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I think avoiding the use of the word 'disease' when referring to parkinsonism is a good idea if the word offends people. My parkinsonian father prefers that I not use the term to describe his ... ailment?, malady? infirmity?, affliction?, condition?, situation? It seems to me, however, that in coining the word disease someone was offering a relatively kinder and gentler word (dis- ease describes at least some of the symptoms quite well). Only later (maybe during some epidemic like the black plague) has the term disease taken on the connotation of a festering, contagious illness. It's a little disappointing that perfectly good words become inappropriate in this way. DD