Sonia Rykiel attends the Sonia Rykiel Ready to Wear S/S 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week at Halle Freyssinet on Oct. 1, 2011, in Paris.

(Credit:Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

(CBS News) French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel reveals in her new book that she has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the last 15 years.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, Rykiel, whose symptoms are becoming more visible, writes in “N’oubliez pas que je joue”(“Don’t Forget It’s A Game”), “I don’t want to show my pain. I resisted, I hesitated, I tried to be invisible, to pretend that nothing was wrong. It’s impossible, it’s not like me.”

The 81-year-old designer and her colleagues worked hard to conceal her illness. She was not allowed to be photographed with the cane that she had been using for several years, she confesses in the book, according to WWD.

The book, which is co-written with French journalist Judith Perrignon and published by L’Iconoclaste, is available now.

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, nearly one million Americans are living with Parkinson’s disease.

Legendary boxing champion Muhammad Ali is one of those million.  Rasheda Ali, one of his daughters, spoke with Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor for FoxNews.com, about her father’s struggles and her work to find a cure through stem cells.

Muhammad Ali was diagnosed in 1984, but Rasheda said she noticed early signs of the disease in a tape of one of his last fights in 1981.  She said the early years of his diagnosis were particularly trying for her and her family.

“It’s really nice that now we have so many resources and materials and information,” Rasheda said.  “But back in the ‘80s, we had nothing.  We were literally embarking on this tragedy, because we didn’t know what we were going into.  It was hard for us.”

Because Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, Rasheda witnessed her dad slowly deteriorate over the years, all the while not really understanding what was happening to him.  But after years of struggle, Rasheda said her father is currently doing great and is now focusing intently on his lifestyle.

“He takes care of himself, even now,” Rasheda said.  “Physical therapy is very important for people who have neurocognitive disorders.  He’s in the gym regularly.”

In an attempt to help find a cure for her father, Rasheda has collaborated with a biotech company called “BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics,” which has been experimenting with stem cell treatment on patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Through their efforts, many of these patients’ symptoms have greatly improved, and the degenerative properties of the disease have started to slow.

“If you can have these incredible results for what I think is the most severe…neurocognitive disease there is, what kind of promise will they do down the pipeline for other neurocognitive diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s?” Rasheda said.

After seeing the amazing results this company has achieved, Rasheda is convinced that stem cells hold the key to treating these diseases in the future.  

To find out more about stem cell clinical trials, visit brainstorm-cell.com.

Grace Sourapas was a beauty queen, a vibrant woman whose life revolved around her family. The Southern California native was always on the go, first raising her six kids, then playing a role in the lives of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

When she started slowing down, it was more than just age that kept her from her busy life. It took several doctors to finally pinpoint the diagnosis: Multiple system Atrophy.

The past six years have been a nightmare, said granddaughter Ashley Sourapas. MSA has completely crippled Grace, reducing her to a whisper of her former self.

“Much of the medical field doesn’t know about (MSA),” Ashley said. “The numbers would be higher but people are being misdiagnosed when they really have MSA.”

Without a celebrity to raise awareness, the 23-year-old University of La Verne student has taken up the mantle to draw attention to research and support of the families of people diagnosed with MSA.

For her senior project, Ashley has created Saving Grace for family members and victims to connect and share vital information on their own experiences about medical professionals, in-home care and daily strides and struggles, according to the website.

“My goal is to spread awareness and to support families and caregivers because you get bounced around from doctors and you might not be sure how to go about it,” she said.

The public relations and affairs major wanted to use her senior project not just as a platform for awareness, but also to raise funds for researching a cure.

“For the project I had to do something PR-based and this is something I’ve had a dream of doing, of spreading awareness for my grandmother,” Ashley said.

“It’s a perfect marriage of something I’ve wanted to do and something I needed to do.”

Saving Grace will have a Cocktails for a Cause event from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 30, at Chase’s Bar and Bistro in downtown La Verne, 2136 third St. Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to MSA research, Ashley said.

Increasing exposure

Saving Grace also teamed up with Tim’s Shoe, a one-time prank that turned into a globe-trotting champion for MSA awareness.

A Facebook page tracks the travels of a Nike shoe festooned with ribbons, buttons and other mementos.

As a host of Tim’s Shoe, daily photographs are taken with local landmarks and posted on the page.

The shoe also travels with a journal, where hosts can write an entry about their own efforts to raise awareness and the struggle of living with or having a loved one with MSA.

