Last December, Joe Irr, the worldwide sales manager for Sinemet advised the
list of stories from France and Italy that the Pope was taking Sinemet.
Speculation has arisen again.

This is the story, that Reuters carried last week.

After appendectomy, Papal trembling in spotlight
05:42 Oct 14, 1996

VATICAN CITY, Oct 14 (Reuter) - Now that Pope John Paul has undergone a
successful appendectomy, Vatican officials are privately debating if, when,
and who should disclose what is causing his left hand to tremble violently
and uncontrollably.

In the past few weeks, the Vatican has not denied a string of media reports
-- mostly in France and Italy -- that the 76-year-old Pontiff may be suffering
from Parkinson's disease or a related neurological disorder.

The Vatican has never mentioned the trembling or what may be causing it in any
of the medical bulletins issued since August, when the Pope underwent hospital
checks for abdominal pain.

The problem was most recently painfully evident in the last public
appearance the Pontiff made before entering hospital on October 6. His left
hand trembled much more violently than in the past and was recorded by the
world media.

The Pope also sometimes appears to suffer from rigidity of the facial
muscles and a slow stooped gait -- which can also be symptoms of Parkinson's
or a related disorder.

Church sources said that after the October 6 ceremony more Vatican officials
supported the view that a public statement should be issued.

They prefer a comprehensive statement similar to that released on
September 14 which disclosed that the Pope's abdominal problems were
caused by an inflamed appendix.

Some Vatican officials, however, say health is a very private matter and
that ultimately the Pope himself would decide together with his closest aides.

The Vatican has always been reluctant to disclose details of the Pope's
health, citing tradition.

But in August Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, a trained doctor,
began suggesting to reporters that the Pope may suffer from some type of
``extrapyramidal'' neurological disorder.

Although the term has never been included in any medical bulletin about
the Pope, Navarro-Valls' words appeared to be a policy change. The trembling,
which first appeared some four years ago, earlier had been been explained as
being caused by nerve damage suffered in a 1981 assassination attempt.

``Extrapyramidal'' refers to the part of the central nervous system situated
outside the pyramidal tract in the brain stem.

The pyramidal tract is a bundle of motor nerve fibres and doctors say
Parkinson's is one type of extrapyramidal illness.

Parkinson's is a nervous disease that spreads slowly through the body,
causing trembling of limbs and head. Its symptoms can be partially
suppressed by drugs as it advances.

At a news conference last Tuesday following the operation, Professor
Francesco Crucitti, the chief surgeon, sidestepped a barrage of questions
about whether the Pope has Parkinson's or a related ``extrapyramidal''
neurological disorder.

But he indirectly acknowledged that a problem existed and that the Pope
was being treated.

``There are specialists who are following him. This is not my field,''
Crucitti said in a reference that appeared to be the first public official
indication from a member of the Pope's medical team that his symptoms are
being monitored.

Asked to elaborate, a well-placed medical source at the hospital said last
week: ``We are trying to do everything possibile to favour the positive
evolution of this situation.''

Doctors have been talking more openly, albeit generically, about the
problem.

``Neurology is not my specialisation,'' Papal anaesthetist Corrado
Manni said last week, adding that people should not connect it with a
possible decline in mental abilities.

``Parkinson's Disease is one thing, Alzheimer's Disease is another,''
said Manni. Alzheimer's is a progressive degenerative ailment that
impairs memory, thinking and behaviour.


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