Muhammad Ali's Parkinson's has been the center of talks following his death on June 3, Friday. Many were quick to say that his disease was to blame for his death, and it was the result of his decades of boxing career.
Until his death, speculation has been hitting the headlines that Ali got Parkinson's from his most loved sports. Several neurologists have expressed claims that they could not establish the connection between boxing and his disease. However, some health experts based on previous studies believe that head trauma could contribute and increase its risk.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. The disease could cause stiffness or slowing of movement and tremors. The symptoms become more aggressive as the disease advances.
In a statement obtained by Huffington Post, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research chief executive Todd Sherer said that it is complicated to rule out the cause of Parkinson's. Head injury or concussions could trigger it in one way or another and increase the risk of developing the disease.
Published in the Annals of Neurology, the study by Dr. Samuel Goldman from the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California, may have helped in proving the claims. The research that used 93 twins concluded that one of every pair had Parkinson's.
The individuals who had at least one time head concussion were more susceptible to developing Parkinson's than their twin. The risk of having Parkinson's surges with more than one head trauma, the study revealed. Goldman could not conclude the case of Ali's Parkinson's, but he revealed that the development of Parkinson's increases with repetitive head trauma.
Ali passed away at the age of 74, and his family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced that his death was caused by a septic shock. The legendary boxer had been suffering from Parkinson's for over three decades and the cause of his death surprised many, according to CNN.
Sepsis could be attributed to a quarter-million deaths in the U.S. Parkinson's patients are at higher exposure in developing a sepsis especially when they are hospitalized because their body have become weaker to fight the infections.
On June 9, Thursday, Ali was laid down to rest on a Muslim funeral in his hometown in Louisville, Kentucky. His Parkinson's may have led to his death, but it also raised more awareness to study what really caused the debilitating disease.
Check out Ali's last public appearance on April 9 in an event that supports Parkinson's disease: