http://www.ocregister.com/articles/j...medical-people

Doctor denies Schuller's claims of Parkinson's cure
The neurosurgeon who the televangelist said had found a cure called it a 'misunderstanding.'
By JENNIFER MUIR
The Orange County Register
Comments | Recommend

A Pennsylvania neurosurgeon on Tuesday denied he has found a cure for Parkinson's disease, as Rev. Robert H. Schuller claimed from the pulpit during a recent sermon, calling the televangelist's announcement a "misunderstanding."

A spokesman for Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where Dr. Peter Jannetta is the vice chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and director of the hospital's Center for Cranial Nerve Disorders, said he and Jannetta "regret any disappointment" the misunderstanding has caused for Schuller's viewers.

"Unfortunately, despite his well-intentions and heartfelt effort to offer hope to people who suffer from Parkinson's disease, Pastor Robert Schuller on Sunday referenced research being conducted by Dr. Jannetta that is in its earliest stages and of no immediate known benefit to those with this difficult disease," said hospital spokesman Dan Laurent on behalf of Jannetta.

He said Jannetta would not comment further.

Schuller said a friend had made the groundbreaking medical discovery during his internationally televised "Hour of Power" service at the Crystal Cathedral on Oct.12, and he promised viewers the friend, later identified as Jannetta, would soon fly in from Pittsburgh "to share with us how God helped him to discover a cure."

More than 1.5 million people across the U.S. suffer from the debilitating disease, which is caused by the degeneration of dopamine cells in the brain. The discovery of a cure would amount to a major medical breakthrough.

The sermon sparked a backlash among those who suffer from the neurological disease and surprise among medical professionals, who had never heard of such a discovery.

Several sufferers called the Crystal Cathedral hoping to learn more, others to express anger over a false cure.

The director of the National Parkinson Foundation's Arizona chapter, Rayilyn Brown, wrote to Schuller demanding a clarification. After learning of Jannetta's comments on Tuesday, Brown said the televangelist should apologize publicly.

"When a person of power and influence makes such claims people listen and it tends to marginalize the issue," Brown said. "People see no need to work for cures when Schuller says one has been found. That is what will be remembered, not that it was a misunderstanding on his part."

It is unclear just how the misunderstanding occurred.

Schuller could not be reached for comment. And a representative for the pastor last week referred further questions about the medical claims to Jannetta.

But during the service, Schuller promised congregants that the "triple-checked" findings soon would be published in the London-based medical journal Lancet. A representative for Lancet declined to comment, citing a confidential peer review process.