The West Wing to Receive 2002 Public Leadership in Neurology Award

Television's The West Wing To Receive 2002 Public Leadership in Neurology Award

Actor Bradley Whitford Will Accept Award During American Academy Of Neurology Meeting In Denver

ST. PAUL, MN -- (April 2, 2002) The West Wing, NBC's Emmy-award winning dramatic TV series, is the winner of the 2002 Public Leadership in Neurology Award from the American Academy of Neurology Education and Research Foundation (AANERF).

Actor Bradley Whitford, who plays Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the TV show, will represent The West Wing as the keynote speaker at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Awards Luncheon. The luncheon takes place at noon Wednesday, April 17 during the AAN Annual Meeting at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

In both his personal and professional life, Whitford has advocated for greater understanding of disability issues such as autism. As a member of Cure Autism Now, he joined celebrities such as Maya Angelou and Rene Russo to lobby for passage of the Children's Health Act of 2000. He also successfully lobbied writer Aaron Sorkin to include autism in an episode of The West Wing.

The West Wing features fictional President Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen) as an individual coping with multiple sclerosis (MS) while continuing to lead a productive life.

"The West Wing has helped educate millions of viewers about the real-life issues confronted by people diagnosed with MS," says Jay Rosenberg, M.D. and chair of the AANERF. "By publicly disclosing that he has MS, the Josiah Bartlett character provides a very important model of effectiveness and hope for the more than 300,000 Americans living with MS today -- a hope that is also shared by the millions of other Americans living with neurologic diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Studies have reported that 40 percent of people with MS keep their diagnoses secret from family, friends or colleagues for fear of what it could to do their personal and professional lives. "We at the AANERF especially commend The West Wing for accurately and respectfully portraying the realities of MS in the workplace," says Rosenberg. "Determining how and when to disclose their illness is one of the most common problems faced by people with MS."

As the television show reveals, MS affects each individual patient differently. A disease of the central nervous system, MS can cause widely varied symptoms -- blindness, numbness, paralysis, difficulty walking to name a few-- but it can also be in remission for years, as is the case with "President Bartlett."

"People with MS can be productive members of society, as The West Wing makes very clear in showing that the President of the United States can function effectively in office after being diagnosed with the disease," says Rosenberg. "The show also emphasizes that MS can be treated through modern drug therapies -- President Bartlett is shown on a medication regimen -- which is another key element in the campaign to raise public awareness about MS."

This is the first time the Public Leadership in Neurology Award has been given to a television series. Previous recipients of the Award include Janet Reno (2001).

The AANERF Public Leadership Award honors those individuals and organizations outside of the medical professional who have advanced public understanding of neurologic disease.

The eight-day 2002 AAN annual meeting will take place from April 13-20 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, with related AAN science and education programs taking place in several nearby hotels.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of 18,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit its web site at www.aan.com.

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