What is PSP? Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson diagnosed with rare brain disease
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. has been diagnosed with neurological disease progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP. While he remains under observation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, what exactly is this rare disease?
Jackson was diagnosed with PSP earlier this year, a spokesperson for Rainbow PUSH Coalition said Wednesday after the 84-year-old was admitted to the hospital for observation.
"For most people, this is the condition that ends their life," said Dr. Jori Fleisher of Rush University Medical Center.
Fleisher said PSP is similar to Parkinson's, which Jackson publicly shared he had been diagnosed with in 2017.
"People can look like they have Parkinson's disease," the doctor said. "Slowness of moving, shuffling walking, stopped posture, maybe a tremor; movements that get softer, smaller, slower than someone goes."
Fleisher said patients can also develop other symptoms like changes in their eye movement and balance.
"Someone has a tendency to just tip backwards and there's nor reflex to try and catch ourselves," Fleisher said. "So someone who just kind of plops back down into the chair when they sit down."
Dean Monti's mother was diagnosed with PSP in 2013. She died from the disease three years later in 2016.
"She was misdiagnosed, as many were," Monti said. "Nobody, not even doctors, didn't know what PSP was exactly."
Monti said the key in understanding PSP is the "progressive" part of its name.
"It started with her being unsteady on her feet for a while; losing her balance and tripping, which is why we ended up going to the doctor," he said.
Monti is part of a group called Cure PSP that is pushing to bring awareness to the disease.
Thursday evening, a spokesperson for Rainbow PUSH said Jackson remained in the hospital for observation. While sources earlier said Jackson might be released from the hospital on Thursday, Rainbow PUSH did not say when he would be released:
"We are grateful for the medical team at Northwestern Hospital. Reverend Jackson is receiving appropriate treatment. They will continue to monitor his progress and well-being to ensure the best possible care and support. The family is grateful for all the well-wishes and prayers."