The city of La Verne also issued a proclamation, declaring March as MSA Awareness Month.

Toll of disease

For her part, Ashley says that watching her grandmother Grace struggle with the disease has been difficult for her family.

“My grandmother can’t do anything, it’s crippled everything,” she said. “She gets dementia and sees things that aren’t there, it’s basically a worst nightmare of a disease.”

Multiple system Atrophy is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects multiple body systems, according to MSAawareness.org. Patients are commonly misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which is much more common but has significant differences, said Dr. Jack Florin of Fullerton Neurology, the doctor who first diagnosed Grace with MSA.

Symptoms of MSA often include a slowness of movement, inability to speak loudly, bladder problems and dizziness or fainting while standing. Where Parkinson’s patients have pronounced tremors, though, MSA patients typically do not, Florin said.

“All patients who have (Parkinson’s) respond to levodopa,” a drug used to treat movement disorders, the doctor said. “Most patients with MSA do not, or the response is partial and short-lived.”

Primarily affecting people in middle age, there are no known hereditary factors and no approved medical treatment to slow or cure the disease. The average course of the disease has been tracked at about 10 years.

“You can only treat symptoms and only in a limited way,” Florin said. “There’s medications that can help, physical therapy can help but later in the course nothing really helps.”

“It’s heart-wrenching to be around my grandma and grandpa,” Ashley said. “She is ready to go, she says, `it’s just a disease,’ but my grandpa is devastated and still looking for a cure.”

For more information about Saving Grace or the Cocktails for a Cause event on Friday, March 30, click here or send email to .

626-962-8811, ext. 2472

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(CBS/AP) Medicines generally have side effects, but once in awhile the side effects may treat other conditions. Viagra after all, was originally a blood pressure medicine. Amantadine, an old flu medicine approved in the 1960s, was found a few years later to improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. now a new study shows the drug may also speed recovery from severe brain injuries.

The study, published Mar. 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved 184 patients who had severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes. about a third were in a vegetative state (unconscious but with periods of wakefulness) and the rest were minimally conscious.

The patients were randomly assigned to receive amantadine or a placebo daily for four weeks. They were treated within one to four months after getting injuried – a period when a lot of patients get better on their own, according to study author Joseph Giacino, a neurologist at Boston’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

The researchers found both groups made small but significant improvements, but the rate of recovery was faster in the group getting amantadine. changes included the ability to give yes-and-no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush. Of the patients who received amantadine, only 17 percent remained in a vegetative state, versus 32 percent of those who received the dummy drug.

When treatment stopped, recovery in the amantadine group slowed and two weeks later, the level of recovery in the two groups was about the same.

The study was short, and the effect on long-term outcome is unknown. But Giacino said the drug still has value even if it only hastens recovery. The study also didn’t include those with penetrating head injuries, like the gunshot wound former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords suffered, but Giacino said the drug should have similar effects in those patients. whether it would work in patients with brain injuries not caused by trauma, such as a stroke, isn’t known.

“This drug moved the needle in terms of speeding patient recovery, and that’s not been shown before,” Giacino said. “It really does provide hope for a population that is viewed in many places as hopeless.”

Many doctors began using amantadine for brain injuries years ago, but until now there’s never been a big study to show that it works.

Doctors first had an inkling that the inexpensive generic amantadine might have other uses a few years after its approval when it appeared to improve Parkinson’s symptoms in nursing home patients. it was found to have an effect on the brain’s dopamine system, whose many functions include movement and alertness, and it was eventually approved for Parkinson’s.

It’s now commonly used for brain injuries, and the researchers felt it was important to find out “whether we’re treating patients with a useful drug, a harmful drug or a useless drug,” said study author Dr. John Whyte, director of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in suburban Philadelphia.

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury. Falls, car crashes, colliding with or getting hit by an object, and assaults are the leading causes. about three-quarters are concussions or other mild forms that heal over time. But about 52,000 people with brain injuries die each year and 275,000 are hospitalized, many with persistent, debilitating injuries, according to government figures.

The study didn’t include those with penetrating head injuries, such as gunshot wounds, but Giacino said the drug should have similar effects in those patients. whether it would work in patients with brain injuries not caused by trauma, such as a stroke, isn’t known.

A neurologist who wasn’t involved in the research called it an important step. But many questions remain, including whether people less severely injured would benefit, and whether amantadine actually improves patients’ long-term outcome or just speeds up their recovery.

Dr. Ramon Diaz-Arrastia said the results were welcome news in a field that has seen many failed efforts. He is director of clinical research at the government’s Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, which works with the military and government scientists on brain injury research.

“It’s an important step toward developing better therapies,” he said.

“Hope is critical and false hope is cruel for families dealing with this,” Susan Connors, president and chief executive of the Brain Injury Association of America, in Vienna, Va, told the New York Times. The new findings are “a little piece of hope, the real kind,” she said.

Since amantadine is commonly used, Diaz-Arrastia said U.S. troops with severe brain injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan probably get it, or should get it now. since 2000, some 233,000 troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries, including about 6,100 serious cases, many of them from bomb blasts or shrapnel.

The CDC has more on traumatic brain injury.

LAS VEGAS — there might not be a better location than Las Vegas for a celebration of Muhammad Ali’s life. it was here, amongst the glitz on The Strip, that Ali conceived the swagger and braggadocio to match his brilliance in the ring. And it is here that some of the most advanced research and treatment of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the disease Ali has been afflicted with for three decades, is being conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in downtown Las Vegas. about 2,000 people attended a star-studded gala and fund-raiser to honor Ali during an evening of celebration at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night. Attendees paid as much as $10,000 a ticket for the event, with the proceeds going to the Lou Ruvo Center and to the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky. Ali arrived late Saturday surrounded by his family, including his wife and daughter. When chants of “Ali, Ali” rang out through the arena, Ali’s face lit up and he did his best to acknowledge the crowd. Organizers were concerned that the funeral for Whitney Houston in Newark on Saturday afternoon would create conflicts for entertainers who were scheduled to perform at the Vegas gala. but only two performers, Stevie wonder and Sean Combs, had to amend their travel schedules, flying here after the Houston services. Bob Arum of Top Rank, who promoted 27 of Ali’s 61 fights, flew in some of Ali’s former opponents, including George Chuvalo, Earnie Shavers, Chuck Wepner and Leon Spinks, along with Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. Arum thought it was important for those fighters to attend, because he wanted the night to be special for Ali. he saw Ali at the funeral of his former trainer, Angelo Dundee in Clearwater, Fla., last week. “He didn’t look good,” said Arum, who described Ali as expressionless during the funeral service. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen him look.” George Foreman, who keeps in contact with Ali on a weekly basis via texts and email, said it is important that Ali makes himself visible. “There isn’t any reason to hide out,” Foreman said. “He is sending a very important message just by being in the public eye.” Shavers, whom Ali called “The Acorn” because of the shape of his bald head, said he owes everything to Ali and wouldn’t have thought of missing the celebration. “I’m still getting bookings today because I fought Ali,” Shavers said. “He changed my life. he changed my family’s life. I wouldn’t be where I’m at now, at age 67, if it wasn’t for Ali.” All of the fighters were invited into two large boxing rings on opposite sides of the stage, and the floor of the arena was filled with many people who felt the same as Shaver and Foreman. it was aptly entitled “The Power of love Gala.” it was a homecoming of sorts for Ali, because legend has it that Ali conceived of the idea of being brash and bold after meeting the flamboyant wrestler gorgeous George in Las Vegas in 1961. Ali was just 19 years old and was fighting Duke Sabedong, a heavyweight from Hawaii, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. two days before his fight, Ali and gorgeous George were scheduled to appear on a local TV sportscast. George talked smack about his opponent, about how pretty he was and how he was going to dispatch him. Supposedly George told Ali that if he wanted to make it big in boxing he needed to add some showbiz flare to his repertoire. Ali defeated Sabedong in a 10-round decision and took gorgeous George’s advice. “The Greatest” was born. Fifty years later, back in Las Vegas, and being honored with songs from Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Rowland, Cee Lo Green and others, Ali is a stoic figure — locked away inside a shell ravaged by Parkinson’s. No one knows whether years of shots to the head during his ring career and hundreds of rounds of sparring led to Ali’s current condition. but the research that is being done at the center in downtown Las Vegas, inside of a Stainless Steel building designed by noted architect Frank Gehry to that question. And that research may be able to stop long-term brain injuries from occurring with boxers in the future. The center is currently undertaking an extensive brain study involving 146 active professional boxers and Mixed Martial Arts fighters. The boxers will undergo MRIs of the brain and other tests once a year for four years to detect subtle changes in the brain that affect memory, movement and mood. Dr. Charles Bernick, a Las Vegas neurologist, is leading the study and he hopes to identify the point at which the changes occur that result in impaired thinking and brain function. “We know that changes occur decades before the onset of symptoms,” Bernick said during a tour of the facility with a small group of reporters Friday afternoon. by studying those subtle changes, Bernick said boxers will be armed with information that would allow them to determine whether it is safe to continue their careers or walk away from the sport. Jesse Magdaleno, a 20-year-old junior featherweight prospect with an 8-0 record, is participating in the study. “This is a great thing for my health, especially starting as a young fighter,” Magdaleno said. “Starting from here and going for four years we’ll see how my brain is functioning. every little thing will help and it will help other fighters out there. you have to be 100% with your health or other things will happen to you.”

