Rev. Jesse Jackson has been hospitalized in Chicago.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said the civil rights activist was "under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative disorder he has managed for more than a decade."
He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but that diagnosis was changed to PSP, WLS reported.
PSP is also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome and affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing, according to the Mayo Clinic. The cause of the disease is not known.
Symptoms usually start when people are in their mid-to-late 60s.
Frequently, patients with PSP are misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s because the two diseases have the same symptoms, but PSP progresses more rapidly than Parkinson’s, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke told The Washington Post.
Jackson, 84, spoke about his initial Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, saying, “Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” the newspaper reported.
He went on to say he found it “increasingly difficult to perform routine tasks” before doctors told him what was wrong.
“For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression,” Jackson said at the time.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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