Sir, - Mary Larkin (January 19th) rightly calls for the abolition of prejudicial attitudes to physical frailty.
The Pope displays at least four of the six cardinal features of Parkinson's disease, namely slowness, stooped posture, tremor and poor balance.
Forty per cent of people with Parkinson's disease do not experience any cognitive difficulties. Thirty per cent experience specific deficits involving problems with planning, organisation and attention working memory.
Fewer than 30 per cent experience dementia involving severe impairment in general intellectual abilities and memory.
Therefore it is probable that the Pope's mental capacities remain completely intact. - Yours, etc.,
Dr TIMOTHY LYNCH,
Consultant Neurologist,
Mater Misericordiae and
Beaumont Hospitals,
Dublin 7.