Main Entry: Ken·ne·dy's disease

Pronunciation: \ˈken-əd-ēz-\

Variant(s): also Ken·ne·dy disease \-əd-ē-\

Function: noun

: a progressive muscular and neurological disorder that is characterized especially by muscular weakness and atrophy and by neural degeneration, that is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait, and that chiefly affects adult males—called also spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy

Kennedy, William Robert (born 1927), American neurologist. Kennedy enjoyed a long association with the University of Minnesota's medical center in Minneapolis, rising to rank of professor of neurology. His major area of research was neuromuscular disorders. The neuromuscular disorder that bears his name was described in an article published in 1980 that he coauthored with M. Alter and J. H. Sung.