“I’ll tell you about my life with Parkinson’s.” Here comes Still, the documentary by Michael J. Fox- time.news

2023-05-12 08:04:42

Of Alessandra De Tommasi

The actor has been suffering from Parkinson’s since the age of 29 and has now decided to tell his greatest fears in a documentary film visible today on AppleTV +. Here are the symptoms of the pathology

Icon of the eighties, Michael J. Fox he represented the face of an entire generation, the one that dreamed of flying cars to travel through time. You also wrote a book about it, The future was beautiful (published by TEA), with a title that says it all. In fact, the Back to the Future star is 61 years old today and has decided to tell her biggest fears about her (among which the fear of not reaching 80 stands out), which she has been carrying with her since she was diagnosed a severe form of juvenile Parkinson’s disease.

At the time he was 29 years old, he was at the peak of his career and had to put the handbrake on to figure out how to deal with it. Now she has done it, she has gained self-awareness, gone back to work and described a type of journey that he did not expect. She did it her way, with a smile, in the film Still: The Story of Michael J.Foxarriving from 12 maggio on AppleTV+. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, it sees Tracy Pollan as co-star, his life partner, known on the set of Casa Keaton and mother of her four children. The adventurous, romantic, painful but also comforting story, a sort of artistic and personal legacy. Differently, sure, but even today Michael J.Fox remains an inspiration.

What Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s one neurodegenerative disease with slow but progressive evolution caused by progressive death of some brain cells which produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls the body’s automatic movements. Exposure to hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides, solvents or the indiscriminate intake of typical antipsychotic or antinausea drugs favors the onset of the disease. Average age of onset is around 60 years, but 5% of patients may have a juvenile onset under 40 years old. Genetics doesn’t help: 30% of patients had a family member who suffered from Parkinson’s or related syndromes. It is estimated that in Italy there are 400,000 people with Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s symptoms

The non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s can present up to ten years before the disease. By the time characteristic Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremors or stiffness appear, half of the dopamine-producing neurons are already dead. Early symptoms include loss of smell, sleep disturbances (abrupt movements and screams in REM sleep), need to urinate at night, constipation, swallowing problems, writing difficulties, facial stiffness. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, but drug treatment can keep symptoms under control and slow the progression of the disease.

May 12, 2023 (change May 12, 2023 | 08:04)

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