Is Sen. John Kerry "a cannibal in a suit?" Or does the Democratic presidential nominee’s platform on embryonic stem-cell research offer the best-known hope to millions of Americans who suffer from debilitating diseases and conditions?

Politics colors the debate as Kerry and President George W. Bush head down the stretch in the Nov. 2 election race.

Actor: Research Can Relieve Human Suffering

CHCIAGO -- Christopher Reeve made an appearance in Chicago just last week, on Oct. 8, to celebrate the Rehabilitation Institute's 50th Anniversary.

The actor, who became an activist for the disabled after suffering a spinal cord injury in an equestrian accident, said scientists must get the funding they need to make progress, NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern reported. Ahern said Reeve gave no indication that his health was failing at the time of his Chicago visit.

Christopher Reeve died suddenly at 5:30 p.m. yesterday of heart failure. He was 52 years old.

On Saturday October 9, Reeve fell into a coma after going into cardiac arrest while at home. Reeve was being treated for a pressure wound that he developed, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection.

Reeve was admitted to Northern Westchester Hospital on Saturday evening and never regained consciousness. His family was at his side at the time of death.

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Christopher Reeve, the chiseled, strapping "Superman" of celluloid who became another kind of hero as a force for spinal cord research after a devastating horse-riding accident, has died at 52.

Reeve, a quadriplegic for the last nine years of his life who vowed that he would one day walk again, died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore.

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Christopher Reeve, the paralyzed actor who died nine years after a riding accident, worked tirelessly to promote medical advances, especially the controversial stem cell research that has emerged as a campaign issue this year.

Reeve, who was a fixture on Capitol Hill, became a part of the debate himself as recently as last week, getting mention on the divisive question in the presidential debate between President Bush (news - web sites) and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry.

Kathy Lewis, President and CEO of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) issued the following statement today in response to the death of CRPF’s Chairman, Christopher Reeve.

(Springfield, NJ) – “On behalf of the entire Board of Directors and staff of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, we are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden death of our Chairman, Christopher Reeve,” said Lewis.

Alan Robinson will be one of the last runners to cross the finish line in Sunday's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

When he ran last year, it took him more than six hours to finish 31,309th out of 32,455 finishers.

It nevertheless was an extraordinary achievement. Robinson, 51, is a quadriplegic who 13 years ago woke up from a car accident paralyzed from the neck down.

Paralysis results from an injury or disease that damages the nervous system, affecting the ability to move or feel. Each year, more than 11,000 people in the United States become paralyzed. Paralysis is traditionally irreversible, but new research could help change that.

Neuroscientist Mary Bartlett Bunge is working at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami. She has helped develop a "triple play," combining three treatments believed to help paralysis when used individually.

CAT SPRING - Lloyd Klaus is a talented woodworker, with beautiful steamer trunks and lazy Susans his specialties.

Once a commercial sawmill operator, he has scaled down his sawmill duties to simply providing for a personal woodworking supply; breaking away from time to time to assist a friend or neighbor.

Then there's cattle ranching. He and wife Nila handle essentially all day-to-day matters related to running a 50-head cow-calf operation.