Friday, March 29, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
Ali and his fight
The former champion boxer Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1984 at the age of 42, and is one of the most high-profile people battling the condition. His brain injury could have been caused from repeated blows to the head.
The majority of cases of Parkinson's disease appear for no known reason, though some patients during the first world war were thought to have had viral infections.
Ali began showing symptoms of the disease soon after retiring from the boxing ring in 1981. But his condition was not diagnosed until three years later. By that stage he had developed tremors, his speech was slurred, and his body movements had become slow. Doctors prescribed drugs which alleviated the worst of his symptoms.
The first sign of Parkinson's disease is usually a tremor in one hand, but over time people with the condition find it harder to move. Their muscles stiffen and in severe cases people will feel locked in position.
The condition progresses unpredictably, and leads to other problems such as difficulty sleeping and depression.
Ali, who attended President Obama's inauguration ceremony earlier this year, is now unable to speak in public.
With modern treatments patients with Parkinson's disease usually have a normal life expectancy, though in long-term patients the decline in brain function can exacerbate other illnesses and so contribute to the eventual cause of death.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Muhammad Ali officially crowned “King of Boxing”
The event was attended by the head of the World Boxing Council, Jose
Sulaiman, along with former boxing champions such as Mexican Julio Cesar
Chavez.
Ali, who was accompanied by his wife Lonnie and who wore dark glasses, was led to a red velvet throne.
A sign in Spanish on a large-screen television read, “Welcome to Cancun, King of Boxing.”
WBC president Jose Sulaiman told the audience he had known Ali for
about 50 years, while the Ukrainian boxing legend Vitali Klitschko said
as a young boy he had been inspired to hear tales of the great man’s
brilliance.
But, because he lived in the then Soviet Union, it was impossible to see Ali in action.
“Sport brings the world together and any dream is possible,” said Klitschko, who finished by gently shaking Ali’s hand.
Those present then watched a video of Ali’s life, including his
gold-medal-winning performance at the 1960 Olympics which shot him to
prominence.
Formerly known as Cassius Clay, Ali’s extravagant style inside and out of the boxing ring led to him acquiring iconic status.
The boxer, who was renowned for his ‘Ali shuffle’ and fleet of foot,
won his first heavyweight title from Sonny Liston at the age of 22 and
recorded 56 wins in his 21-year career.
He was strongly criticised at the time for skipping the draft for the
US Army during the Vietnam War, famously saying: “Man, I ain’t got no
quarrel with them Viet Cong.”
Eventually, he was arrested and found guilty of evasion and stripped of his world title and boxing licence.
Although he avoided prison, he was out of action for four years while
he fought a successful appeal all the way up to the US Supreme Court.
Ali retired in 1981 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984.
