Hollywood star Michael J. Fox (61) is happy about a breakthrough in the search for Parkinson’s biomarkers, which he says is “deeply moved”. Scientists have developed a new technique that could help diagnose Parkinson’s disease before symptoms appear. This could also speed up the search for a cure. A paper on this was published in the journal The Lancet Neurology. She comes from the leaders of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), the Parkinson’s biomarker study sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).
According to a statement by the foundation, it confirms the most important breakthrough to date in the search for a Parkinson’s biomarker. The research results should open up new possibilities for the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Michael J. Fox, who established the Foundation in 2000, said: “I am involved in the Foundation’s work in many ways, but I come to this conclusion primarily as a patient with Parkinson’s disease. I am deeply moved by this breakthrough and the researchers , study participants and funders who have worked to get us this far.” He added: “When we started PPMI we weren’t fishing for fish – we were chasing a whale. Now we are here. Together we make a cure for Parkinson’s inevitable.”
The actor has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease since 1991. The first symptoms appeared during the shooting of “The Hard Way”, which he covered up for years. In 1998 he made his illness public.
In 2020, Fox was forced to give up his acting career for good. Because in addition to tremor symptoms, his short-term memory was “over” due to Parkinson’s disease, as he revealed in a previous “People” interview from 2020. On the set of the series “Designated Survivor” (2016-2019) with Kiefer Sutherland (56), Fox found that he simply couldn’t remember his lines of dialogue.
The ‘Back to the Future’ star has been a long-time advocate for the search for a Parkinson’s cure, and in 2000 founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which raises and distributes funds for Parkinson’s research.
