"Crystal Cathedral" ?
"Hour of Power" ?
    - and people still take him seriously ?

Quoting rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]>:

> Famed pastor says there's a cure for Parkinson's
> Robert Schuller is under scrutiny from medical experts and those suffering 
> from the disease.
> By JENNIFER MUIR
> The Orange County Register
> October 17, 2008
> GARDEN GROVE - Robert H. Schuller announced Sunday during an internationally
> 
> televised sermon at the Crystal Cathedral that his friend has discovered a 
> cure for Parkinson's disease, sparking a backlash among those who suffer 
> from the neurological disease and bewilderment among medical professionals.
> 
> Schuller was introducing a different guest for his "Hour of Power" sermon 
> when he made the announcement, promising his congregation that the medical 
> researcher would soon fly in from Pittsburgh "to share with us how God 
> helped him to discover a cure - that's the word they use - for Parkinson's 
> disease."
> But no one else in the medical community has heard about it.
> 
> "This is giving people false hope," said Bob Kendall, 48, who was diagnosed 
> seven years ago. "To me this is really sad. If there was a breakthrough and 
> a cure, it wouldn't be a televangelist announcing it, believe me. There are 
> a lot of people up in arms."
> 
> Neurological experts say they're not aware of any breakthrough. Dr. Neal 
> Hermanowicz, director of the movement disorder program in UCI's Department 
> of Neurology, said it would be unusual for such a discovery to remain a 
> secret, as promising work in progress is routinely presented and discussed 
> at medical conferences.
> 
> "I don't know of anybody anywhere in the world who is close to a cure for 
> Parkinson's disease," said Hermanowicz, who was first asked about Schuller's
> 
> sermon by a patient on Thursday.
> 
> "Usually if something big is about to occur, there's evidence presented at 
> our meetings," he said. "So if somebody has something really big it would be
> 
> unusual to have no inkling of it in advance."
> 
> Schuller told congregants that he learned about the breakthrough while at a 
> recent conference in Toronto for members of Horatio Alger, a nonprofit group
> 
> that honors community leaders who have achieved success "through honesty, 
> hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity," the group's Web 
> site says.
> 
> "One of my friends there is a famed researcher and he whispered to me, 'I've
> 
> done it,'" Schuller said during the sermon. "I said, 'You have?' I've known 
> him 20 years. He has discovered a cure to Parkinson's disease and he will be
> 
> with me here in person in a few weeks."
> 
> He did not disclose the researcher's name during his sermon, but a spokesman
> 
> confirmed Friday that the pastor was referring to Dr. Peter J. Jannetta, a 
> professor of neurosurgery and namesake of the Jannetta Center for Cranial 
> Nerve Disorders at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn.
> 
> The spokesman, Michael Nason, referred questions about the research to 
> Jannetta.
> A secretary for Jannetta said he was not available for comment.
> 
> "We want to be very cautious at this point on what we say further," Nason 
> said. "We think that this has tremendous, very positive ramifications, and 
> we want to take care that we help the doctor make sure that this is 
> responsibly reported."
> 
> In his sermon, Schuller said the research has been "triple-checked" and will
> 
> appear in the London-based medical journal Lancet. A representative for 
> Lancet declined to comment, saying that the journal's "peer-review process 
> and all correspondence with authors are confidential."
> 
> Parkinson's disease is caused by the degeneration of dopamine cells in the 
> brain. Symptoms include tremors, slow speech and a shuffling walk. More than
> 
> 1.5 million people across the U.S. suffer from the disease, according to the
> 
> American Parkinson's Disease Association.
> 
> There is no known cure, and recent research has primarily focused on finding
> 
> ways to slow its development, determine its cause and better treat the 
> symptoms, Hermanowicz said.
> 
> While he's not aware of Jannetta's expertise in Parkinson's research, 
> Hermanowicz said Jannetta is a known expert for surgeries that stop facial 
> twitching, and that the University of Pittsburgh is home to many 
> well-respected neurologists.
> 
> Kendall, who lives in Ashland, Ohio and is on disability because of the 
> disease, first heard about Schuller's announcement Monday, when he was 
> emailed a link to the "Hour of Power" webcast. Ever since, he's been calling
> 
> the Crystal Cathedral and Allegheny General Hospital for answers.
> 
> "Why would someone in his position stand up and say something like that?" 
> Kendall said. "It makes you angry."
> 
> Nason acknowledged the Crystal Cathedral has received phone calls about the 
> sermon from viewers suffering from Parkinson's, and cautioned people not "to
> 
> put a total answer on it without first finding out what the significance of 
> the paper is."
> 
> The church is hopeful Jannetta has found a cure, and they're looking forward
> 
> to him appearing as a guest on the show, Nason said.
> 
> Dixie Bullington, a 75-year-old paralegal who has Parkinson's, says she's 
> waiting to see proof.
> 
> "I'm not one to jump on something quickly just because somebody says it," 
> said Bullington of La Mirada. "I would want to see the research and talk to 
> the neurologist about it and see where the research came from..You would 
> think there would be some headlines in the paper about it if that were 
> true."
> 
> Hermanowicz learned about Schuller's announcement from a patient, and 
> offered some hopeful advice.
> 
> "I tell my patients that there is reason for optimism," he said. "It's of 
> intense interest and effort by a lot of very bright people.
> 
> "I don't know of a fix for Parkinson's disease that's foreseeable in the 
> immediate future, but there's a lot of effort going on around the world."
> Watch the video of Schuller's announcement here:
> 
> Click on the second segment, titled "Interview with Miroslav Volf."
> Register contributor Jane Glenn Haas contributed to this story.
> Contact the writer: (714) 796-7813 or [log in to unmask]
> 
> Rayilyn Brown
> Director AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
> [log in to unmask] 
> 
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