Health committee  I think you're absolutely right that these things are done, but not systematically. They're done and people in their fields know about things, but what's really remarkable here is that it's being done very systematically.

Health committee  I think that would be a start. If you look at funding in Canada for basic research, we're really lagging. Per researcher, per capita, the National Institutes of Health spends about five times more for basic research than the equivalent in Canada, than the CIHR. We make up for it by having these different streams, for instance these networks of centres of excellence.

Health committee  Maybe I can have a crack at that one. That's a fantastic question. That's a question that's at the centre of a lot of the research that's going on. Clearly, as you've heard today, there are almost certainly environmental factors, maybe pesticides, maybe other factors, and hopefully we'll have some answers about those, but you're absolutely right: people living in the same house who are doing the same work, one gets Parkinson's and the next person doesn't.

Health committee  Sort of. You said it much better.

Health committee  That division between basic research and applied research in clinical settings is very artificial, and I believe that both types of research go hand in hand. This is something we do quite well in Canada, and so I do not think that there is a real conflict or debate. Certain physicians are more interested in doing clinical or applied research, but my personal conviction is that ultimately, especially given the explosion of these neurodegenerative diseases, if we really want to see the end of these problems, the answers will come from basic research.

Health committee  In our clinic, when we see patients, we always give them all of the necessary information to communicate with Parkinson Society Canada and the one in Quebec. And so the information exists, but as you say, a lot of people prefer to keep things to themselves. And so there is a gap between what is offered and the way in which people deal with the disease.

Health committee  I was alluding to a specific kind of sleep disorder. Normally, when we're sleeping there's a part of our sleep where we have these vivid dreams; it's called REM sleep. We've all had these dreams where we're running away from people, or falling—

Health committee  The body has a way to protect you when you have dreams; it paralyzes you. Otherwise, what happens in these patients is that the system fails. So when they're dreaming they're running away, they're moving around, thrashing around. Sometimes they injure themselves and fall out of bed, sometimes they injure their partners.

Health committee  That could be part of it, but it's mostly the failure to be paralyzed during these vivid dreams. It's like living out your dreams literally.

Health committee  That's right.

Health committee  I will be asking Dr. Hu to buy a copy of my new CD now.

Health committee  I'd like to underscore what Dr. Hu said. I think that in Canada we're very good at discovery research. We do a lot of basic outstanding research. But the next step is to turn research discoveries into innovation. Innovation involves a lot more than just finding things; it involves transforming things into what will help patients.

Health committee  Indeed, the disease has several stages. Generally, the patients who are good candidates for that procedure are those whose disease is relatively advanced, but not too much so. Good candidates are those in whom we observe a lot of fluctuations. As you know, most patients are treated with medications and experience fluctuations.

Health committee  There is no doubt that lack of funding is a large part of the problem. I can talk about our own experience. We were forced to create a special budget for the stimulators, which can cost up to $25,000 each. They are expensive, but Mr. Simmonds said that medication costs $25,000. Which is to say that over the long term, this equipment may not be a bad investment.

Health committee  Certainly.