Word: baggett
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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They did not have to wait long for an answer. Last week doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed the first such U.S. operation on Dickye Baggett, 42, a Nashville-area clerical worker. Said Dr. George Allen, who led the medical team: "This may usher in a new era of transplantation of tissue into the brain...
Parkinsonism, characterized by tremors, stiffness and a gradual loss of muscle control, is caused by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine, a vital neurotransmitter. If the results of the Mexican doctors are repeated, the transplanted cells taken from Baggett's adrenal gland should produce enough dopamine in her brain to alleviate her Parkinson's symptoms. At week's end it was still too early to tell if the operation was successful. But Baggett already knew that she had contributed to medical progress. "All along I felt like the good Lord gave me Parkinson's disease for some reason...