Ali and Olympic Torch

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Ali Honored For Disease Fight

                           Tuesday, September 24, 1996 4:20 pm EDT

                           WASHINGTON (AP) -- Boxing great Muhammad
                           Ali was honored Tuesday for his fighting
                           outside the boxing ring in his battle to
                           vanquish Parkinson's syndrome.

                           Ali, whose bout with the disease has left
                           his speech slurred, used his world-renowned
                           fame to bring the spotlight to the first
                           national study for Parkinson's disease
                           exclusively for minorities.

                           At a news conference, Pharmacia & Upjohn
                           announced hopes that the study would
                           bolster minority participation in clinical
                           trials for new treatment.

                           ``We noticed that the minority population
                           in those trials was only about two to three
                           percent, whereas the overall Parkinson's
                           population is about 35 percent minority,''
                           said Jack Jackson, a senior vice president
                           for Pharmacia & Upjohn, which will conduct
                           the study with the Parkinson Study Group.

                           Ali didn't speak at the news conference,
                           but the heavyweight boxing legend planned
                           to light a torch at an evening reception.

                           ``The igniting of the `Fighting Flame' will
                           be the benchmark of a massive international
                           public awareness campaign, utilizing the
                           torch to help us blaze towards a cure,''
                           said Emilio Alonso-Mendoza, Executive
                           Director of the National Parkinson
                           Foundation.