsletters and read their regular column in PDF News & Review. Support our research (you can ensure there’s no overhead charge by choosing to designate your gift to the James Parkinson Research Fund.) Stay optimistic. Call us if you have any questions. And accept our very best wishes for a comfortable and fulfilling spring season.