Pacquiao could have Parkinsons

A neurologist on Thursday said he has been observing early signs of Parkinson's disease from Filipino boxing icon Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.

Dr. Rustico Jimenez, President of Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, told radio dzMM that among the early signs of Parkinson's being exhibited by Pacquiao include stuttering and hand twitching.

Jimenez urged the Filipino champion to retire from boxing in order to avoid what happened to Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) and award-winning trainer Freddie Roach who were both afflicted with the progressive disorder of the nervous system.

In a separate phone interview, Jimenez clarified that he could be wrong with his observations, but nevertheless told Pacquiao to be cautious.

He said while he has not met Pacquiao to personally check on his condition, his hand twitches during television interviews should be a cause for concern.

This is not the first time that a medical expert raised concerns over Pacquiao's health.

Dr. Raquel Fortun, a renowned forensics expert in the country, earlier said she is not convinced with the CT scan results clearing Manny Pacquiao following his knockout loss to Mexican foe Juan Manuel Marquez.

She said severe head trauma could lead to Alzheimer’s disease or a form of dementia that worsens over time.

She said several studies have been done on the effect of chronic trauma or repeated hits to the head among athletes, particularly boxers and football players.

Fortun said the knockout punch that hit Pacquiao was actually 2 hits: when Marquez's fist connected with Pacquiao's face and when the boxing champ fell face down on the canvass.

She said a severe blow to the head could damage the dura mater, which is a membrane that surrounds the brain. Once damaged, it could lead to a subdural hematoma.

The forensic expert expressed alarm over reports that Pacquiao allegedly had a slight seizure after falling unconscious from Marquez's hammer blow to the head.

Extremely sobering article.


Really hope he retires, he's given so much to the sport. All time great, no question.

So Dr's can discuss patients conditions now can they.

Load of nonsense.

Lumbering_Jack wrote:So Dr's can discuss patients conditions now can they.

Load of nonsense.

The hypocratic oath doesn't count in boxing. Like drug testing.

Lumbering_Jack wrote:So Dr's can discuss patients conditions now can they.

Load of nonsense.

Pac is not this doctor's patient so he can say what he likes. It may be publicity seeking or real concern for a fellow human being's health. I doubt we will know which for quite some time.

It's 'just' observations - what is the intention behind it? It could be genuine, it could be publicity.. I imagine only God, Pac and his close ones know.. and maybe Arum.

Sounds like they want a bit of publicity, Doctors dont diagnose PD from watching someone on telly, utter tosh.

hogey wrote:Sounds like they want a bit of publicity, Doctors dont diagnose PD from watching someone on telly, utter tosh.

Exactly what I was thinking

The way his head was shaking in the Marquez fight maybe there is something behind this...

Hope not.....then again If Ali can get down to 190 (no higher) there may be a possible matchup............

Commander wrote:
He said while he has not met Pacquiao to personally check on his condition...

the article should have ended there.
pointless.

There's a few bits and pieces that others have pointed out that show the questionable news given by said Dr. Which I completely agree with.

One thing that I wanted to add is that, if the signs were so obvious to casual observer of Pacquiaos then how are they not obvious to the ONE guy who spends all of the time with him during training?

There's no hiding the negative effects of boxing when you look at Freddie Roach, but this is a guy who refused to train Wayne McCullough when he found that, despite passing a medical, he has problems with the cushion around the brain. Does anyone honestly think that Freddie wouldn't be the first to notice early signs of parkinsons?

The Philipinos heto worship Manny, he's a DemiGod to them, seeing him out cold is shocking and this seems like an statement released by a guy who wants to make excuses for him not to fight again.

Also, why is this the first any of us have heard about him suffering a seizure after the fight? This would have made boxing headlines!!

I'm surprised Union Cane hasn't come on here to say Parkinsons is not/or not proven to be caused by trauma to the brain through boxing.......

Nonsense story. Doc 1 says he has Parkinson's from watching him fight, doc 2 says studies have shown getting ko'd isn't good for you health.
In other news, the world is round.