A supermarket worker refused to serve a man with Parkinson’s disease – because they thought he was drunk.

Liam Durkin – whose symptoms include constant shaking and limited movement in his back and neck – had gone to the Asda store in Longsight to buy cider, wine, chocolate and biscuits.

But when he got the checkout he was refused service and accused of being drunk.

Mr Durkin, 61, had to ask for a manager and explain about his condition before he was finally allowed to buy his shopping.

The store has now apologised to him.

The former electrician has suffered from Parkinson’s for 10 years.

His wife Marie, 55, said he was ‘in a right state’ when she went to pick him up.

Mrs Durkin said: “My husband was really upset. Do these people want him to wear a sign around his neck saying that he has Parkinson’s disease? he felt totally humiliated and I was really angry.

“People should not be labelled like that. My husband is a decent person. he does not drink much alcohol anyway. he can’t because he is on too many tablets.”

Mrs Durkin, 55, a former care home worker, added: “The store was very apologetic but this should not happen and I don’t want it to happen again.”

An Asda spokesman apologised to the couple, who live in nearby Kershaw Walk.

He said: “We take our responsibility as an alcohol retailer very seriously. unfortunately on this occasion, we misread the situation – but we can’t fault our colleagues for trying to do the right thing.

“As soon as mr Durkin explained his condition we apologised to him and his wife.

“We’re sincerely sorry for any upset caused and hope mr and Mrs Durkin will continue to shop with us.”

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Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) December 28, 2011

There is evidence based support that re-focused nutrition, exercise, and healthy emotional coping strategies may play roles in maintaining optimal health while living with Parkinson’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis. in fact, there is widespread interest today in brain healthy nutrition and how to protect and enhance neurologic function, particularly as we age. “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to put you in the Driver’s Seat” is an unusual how-to book for anyone on the journey of living with PD, from the newly diagnosed to those like author Anne Cutter Mikkelsen’s husband, Mike, who has lived vibrantly with the disease for decades — and for anyone interested in brain-healthy nutrition.

Loss of control underscores this disease that impacts more than one million people in the U.S., their carepartners and families, and the sixty thousand newly diagnosed each year. “Take Charge” espouses making the most of what we can control: what we eat, how we choose to think about our circumstances, and what we bring to our relationships. Read reviews and praise from persons with Parkinson’s and PD and movement disorder health care experts, including the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the Brian Grant Foundation, and the Struthers Parkinson’s Center.

Classically trained in French cooking, author Anne Cutter Mikkelsen is a Parkinson’s carepartner to and advocate for her husband, Mike. A Master Gardener and writer, and former restaurateur and bed and breakfast proprietor, Anne presents more than 80 of her own original recipes and menus that combine a wide variety of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich ingredients, and culinary herbs and spices known to favorably impact the brain.

Powerfully, Anne tells the personal story of how she and Mike – an award-winning potter and sculptor – learned to live vibrantly since his 1993 PD diagnosis. the couple wishes to help cut the learning curve for others facing down a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. According to Anne, food has been her most effective tool in her quest to create an atmosphere of optimism and anticipation for “whatever is coming next” through the stages of Mike’s PD.

Mikkelsen, who studied cooking in Provence, France at L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes with Simone Beck, co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking I and II, also is a former TV cooking show personality. in her “Take Charge” recipes, Anne uses familiar ingredients and introduces key ingredients – among them, “curcumin,” a component in the spice “turmeric,” heavily researched for potential neuroprotective properties, and the piney-scented herb, rosemary, shown to improve circulation and stimulate the brain. Family chefs and foodies alike will be comfortable and intrigued with the culinary and, preparation techniques, and brain healthy pantry stocking recommendations.

