“Game-changer”: Michael J Fox shares huge medical news
Michael J Fox has shared news of a medical breakthrough into Parkinson’s disease.
The 61-year-old – who was diagnosed with the disease in 1991 – was thrilled to share the news, despite suffering a “terrible year”.
Fox told Stat News that he had broken multiple bones after a fall, including some in his hand and face, but has said that in some ways he is “feeling better”.
Despite his own personal battle, the Back to the Future star was overjoyed to share the breakthrough in Parkinson’s research.
The study – funded by Fox’s charity organisation that aims to find a cure for Parkinson’s – found that a key Parkinson's pathology can now be identified by examining spinal fluid from living patients, allowing earlier intervention.
“It’s all changed. It can be known and treated early on. It’s huge,” he said
“This is the thing. This is the big reward. This is the big trophy.”
The findings, published in The Lancet Neurology, are the result of a 1,123-person study that Fox’s foundation has put hundreds of millions of dollars into since it began in 2010.
An editorial in the medical journal has also called this research “a game-changer in Parkinson’s disease diagnostics, research, and treatment trials”.
In late 2022 the actor opened up about his struggle with Parkinson’s in his emotional acceptance speech for the Jean Hershel Humanitarian Award.
In the speech he said that the hardest part “was grappling with the certainty of the diagnosis and the uncertainty of the situation,” but has since felt relieved after an “outpouring of support” from the public and his peers.
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