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From: Mihran Toumajan <[email protected]>
Subject: Granddaughter of Parseghian dies
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Granddaughter of Parseghian dies
Sixteen-year-old was victim of Niemann-Pick disease
Associated Press
Monday, August 8, 2005
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The granddaughter of former Notre Dame football
coach Ara Parseghian, whose family raised millions of dollars to pay for
research on Niemann-Pick disease, has died of the rare genetic disorder.
Sixteen-year-old Marcia Parseghian died early Saturday. She was the
longest surviving of three siblings all diagnosed with the rare and
fatal disease.
Niemann-Pick Type C affects about 500 children worldwide, and killed her
brother Michael in 1997 and sister Christa in 2001. Her older brother,
Ara, did not inherit the disease.
Marcia Parseghian’s parents, Mike and Cindy Parseghian, learned in
October 1994 that three of their four children had the disease, and they
quickly established the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation to
raise money for research on Niemann-Pick Type C.
In 10 years, the foundation raised more than $22 million, with 95
percent of it going to fund research.
NP-C bears a resemblance to Alzheimer’s disease, and because it stems
from an inability to metabolize cholesterol, researchers hope work on
NP-C will help those at risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack
and stroke.
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