Parkinson

On June 3, 2007, WILLIAM E. BENDER, JR., "Bill", beloved husband of the late Jackie Bender (nee Dierksen) loving father of Carole Brokos and the late Terry Bender, cherished "Pop" of Amy Bender and Lauren Kimmell; great-grandfather of Jacqueline and Paul; father-in-law of John Brokos, Jr., and Angie Bender; dear brother of Delores Metcalf and Barbara Gondeck; loving brother-in-law of Karl and Karen Dierksen. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, family members and friends. Relatives and freinds may call at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME INC., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus on Monday from 6 to 9 P.M. Graveside service will be held Saturday, May 9, 10 A.M., at Loudon Park Cemetery.

A new political ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox - his body jerking uncontrollably from Parkinson's disease - has touched off an unusual war of celebrity sound bites against the backdrop of the World Series. St. Louis Cardinals fans watching the first game of the baseball championship last week saw Fox, wracked with tremors, urging them to vote for Missouri's Democratic candidate for Senate, Claire McCaskill, who backs a ballot measure to protect embryonic stem cell research. In response, opponents of the measure rushed to assemble their own celebrity commercial.

The first studies of human gene therapy for Parkinson's disease have shown that the technique is safe and can reduce symptoms for patients, two groups of researchers have reported. Each of the 24 patients who received therapy in the two separate trials received some benefit and none had any significant side effects, researchers reported at neuroscience meetings Tuesday and last week. Gene therapy has a tarnished reputation because of problems encountered in trials against other diseases, said Katie Hood, deputy chief executive of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

On Monday, February 13, 2006, devoted husband of Ruth (nee Mordes) loving father of Ellen, Diane, Carla, Blythe, David and Susan. Also survived by 14 grandchildren. Graveside service will be held at Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD, on Friday, February 17 at 10 A.M. Please omit flowers. Contributions may be made in his memory to the American Parkinson's Disease Association, 135 Parkinson Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10305. The family will be in mourning at his late residence Saturday evening thru Monday.

BERDINA W. WILLIAMS died January 14, 2006, in Boca Raton, FL, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease. She is survived by one son, Michael Wilkins; two daughters, Roni B. Young and Wendy W. Douglas ; two sons in-law, C. Wayne Young and William Douglas and four grandsons, Brian A. Broden and Blair A. Young and Nicholas R. and Joshua W. Douglas. Cremation has taken place. A Memorial Service is scheduled for Saturday, January 28, 2006 at St. James Episcopal Church, 829 N. Arlington Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217 at 1 P.M. Family hour 12 to 1 P.M. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations to the National Parkinson's Foundation, Inc., 1501 NW, 9th Avenue, Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494.

On December 25, 2005, EMMA M. (nee Fliener) BLAZEK; beloved wife of the late Edward E. Blazek; devoted mother of Carl and Garey Blazek; devoted sister of Henry Fliener, Mary Sheckert and the late Charles Fliener. Also survived by five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Funeral Services and Interment were private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Parkinson Disease Center, John's Hopkins Out Patient Center, 601 N. Caroline Street, suite 5064, Baltimore, MD 21287.

HAVANA -- Rebutting reports that he is suffering from Parkinson's disease, Cuban President Fidel Castro told the nation in a televised speech ending early yesterday that he is feeling "better than ever." Dressed in his trademark combat fatigues, a seemingly fit Castro stood at a platform for close to six hours and joked about an American intelligence assessment that he may be suffering from Parkinson's and could deteriorate in coming years. "They have tried to kill me off so many times," Castro said.

NEW YORK -- A novel gene therapy technique is safe and effective at staving off worsening symptoms of Parkinson's disease, according to the first scientific review of a dozen patients who have received the treatment over the last two years. The patients are in advanced stages of the illness and were no longer responding to medicines when they signed on for the experimental therapy. On Monday, one of the study investigators, Dr. Andrew Feigin of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., told colleagues at a meeting on movement disorders in San Diego that there have been no problems with the technique, and that patients had a 27 percent improvement in symptoms.

Women who have had their ovaries removed are twice as likely to later develop Parkinson's disease, according to new research. The Mayo Clinic said the increased risk may be the result of losing the natural, brain-protecting effect of estrogen, and preliminary data suggest that risk also may apply to Alzheimer's disease. The study, presented Wednesday at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., is the first to show a direct link between Parkinson's and ovary removal, a procedure known as an oophorectomy, said lead author Walter Rocca.

Although recent reports of Pope John Paul II's medical condition have focused on a series of seemingly separate ailments, doctors say his downward spiral likely stems from a larger problem - his long struggle with Parkinson's disease. In the past month, the 84-year-old Pontiff has suffered from breathing, swallowing and speech problems. He has had a breathing tube installed in his windpipe and a feeding tube passed through his nose into his stomach. He speech became so labored he managed to emit only a rasp while blessing pilgrims, then he was unable to speak at all. Doctors say such problems are common among those in the advanced stages of Parkinson's, progressive disease that destroys nerves controlling movement.