Chapters of practical information about Parkinson’s Disease is supplied by contributing writer, Carolyn Stinson, on symptoms, difficulties with diagnosis, risk factors, loss and depression, denial, stress, and research at the Cleveland Clinic on potential neuroprotective and symptom management benefits afforded by certain types of exercise.

The metaphor in the book’s title is compellingly personal, too — “putting you in the driver’s seat.” Anne and Mike know that PD will always be there, along for the ride. however, they have mastered living a good life, relegating Parkinson’s to the back seat as just a passenger. beyond that fitting metaphor, Mike also happens to be a lifelong collector and creative restorer of automobiles, including the beloved Dodge D-19 Luxury Liner convertible he has owned for six decades. in early 2012, Anne and Mike as co-authors will publish a prequel of sorts to “Take Charge” — “The Dodge: Guts, Glory, and Living at full Throttle” – that recounts the intertwined life stories of Mike, Anne, and the Dodge.

“Of all the Arts, I return to the lure of the automobile— those with a history, a character and a host of idiosyncrasies, which I desperately want to know and cater to. I’ve recently learned that a car is capable of much more than transportation.” E.A. Mike Mikkelsen.

The accompanying video clip depicts Mike and the Dodge joyfully returning home from gathering holiday greenery for the Mikkelsen home.

Anne is also the author of “From Both Sides of the River: A Family Portrait,” also published in 2011. Both “The Dodge” and “From Both Sides” can be purchased at annecuttermikkelsen.com. “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease” is available from Amazon.com, in bookstores, and at annecuttermikkelsen.com.

Read praise, reviews and excerpts of “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease” at annecuttermikkelsen.com.

“Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestye Changes to put you in the Driver’s Seat” ISBN 13: 978-0-9823219-3-5 A DiaMedica Publishing Guide to Optimum Wellness (2011) available from Amazon.com and in Bookstores

Read the full story at prweb.com/releases/parkinsons/optimalhealth/prweb9025660.htm

Mount Pocono man calls surgery a ‘miracle’ against disease

These days, Robert Passalacqua of Mount Pocono can’t stop walking, talking and smiling.

After undergoing neurosurgery at age 77 to eliminate the major symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, his quality of life has improved tenfold, he said.

Parkinson’s disease affects 1.5 million Americans. It can take away a person’s ability to move by causing tremors, stiffness, shuffled walk and muffled speech. In 2001, the Federal Drug Administration approved Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, or DBS, when medications failed.

A study followed 156 patients with severe Parkinson’s disease, all under age 75. half of the patients took medications to manage their disease, while the others received DBS. during the procedure, a battery-operated neurostimulator is surgically implanted into the brain. That stimulator can improve motor symptoms in some Parkinson’s patients by blocking the abnormal nerve signals that cause tremors and other symptoms.

According to the study, patients treated with this surgery had better mobility, quality of life and emotional well-being than the patients who received standard medications.

“I tell you, it is like a miracle. I couldn’t do anything before my operation,” he said.

The things that Passalacqua could not do were things most of us do in the normal course of the day. “I couldn’t feed myself or walk very well, and the police made me turn in my driver’s license,” he said.

Before the Parkinson’s became so advanced, he was an active guy, and the disease made him a prisoner in his house, he said. “I used to walk all over the place and I went on hunting trips all over the country,” he said.

As a testament to his hunting trips, Passalacqua’s apartment is filled with framed photos of the successes of his hunting ability.

“When I found out there was an operation that could help me, I wasn’t sure that I would qualify for the surgery,” Passalacqua said.

In order to have the brain surgery, a patient has to reach a certain stage of Parkinson’s disease, he said.

“Typically the criteria for the surgery is severe motor complications that interfere with daily living,” said Kate McGill, a nurse practitioner in the Department of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Traveling to Philadelphia, Passalacqua reported to the disorders center.

“The doctors really checked me over. I had all kinds of test done so they could decide if I could have the surgery,” he said.

At last, Passalacqua was deemed a good candidate. In March, Dr. Gordon H. Baltuch, director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, performed a six-hour procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation.

Pointing to his temples, Passalacqua said, “Basically what they did is put in two electrodes in my brain that are connected by a wire that runs down my neck to a box under my skin.”

The box, implanted below his collarbone, is a neurostimulator (battery) and is similar to a heart pacemaker — about the size of a stopwatch.

Passalacqua’s neurostimulator sends electrical impulses up the wire in his neck and into the brain. These impulses block electrical signals that cause Parkinson’s symptoms.

It was two weeks before the neurostimulator was turned on (the brain needs to rest after the surgery), but it didn’t take long for Passalacqua to feel it.

