Michael J. Fox, the much-loved actor, has expressed optimism that a cure for Parkinson’s Disease is closer than ever before. Fox was diagnosed with the degenerative condition at the age of 29, and has since raised over two billion dollars for the cause. During an interview with Lorraine Kelly on Friday’s Lorraine, he revealed that a ‘gigantic breakthrough’ had been made in identifying a biomarker for the disease, which could lead to earlier treatment. Parkinson’s is a disease that causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s disease research in the world, with more than $1 billion of research projects to date. Fox was on the ITV show to promote his new documentary, in which he details living with the condition, as well as life with wife Tracy Pollan, 62, and their four children. Despite his illness, Fox remains positive and grateful for life, stating that he is ‘thrilled with life’ and ‘a very happy person’.
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurological condition that destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement. Sufferers are known to have diminished supplies of dopamine because nerve cells that make it have died. There is currently no cure and no way of stopping the progression of the disease, but hundreds of scientific trials are underway to try and change that. Fox’s optimism about a cure is a ray of hope for the millions of people around the world who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease.
Keywords: Parkinson’s Disease, Michael J. Fox, cure, biomarker, research, hope, optimism, dopamine, neurological condition.
