hi all
if anyone wants to use this message in 'spreading the word', feel free
janet
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Tutu Offers Prayer for Parkinson's Disease Awareness
1999/04/07: South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu is writing a prayer for
all those suffering from Parkinson's Disease (PD), to mark World
Parkinson's Awareness Month in April, and World Parkinson's Day on April 11.
April 11th is the birthday of James Parkinson, the English physician, who
in 1817 was the first to describe the symptoms of PD.
Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Laureate, Robert W. Woodruff
Visiting Professor of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia,
offered his support following communications with Ivan Suzman, a former
South African now living in Portland, Maine.
Suzman, 49, was diagnosed with 'Young Onset' Parkinson's Disease (YOPD)
over ten years ago.
A former anti-apartheid activist, he is no longer able to work full time in
his chosen profession, anthropology, but has been able to transfer his
now-limited energies into activism towards promoting awareness of
Parkinson's Disease, primarily through his membership in the Parkinson
Information Exchange Network (PIEN), an internet discussion list.
Since the PIEN, established in 1993 by another YOPD, Barbara Patterson, of
Hamilton, Ontario, currently boasts over 1800 members in 36 countries
worldwide, Tutu's office concluded that the on-line support group would be
the best means of issuing and distributing his prayer for Parkinson's.
Parkinson's Disease is a chronic, progressive movement disorder caused by
the gradual 'dying off' of brain cells in an area known as the substantia
nigra.
When plentiful, these cells produce a neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is
critical to normal movement.
The shortage of dopamine manifests as one or more of the classic symptoms
of PD - tremor, muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, and balance
difficulties.
To date, there is no known prevention or cure for PD; current
pharmacological and surgical treatments can only minimize PD's symptoms.
Although PD is generally considered a disease of adults, an estimated 15%
of PD patients are diagnosed before age 50, while in some countries, PD
strikes up to 10% of all people over the age of 60.
Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, U.S. Attorney-General Janet Reno, Gandhi
photographer Margaret Bourke-White, evangelist Billy Graham, and actor
Michael J. Fox are all sufferers of Parkinson's Disease.
Archbishop Tutu's prayer for Parkinson's will be issued by the end of this
week through these same channels.
This announcement is provided by members of the Parkinson Information
Exchange Network.
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janet paterson - 52 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada
[log in to unmask]
Scan some of My Past Posts at:
http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm
Mine the PD List Archives at:
http://james.parkinsons.org.uk/
Cull Nine Million Pub-Med Medical Studies at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
Comb the 'People With Parkinson's' Web-Ring at:
http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=parkie;list
