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I have e-mail this to Augusta Chronicle & faxed it to WJBF TV, Augusta, GA Bonnie daughter of Jim 77/3 In a message dated 3/21/99 3:05:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: > > ***TUTU TO HELP PARKINSON'S DISEASE SUFFERERS*** > > South Africa's Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace > Laureate, Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor of Theology, Emory > University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA has offered to issue a prayer for all > those worldwide who are suffering from Parkinson's Disease to mark World > Parkinson's Awareness Month in April. > > The Archbishop offered to write a prayer for the occasion following a > telephone conversation and a long emailed letter from Ivan Suzman, > Portland, Maine, who has advanced Young Onset Parkinson's. Suzman, a > disabled anthropologist, (and formerly a leading anti-apartheid activist) > has become a Parkinson's activist and a member of the Parkinson > Information Exchange Network (PIEN), an internet discussion list, > notified members of the list of the Archbishop's willingness to "do > something for those suffering from Parkinson's". Later, Tutu's office > notified the listowner, Barbara Patterson, another Young Onset" > Parkinsonian and a secretary at McMaster University School of Nursing, > Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, that the Archbishop had decided that his > prayer will be issued through PIEN. > Patterson's internet list has more than 1,800 subscribers in 36 countries. > > Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic, slowly progressive neurological > condition that affects a small area of cells in the mid brain known as > the substantia nigra. Gradual degeneration of these cells causes a > reduction in a vital chemical known as "dopamine". This decrease in > dopamine can produce one or more of the classic signs of Parkinson's > Disease. > > Although an estimated 15% of patients are diagnosed before age 50, PD is > generally considered a disease which targets older adults. Parkinson's > disease affects up to 10%, in some populations, of those persons over the > age of 60. To date, there is no known prevention or cure for Parkinson's > Disease. > > Notable persons with the disease include Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, > American Attorney General, Janet Reno, Gandhi photographer Margaret > Bourke-White and actor Michael J. Fox. > > =========================================================================== > Barbara Patterson [log in to unmask] > HSC 2J22 905-525-9140, ext. 22403 > School of Nursing > =========================================================================== > >