Latest news with #Lewy
USA Today
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Robin Williams' son Zak Williams honors late actor on 74th birthday: 'Love you forever'
Birthdays have become a bittersweet occasion for Zak Williams. The mental health advocate and entrepreneur, son of actor-comedian Robin Williams, paid tribute to the iconic performer on social media in honor of his birthday on Monday, July 21. Robin, who died in August 2014 at the age of 63, would have turned 74. "Every year, this season arrives with gravity," Williams, 42, wrote on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of Robin. "In just 60 days, we pass through Father's Day, his birthday, and the anniversary of his death. It's a tender and complicated stretch of time. One that asks a lot of the heart." He added: "For me, grief isn't linear. It loops and echoes. It softens, then crescendos. But alongside it lives a legacy, the kind built not from fame or recognition, but from generosity and relentless kindness." Robin Williams died by suicide following a battle with Lewy body dementia. The Oscar-winning actor also struggled with substance abuse for decades. His 2006 relapse, which he tried unsuccessfully to hide from his wife Marsha Garces, led to the unraveling of his second marriage. He later took up a stint at the Hazelden Foundation center, a rehab facility in Oregon. "My father lived to make people feel seen," Williams continued. "He gave permission to feel deeply and to laugh through the pain. In his absence, that mission continues. So today, I hold close the idea that the best way to honor those we love is to live the values they stood for. To lead with service and compassion. To lift others when they're down. And to find paths of light, even in the dark corners." He concluded: "Happy birthday, Dad. Love you forever." Matthew Lawrence reveals Robin Williams warned him against substance abuse as child Zak Williams opens up about childhood with dad Robin Williams In an August 2024 interview for USA TODAY's "The Excerpt" podcast, Williams reflected on his father's legacy in the entertainment industry, as well as his childhood memories with the eccentric actor-comedian. "He was very funny. But he also was very introspective," said Williams of Robin's off-screen demeanor. "He loved playing video games and collecting toys and comic books. I mean, he was a big kid at heart. "And the memories I'm most fond of, in terms of our private family life, relate to my siblings and spending time with him basically being a big kid." 'He was a big kid at heart': Zak Williams reflects on dad Robin Williams Williams, who appeared on the podcast ahead of the 10th anniversary of Robin's death, said he preserves his father's memory by focusing on his positive contributions as a public figure. "I think of my father fondly all year, but around this time of year, I think about his good works, his philanthropic focus," Williams said. "I tend to spend time with my family. ... It comes down to remembering him fondly for his incredible heart and love for humanity." If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. If you or someone you know needs help battling a substance abuse addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Contributing: Taylor Wilson and Marco della Cava, USA TODAY
New York Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
David Gergen, trusted Washington stalwart who advised 4 presidents, dead at 83
David Gergen, who worked for four presidents, including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, before becoming an academic and political TV pundit, has died. He was 83. Advertisement Gergen died in a retirement home in Massachusetts on July 10, his son said, according to several outlets. The Washington, D.C., veteran had been suffering from Lewy body dementia, his son said. Those who knew and admired Gergen took to X to express their condolences. Former California first lady Maria Shriver wrote on X: 'David Gergen was total professional and a really kind man. My thoughts are with his family. He loved politics and he loved being in service to this country.' Advertisement 'RIP, Mr. Gergen,' CBS reporter Robert Costa wrote. Former Democratic Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. wrote: 'We lost a good one, a really good one – RIP, my friend David Gergen.' Gergen came up with the line that then-candidate Reagan said in the 1980 election: 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' according to The New York Times. 3 Longtime political TV analyst and academic David Gergen died July 10 at a retirement home in Massachusetts at the age of 83. Larry French Advertisement 3 Before getting involved as a political TV pundit, Gergen worked with four former Presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. AFP via Getty Images He later said of the line: 'Rhetorical questions have great power.' Of his time with the Nixon administration, Gergen told the Washington Post in 1981, 'I was young, and I was too naive. It hardened me up a lot. It was an extremely difficult experience emotionally, in terms of belief in people.' After leaving public office, Gergen worked as an editor and columnist, as well as for the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the liberal Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Advertisement 3 Gergen's son said the Washington, D.C., veteran had been suffering from Lewy body dementia. Getty Images He was also a commentator for PBS, CNN and NPR. 'To say that I rely on him is an understatement,' Reagan's White House Chief of Staff, James A. Baker III, told The Washington Post in 1981. 'He's the best conceptualizer, in terms of communications strategy, that we have.'
Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Thatcherite Norman Tebbit's torment after wife paralysed by bomb meant for boss
Lord Tebbit was a devoted husband and was married to his wife Margaret for more than 60 years before she died in 2020. But the couple's marriage was tested when they were caught up in an IRA blast By day, Norman Tebbit was a close ally of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but behind the scenes he was a devoted husband to his wife Margaret. But the couple certainly had their challenges - and were caught up in a blast meant for the Prime Minister - during the Tory party conference in 1984. After meeting at Westminster Hospital, London in 1955, Margaret and Norman married a year later at Westminster Congregational Chapel and stayed together until she died in 2020. The couple were lying in bed on October 12, 1984 when the IRA bombed the Brighton Grand Hotel which killed five people and injured 31 more. Margaret Tebbit was paralysed in the bombing when the ceiling collapsed on her and Lord Tebbit. Falling through four floors and remaining trapped for several hours, they laid together, holding hands, waiting for help. Norman gave Margaret a message to give to their children, in case he died. He suffered a broken shoulder blade, fractured vertebrae, a cracked collar bone and needed plastic surgery - but was back at his desk within three months. However, Margaret was much more seriously injured than her husband. Her injuries were so bad that she spent two years in Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital undergoing treatment in their spinal injuries units. And while she recovered some use of her hands and arms, she was unable to walk for the rest of her life. Norman looked after his wife until she died in 2020 and left the cabinet following the 1987 general election to care for her. Lady Tebbit died at home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on 19 December 2020 at the age of 86 after suffering from Lewy body dementia. Lord Tebbit remained angry about how the bombing changed his wife's life, saying there was "no possibility of any forgiveness" for the people behind the bombing. He once said: "One can hope that there's a particularly hot corner of hell reserved for them and they can repent in their own time there.' And although Lady Tebbit said she couldn't forgive the attack which left her paralysed from the chest down, she did say it was important not to dwell on the past. While appearing on Desert Island Discs in 1995 Lady Tebbit said:"I don't blame people, I don't completely forget or forgive, but one has to completely look forward.' The bomb had been planted in the hotel by Patrick Magee who received eight life sentences but was later released under the Good Friday peace agreement in 1999. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was a paramilitary organisation fighting for Northern Ireland to be a part of the Republic of Ireland, rather than the United Kingdom. The target of the IRA's Brighton bomb was Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister at the time. Lord Tebbit was MP for more than 20 years for Epping and then Chingford and served as Employment Secretary, Trade Secretary and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. After leaving the Commons in 1992, he was appointed to the House of Lords. Margaret (nee Daines) was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire and became a nurse after leaving school. They had two sons and a daughter: John (67), Alison (65) and William (60). In a statement, William Tebbit said: 'At 11.15pm on 7th July 2025 Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94. His family ask that their privacy is respected at this time and a further statement regarding funeral arrangements will be made in due course.'
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Parkinson's doesn't start in the brain? Shocking new study reveals the real origin
Image credits: Getty Images Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second-most neurodegenerative disorder in the United States. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as many as 1 million Americans have Parkinson's Disease. Until now it was believed that Parkinson's disease begins with a gradual loss of nerve cells in the brain, particularly those producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter vital for movement. This leads to a decline in dopamine levels leading to symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slow movement. Now, a new study published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests that the disease actually begins from a shocking body part- the kidneys. The team of researchers from Wuhan University in China performed the study primarily focused on the alpha-synuclein (a-Syn) protein, which is closely associated with Parkinson's. When the production of this protein becomes uneven, it creates clumps of misfolded proteins that interfere with brain function. As per the research, the clumps of this protein can develop in the kidneys as well and thus the researchers are of the belief that these abnormal proteins might actually travel from the kidneys to the brain, triggering the disease. "We demonstrate that the kidney is a peripheral organ that serves as an origin of pathological α-Syn," wrote the researchers in the published paper. The shocking study Image credits: Getty Images To carry out the study, the team ran multiple tests to analyse the behaviour of the protein in genetically engineered mice and human tissue that included samples from people with Parkinson's disease and chronic kidney disease. The team found abnormal a-Syn growth in the kidneys of 10 out of 11 people with Parkinson's and other types of dementia related to Lewy bodies. In another sample batch, similar protein malfunctions were found in 17 out of 20 patients with chronic kidney disease, even though these people had no signs of neurological disorders. In animals, mice with healthy kidneys cleared out injected a-Syn clumps, but mice whose kidneys weren't functioning faced protein built-ups that eventually spread to the brain. The study also analysed the fact that these proteins move through the blood and if they are reduced in the blood, the damage to the brain can be decreased. This point needs to be noted as an inspiration for new strategies of treatment.
