From the New York Times:

Forty years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, the federal government has plans to make it easier for former veterans to get disability payments and health care for illnesses they say were caused by exposure to the toxic defoliant.

The shift underscores efforts by the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, a retired Army chief of staff and a Vietnam veteran himself, to reduce obstacles to sick or disabled veterans’ receiving benefits. The department has come under sharp criticism from Congress and veterans groups for long delays in processing disability claims.

“Since my confirmation as secretary, I’ve often asked why, 40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, we’re still trying to determine the health consequences to our veterans who served in the combat theater,” Mr. Shinseki said in a statement. “Veterans who endure a host of health problems deserve timely decisions.”

It’s estimated that the policy change could prompt claims from 200,000 veterans.

From the Washington Post:

Michael J. Fox appears this week in an hour-long special exploring what makes a person an optimist.  The actor has remained mostly upbeat and positive since publicly disclosing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998.

“I feel that whatever hardships or losses I’ve had as a result of the Parkinson’s are far outweighed by the gifts I have been given in life,” Fox said. “Everyone gets their own bag of hammers, and I think people are heartened by the fact that I feel grateful and optimistic.”

Fox’s latest book, “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” was listed among the top 5 best-selling hardcover nonfiction books by the New York Times this week.

(Washington Post TV Week photo)

From People Magazine:

Ten years after revealing that he has Parkinson’s, Michael J. Fox talks about how he and his family cope with the disease and maintain a positive outlook on life. In eight years, the foundation he created has become the nation’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, granting nearly $140 million.

Fox says his four children have “learned resilience” from his experience. For him, having Parkinson’s “is part of an amazing life. And not an ‘otherwise’ amazing life. It’s part of what makes my life amazing.”

From USA Today:

The Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, NY, leads weekly classes modified for people with Parkinson’s disease. Instructors say they’re careful not to make any medical claims, and that they’re just trying to encourage movement and well-being. Students say the classes make them feel good.

“The dance class is uplifting,” says Carroll Neesemann, 67, a commercial arbitrator from Brooklyn who has had Parkinson’s for 12 years and has attended classes with his wife, Helena, since the beginning. “I know I’m not moving exactly straight up, but I feel symptom-free.”

The program started with just a handful of people five years ago, and now has about forty students. Experts estimate that about one percent of people over 60 live with Parkinson’s disease.

Writing in NPR’s ‘This I Believe’ section, Penn State University English Professor Gregg Rogers explores his reaction to his daughter’s prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Rogers and his wife were overwhelmed by fear and anxiety at the thought of raising a child with a disability, he says, but were transformed when their daughter Genevieve burst into their lives.

I now believe Genevieve is here for everyone. I believe Genevieve is taking over the world, one heart at a time – beginning with mine. I believe that what was once our perceived damnation has now become our unexpected salvation.

… On my right wrist, I wear a simple silver chain with three little beads on it. I used to say the three beads signified the third chromosome that results in trisomy 21, Down syndrome. Now when I look at those beads, they simply remind me that I don’t ever know as much as I think I do, but I’m always capable of more than I think I am.

Rogers and his wife Lucy host a website for other families in their area who have children with Down syndrome.

From Scientific American, the New York Times:

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, says he has a genetic mutation that increases his likelihood of getting Parkinson’s disease, a condition which is shared by his mother and her aunt.

Brin discovered the genetic mutation in a test from 23andMe, his wife’s gene-screening company. He estimated his risk of getting the disease at somewhere between 20 percent and 80 percent.

Forbes magazine recently estimated Brin’s personal fortune at $15.9 billion. He said he may help provide more money for research into the disease.

(Photo from Scientific American)

From the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe:

When Joe Biden suggested that opposition to stem-cell research signals less dedication to people with disabilities, he was highlighting an issue that has been energizing the GOP’s social conservatives.

The Democratic vice-presidential nominee’s comments were apparently aimed at his Republican rival, Gov. Sarah Palin.

Politics aside, stem-cell research appears to hold little promise of mitigating Down syndrome or helping those with the condition. People with Down syndrome are born with an extra chromosome, and “that is something that does not seem to be easily addressed with stem cells,” said Brian Skotko, whose research and medical practice at Children’s Hospital in Boston focuses on Down syndrome.

The greater potential for stem-cell technologies is as a source of replacement cells and tissues for the treatment of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, spinal-cord injury, strokes, burns, heart disease and arthritis, according to the National Institutes of Health stem-cell Web site.

An Obama spokesman said the Democrats’ support for embryonic stem cell research could provide “real hope” to families dealing with disabilities.

Sen. Obama’s plan to help Americans with disabilities includes increasing education and work opportunities, combating discrimination and supporting independent, community-based living.