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.

Two-time Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon is among 300 retired players or spouses suing the NFL for concussion-related dementia and brain disease symptoms they claim were suffered on the job.

McMahon, the ex-Chicago Bears star, has been outspoken on the issue and believes the league went so far as to conceal information related to concussions.

“We knew what was going on with pretty much every other part of the body,” McMahon said on ESPN’s Outside the Lines, per ProFootballTalk.com. “We knew there was going to be a chance for injury. But we didn’t know about the head trauma. and they did, and that’s the whole reason for this lawsuit. … They knew about it and they didn’t tell us. That’s like looking in your face and lying to you. Flat-out lying.

“Short-term memory is not good,” McMahon said. “I won’t remember a hell of a lot about this interview in 10 minutes.”

McMahon is part of at least four concussion-related lawsuits that have been consolidated in Philadelphia. The league has vowed to vigorously defend itself.

In a separate class-action lawsuit filed in February in federal court in new Orleans, several former Saints, including John Fourcade, are among 11 ex-players named as plaintiffs. The lawsuit says each of them has developed mental or physical problems from concussions or concussion-like symptoms.

A 2000 survey of more than 1,000 former NFL players found that more than 60 percent had suffered at least one concussion, while 26 percent had suffered three or more during their careers, according to the February lawsuit.