The Irish Sun
10-06-2025
- Health
- The Irish Sun
‘No one should be handled like dad was' – Family go public after shocking Dublin care home exposé in ‘bigger issue' call
THE family of a vulnerable resident who appeared in a nursing home exposé has declared: 'No one should be handled like our father was.' Advertisement 4 Audeon Guy is a resident at Beneavin Manor nursing home Credit: RTE 4 Paul Guy described his shock and distress at seeing footage of his father's treatment Credit: RTE Both are run by Amid the fallout from the explosive show, the Guy family described their shock and distress at seeing footage of their 80-year-old father Audeon being roughly handled at Beneavin Manor. Seething son Paul Guy raged: 'No one should have to go through what we've seen. 'No one should be handled like our father was. Advertisement READ MORE IN NEWS "These are human people - people who lost their dignity and no one should have to go through that.' Harrowing undercover Undercover investigators posing as healthcare workers went inside the two OAP Audeon's daughter Sarah says relatives were left distraught by the treatment of their beloved dad. Advertisement Most read in Irish News She said: 'Our dad is the loveliest man. 'He'd do anything for you, really kind, loving, charitable and a big hugger.' RTE Fair City viewers left saying same thing as Carrigstown favourite makes shock return Dubliner Audeon was diagnosed with Lewy body Unable to return home, Paul, Sarah and their other siblings Kassandra and Dave began the search for a suitable nursing home for their father. Advertisement They turned to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), and spent days sifting through the regulator's nursing home inspection reports. Their father Audeon moved into Beneavin Manor in January 2025 where he was assigned one-to-one care. Paul recalled: 'For Beneavin Manor we read the reports, and it seemed to be a very safe place to go. "We looked at the brochures, I went and did the tour. It seemed to be fine.' Advertisement FAMILY'S CONCERNS But even before the Paul explained: 'He was actually left alone many times. 'I have examples of him sitting on his own in the corridor ripping up pieces of paper which was meant to be some form of activity. 'I've witnessed him cold with a blanket wrapped around him and I've witnessed really poor personal care in terms of his toenails left for weeks to grow and rot. Advertisement 'On another day there was urine all over the floor in his bathroom and there was no toilet seat. It just seemed to be a consistent flow of poor care for people who are in dire need of attention.' SWEEPING REVIEW Hiqa chiefs have launched a sweeping review of all nursing homes operated by the shamed Emeis Ireland group, who operate 27 facilities across the country. "These are human people - people who lost their dignity and no one should have to go through that.' Paul Guy But Paul demanded accountability. He said: 'When I saw the actual footage, I was shocked, but it wasn't a revelation. Advertisement 'That's what is unfortunate. We had done everything. "We put in all the complaints, notified everyone that was required, got responses back, acknowledgement of all their mistakes, plans being put in place, and this still happened, and it happened to all the other people in the footage as well. 'That's the bigger issue - there's no accountability for this.' The Guy family also called for the Government to urgently enact the Adult Safeguarding Bill – a law which they say could protect vulnerable individuals like their father from harm, abuse and neglect. Advertisement Watch the full interview tonight on RTE Prime Time on RTE One and RTE Player 4 Undercover footage showed Audeon Guy being roughly handled Credit: RTE 4 Paul, Sarah, dad Audeon, Kassandra, and Dave in happier times