In the first six months, Passalacqua went to the hospital in Philadelphia to have his settings on the neurostimulator adjusted.

“It took a couple of adjustments on what number the box needed to be set at, but once they got it right — what a difference,” he said.

Passalacqua has a remote that allows him to make minor adjustments on the impulses. for any major adjustments, he goes to the hospital.

Passalacqua is back to walking, feeding himself and plans to apply for his driver’s license again.

“I just want everyone that has Parkinson’s disease to know what a difference this can make in your life, and if they can, they should have the operation,” he said.

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HE became Governor General after one of the most turbulent periods in the office's history and leaders from across the political spectrum described Sir Zelman Cowen as a healer.

The respected lawyer and academic took the surprise call from Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in April 1977, just 17 months after his predecessor John Kerr dismissed the Whitlam government in one of the most divisive decision in Australian political history.

But in his ensuing five years as the Queen’s representative Sir Zelman did much to repair the reputation of the office, redefining the role of the Governor General in the process.

Sir Zelman died aged 92 in Melbourne on Thursday evening after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. His wife, Anna was by his side.

Sir Zelman spoke at almost 700 events during his time as Governor General, delivering speeches on any topic he believed worthy and widening the role of the office.

A collection of his speeches was published under the title a Touch of Healing.

"My appointment seemed to me to be beyond imagining, a miracle, proof that anybody in this country could aspire to its highest office," he said in a 2003 ABC interview.

Mr Fraser yesterday described him as a gentle person and said Australians owed Sir Zelman a debt for the way he reinvigorated the role.

"Respect for the office had to be restored amongst all Australians," mr Fraser said.

"he accomplished that, I believe, in an exemplary way. Nobody could have worked harder in the office.

"he made innumerable speeches, met many thousands of Australians in all parts of the country.

"he had a great sense of, in Roman terms gravitas and dignitas, which stood him in good stead."

Before he was appointed to Yarralumla, Sir Zelman was a relatively unknown academic, serving as vice-chancellor at the University of Queensland when approached by mr Fraser.

Born on October 7, 1919, in Melbourne, Sir Zelman attended the University of Melbourne before gaining a Rhodes Scholarship.

He delayed his studies so he could serve in the RAN during the Second World War, which saw him stationed in Darwin during the Japanese attacks.

He went on to advise the British military on legal matters and returned to Australia in 1951 to take up a string of academic posts before becoming a top constitutional lawyer.

After his four and half years in Yarralumla Sir Zelman became provost of Oriel College Oxford from 1982 to 1990.

A respected member of the Jewish community in Melbourne, he was patron of the St Kilda Football Club and a board member and chairman of Fairfax for many years.

In the late 1990s he began to suffer from Parkinson’s disease, first noticing symptoms nearly 15 years ago.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Australia had lost one of its greatest statesmen.

"With great dignity and humility, Sir Zelman entered the role in 1977, determined to bring a ‘touch of healing’ to our nation. And he did," Ms Gillard said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also described Sir Zelman as a healer.

"he was a great Australian and he did bring a touch of healing to the headship of state after the trauma of the Whitlam dismissal," he said.

Sir Zelman is survived by Anna, his wife of 66 years and his children Shimon, Yousef, Kate and Ben, 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Israeli neurosurgeon Jonathan Degen from Herzliya Medical Center claims WBC heavyweight champion Vitaly Klitschko is showing early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

The doctor made his conclusion having watched the boxer in action. an expert in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, Degen advised the elder Klitschko to quit boxing immediately.

“Vitaly is a great champion, but he must take care of himself. I watch all his fights. and of course, I watched his clash against Tomasz Adamek on September 10. it was a total victory, but some dangerous symptoms in Vitaly’s behavior alerted me and I want to warn him. I think that 40 years is that age for Vitaly when it’s dangerous to continue boxing,” Degen told from-ua.com.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. it results from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain. it has become almost a professional disease for boxers who receive a lot of hard punches to head during their career. Mohammed Ali is the most vivid example. the disease is currently incurable.

“I drew attention to Klitschko’s movement in the ring during the fight against Adamek as an expert,” the doctor added. “Note that he possessed full advantage, but was unable to deliver any knockout punch to a helpless opponent. it was hard for him to coordinate his body. Adamek received pokes instead of punches.”

“It’s impossible to beat all the contenders. he has already become a legend, now it’s time to take care of his health,” Degen concluded.