PHILADELPHIA — Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says he was diagnosed three-and-a-half years ago with Parkinson's disease.
The 74-year-old Rendell spoke Monday at a news conference at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia with officials from the University of Pennsylvania. He says his mother had Parkinson's disease for the last 13 years of her life.
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Parkinson's involves a loss of brain cells controlling movement. Besides tremors, it can cause rigid, halting walking, slowed speech and sometimes dementia. Symptoms worsen over time and can be treated with drugs but there is no cure.
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Rendell, a Democrat, was Pennsylvania's two-term governor from 2003 through 2010. He was also the Democratic National Committee chairman and a two-term Philadelphia mayor who was nicknamed America's mayor.