By David Willis BBC News in Los Angeles

The veteran American actor, Charlton Heston, has announced that he is suffering from a condition consistent with Alzheimer's Disease.

Mr Heston, 78, won an Oscar in 1959 for his performance in Ben Hur and has appeared in more than 100 films.

In a taped statement played to the media at a hotel in Beverley Hills, Mr Heston said he was neither giving up nor giving in.

If I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway

Charlton Heston

"I wanted to prepare a few words for you now because when the time comes I may not be able to".

Charlton Heston found fame as an actor starring in such films as El Cid, Planet of the Apes and as Moses in The Ten Commandments.

Political figure

He said: ''For an actor there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you, which is why I won't exclude you from this stage in my life.''

Heston in his Oscar-winning role of Ben Hur

''If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you'll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway," he continued.

In 1998, Mr Heston became a political figure when elected president of the National Rifle Association.

He led the fight against gun control and successfully fended off moves for tighter regulation of firearms.