Michael J. Fox touts ‘breakthrough’ Parkinson’s test

Actor Michael J. Fox in a new op-ed for USA Today promoted the discovery of a test he’s hailing as “one of the most significant Parkinson’s breakthroughs in decades.”

A newly developed and “remarkably accurate” spinal fluid test can detect Parkinson’s in the cells of living people, according to Fox, who suffers from the disease.

“It’s a first, and a monumental leap forward, for our disease,” the “Back to the Future” star wrote.

Fox said the test will allow for diagnosis before symptoms arise, which in Fox’s case was an “innocent-seeming flutter” in his finger. It will also allow for tracking of how biological factors may impact the risk, onset and progression of the disease.

“It’s no exaggeration to say we’ve entered a new era in Parkinson’s research,” Fox wrote. “We can start answering questions that have stumped scientists, doctors and patients since James Parkinson first wrote about the disease in 1817.”

Since 2000, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has been studying Parkinson’s, a brain disorder that causes uncontrollable movements, including shaking, feeling stiff and having trouble with walking, balancing and coordination. Fox, 61, was first diagnosed with the disease at 29.

His touting of the new test comes just days after Fox told CBS Sunday Morning’s Jane Pauley that his Parkinson’s was getting harder to deal with.

“I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it .… I’m not going to be 80,” he said.  

The disease, which affects approximately 500,000 Americans, currently has no cure.