Multiple Celebrities with Multiple Sclerosis, Michelle Obama and the Death of Captain Beefheart

by

MedicalToday
During her speech at the Democratic National Convention in August of 2008, Michelle Obama shared her experiences with multiple sclerosis: Mrs. Obama's father was diagnosed with the disease when he was in his early thirties. As she said:

“My Dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. But as he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier, and worked a little harder.”




Michele Obama is, of course, only one of many people whose lives have been touched by MS.  Here's a : actors Terri Garr, David “Squiggy” Lander, TV personality Montel Williams, Annette Funicello, singers Lena Horne and Clay Walker, comedian Richard Pryor. MS affects an estimated 300,000 people in the United States and is the most common cause of neurological disability in young adults.




Last week, it was reported that Don Van Vliet, otherwise know by his Captain Beefheart (shown on the cover of Rolling Stone, May 1970) passed away at the age of 69 from complications of MS after many years with the disease. According to , "... the incomparable Captain Beefheart who, together with his Magic Band, rose to prominence in the 1960s with a totally unique style of blues-inspired, experimental rock & roll. This would ultimately secure Van Vliet's place in music history as one of the most original recording artists of his time. After two decades in the spotlight as an avant-garde composer and performer, Van Vliet retired from performing to devote himself wholeheartedly to painting and drawing. Like his music, Van Vliet's lush paintings are the product of a truly rare and unique vision."
DID YOU KNOW?
  • If you search for 'multiple sclerosis' in the at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, you'll find 47,462 peer-reviewed publications in the biomedical literature as of today.
  • In 2011, the about $144 million for research on this disease.
  • There are a total of studying new diagnostics, drug therapies and other interventions for MS.
  • The risk of developing MS is, in part. genetically determined and for susceptibility genes that have been identified through .