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Ex-Knick Ticky Burden has rare heart disease

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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Former New York Knicks guard Luther ''Ticky'' Burden has a rare heart disease and is being treated at a Manhattan hospital.

The 61-year-old Burden has ATTR amyloidosis, a disease that causes the body's immune system to produce abnormal forms of antibodies. Dr. Mathew Maurer is treating Burden and says the ex-player has been ''ravaged.''

A fundraiser is to be held in Burden's hometown of Albany on July 25.

Burden starred in college at Utah and signed with the Virginia Squires of the ABA in 1975. He joined the Knicks the following year when the league merged with the NBA. He was a reserve for two seasons before retiring.

He was later linked to a bank robbery on Long Island and served two years in prison.