New Mexico Senator announces retirement due to health reasons

On Thursday, Republican Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico announced that he would be retiring at the end of his sixth term due to a degenerative brain disease.

Following a medical exam last month, the progression of an incurable brain disorder known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FLTD, was revealed. The 72-year-old senator decided after a family discussion, that he might not be physically able to serve a full seventh term.

"The progress of this disease is apparently erratic. It may well be that seven years from now, it will be stable," Domenici said. "On the other hand, it may also be that the disease will have incapacitated me. That's possible."

The Associated Press web site explains some of the symptoms of the debilitating disease, "Symptoms vary, but include increasing difficulty with speech and Parkinson's disease-like movement problems. Also common are marked personality and behavior changes--- such as becoming especially extroverted or withdrawn, overeating, loss of awareness of personal hygiene."