Five-year study on Parkinson’s funded by Michael J. Fox Foundation gets underway

Actor Michael J. Fox is back to the present. First, as star of the original “Back to the Future” film, which turns 25 this year with big-screen showings in theaters nationwide later this month, he recently remade the movie’s original trailer (check it out on Spike TV).

Second, as the founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which recently launched a five-year study to identify biomarkers of the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Fox has had Parkinson’s for almost 19 years, since he turned 30. The Chicago Tribune explores one hospital’s participation in the new study in “Northwestern seeks clues to Parkinson’s.”

Fox recently sat down with CNN’s Dr Sanjay Gupta to discuss the disease and the foundation he formed to seek a cure. The interview is an interesting exchange, particularly when Gupta points to some of Fox’s involuntary movements (the hallmark of Parkinson’s) and asks him to describe what’s going on in his body and what it feels like. YouTube has the interview: “Michael J. Fox talks to Sanjay Gupta”.

-- Mary Forgione / Los Angeles Times