RugbyRebels

Cassius Clay / 'The Greatest'..aged 74.
Certainly the most iconic, charismatic, mesmerising and well-known sportsman of his time with ridiculous talent.
A sad decline due to Parkinson's but well loved and still carried great dignity.
R.I.P. The.Shuffle.was yours.

Just about my favourite ever sports person.

Utterly magnetic personality with the skill to back it up in the ring. A unique and unforgettable talent.

Not a shock but sad nonetheless.

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:Not a shock but sad nonetheless.

Indeed. A great man, let alone sportsman; a hackneyed phrase 'transcended sport' but true in his case.

Has it ever been established whether he had Parkinson's disease, or a set of symptoms that are similar but brought on by head trauma. KInda relevent to the investigations going on now. Maybe there is no differentiation with those who are unfortunate enough to be genetically disposed to the disease.

Banquo wrote:

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:Not a shock but sad nonetheless.

Indeed. A great man, let alone sportsman; a hackneyed phrase 'transcended sport' but true in his case.

Has it ever been established whether he had Parkinson's disease, or a set of symptoms that are similar but brought on by head trauma. KInda relevent to the investigations going on now. Maybe there is no differentiation with those who are unfortunate enough to be genetically disposed to the disease.

While many cases of PD have a familial component, very few are actually caused by identifiable heritable mutations. Diagnosis is pretty precise for those that have access to modern equipment and specialist expertise. Ali definitely had PD. The disease affects a very well characterised biochemical pathway and modern imaging techniques can quantify levels of the relevant markers in living patients. Ali had access to all the bells and whistles.

Hopefully he donated his brain for post mortem analysis.

morepork wrote:

Banquo wrote:

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:Not a shock but sad nonetheless.

Indeed. A great man, let alone sportsman; a hackneyed phrase 'transcended sport' but true in his case.

Has it ever been established whether he had Parkinson's disease, or a set of symptoms that are similar but brought on by head trauma. KInda relevent to the investigations going on now. Maybe there is no differentiation with those who are unfortunate enough to be genetically disposed to the disease.

While many cases of PD have a familial component, very few are actually caused by identifiable heritable mutations. Diagnosis is pretty precise for those that have access to modern equipment and specialist expertise. Ali definitely had PD. The disease affects a very well characterised biochemical pathway and modern imaging techniques can quantify levels of the relevant markers in living patients. Ali had access to all the bells and whistles.

Hopefully he donated his brain for post mortem analysis.

Fair enough, but was it prematurely brought upon by punching, would it have occurred at the same point anyway, or was it brought about by punching full stop? Isn't there something called Parkinson's syndrome, which has the symptoms, but isnt caused by some genetic thang?

I guess the other question is whether Ali did access all the bells and whistles too? I guess we won't know.

Less than 5% of PD cases are "genetic". Some environmental toxins can cause Parkinson's-like symptoms, some treatable others not. PD was in fact "discovered" via home brewed MPTP killing specific cells in the brain. Getting smacked in the head seems to be associated with early onset dementia rather than PD, but yeah, there certainly could be a risk element. Post mortem analyses will help distinguish it. Unfortunately we know so much about the normal function of the affected part of the brain yet so little about the causes of disease.

Ali definitely had access to the bells and whistles.

morepork wrote:Less than 5% of PD cases are "genetic". Some environmental toxins can cause Parkinson's-like symptoms, some treatable others not. PD was in fact "discovered" via home brewed MPTP killing specific cells in the brain. Getting smacked in the head seems to be associated with early onset dementia rather than PD, but yeah, there certainly could be a risk element. Post mortem analyses will help distinguish it. Unfortunately we know so much about the normal function of the affected part of the brain yet so little about the causes of disease.

Ali definitely had access to the bells and whistles.

I get he had access, was just asking if he used the access . Moot point though.

No. He and his family ignored it completely. The Parkinsons center he helped create in Arizona was just for shits and giggles.

A great anti-war activist, civil rights campaigner and social justice advocate too. One of the greats.

UGagain wrote:A great anti-war activist, civil rights campaigner and social justice advocate too. The greatest.

Fixed on his behalf.

Goodbye to a legend. RIP.

Ali to David Frost on how he hoped to be remembered.

He took a few cups of love.
He took one tablespoon of patience,
One teaspoon of generosity,
One pint of kindness.
He took one quart of laughter,
One pinch of concern.
And then, he mixed willingness with happiness.
He added lots of faith,
And he stirred it up well.
Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime,
And he served it to each and every deserving person he met

It's Richard Pryor,....so NSFW