In 1998, Michael J Fox, the elfin star of the US sitcom, Spin City, lost his Peter Pan image in one startling announcement: he had, he told us, been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years previously. The slowness (known as brady- kinesia) and shaking that we all recognise as a sign of Parkinson's worsen as the condition progresses (usually over a few years). But then again, other investigations, going back over five generations of a family with an astonishingly high rate of Parkinson's led scientists to identify two genes that cause a particular kind of the disease. But we didn't find funding.". Last edited on 8 September 2022, at 19:16, "Michael J. In one case, at the University of Pittsburgh, four people who worked in the same department were diagnosed with the disease between 1974 and 1991. They concluded that there was little evidence that the cause of the illness in older people (ie those over 50) could be genetic. In 1998, Michael J Fox, the elfin star of the US sitcom, Spin City, lost his Peter Pan image in one startling announcement: he had, he told us, been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease . For more than a century scientists have been arguing about what causes this debilitating, degenerative brain disease. Leo and Me is a Canadian television sitcom that was produced in 1977 and aired in 1978. This article relating to a comedy television series in Canada is a stub. Or is it all down to fate? There is, Langston says, "strong evidence that this kind of Parkinson's is highly genetic". It starred a 15-year-old Michael J. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. It is, says Dr JW Langston, scientific director and chief executive of the Parkinson's Institute in California, "a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by stiffness of muscles, slowing down of movement and a tremor". Consequently, says Langston, "most people would currently say that the environment plays a greater role in Parkinson's than genetics". But what, exactly, in our environment could be causing it? "We were going to be called the 'Cluster Busters'. Michael J Fox was startlingly unlucky to develop 'the shaking palsy' at such a young age. In 2002, an investigation was launched into Leo and Me after an unusual cluster of Parkinson's disease cases was noted among former cast and crew members of the show. Doctors understand more about young-onset than they do older-onset Parkinson's. One thing, though, is beyond debate: Fox was startlingly unlucky to develop it in his 30s. Before the English doctor James Parkinson described its symptoms in 1817, people called it the "shaking palsy". "[4] Donald Calne, a Vancouver neurologist, said the incidence of Parkinson's in society is about 1 in 300, but that four of the 125 people on the Vancouver set of Leo and Me developed the disease. The department of neurology convened a "cluster committee" of experts to investigate but they could find no evidence of an environmental cause. Fox and director Don Williams were among the four with the disease, along with a writer and a cameraman. Eventually, you find walking, talking, or doing other simple tasks extremely difficult. There are, however, some environmental culprits that show up in study after study, says Maestrone. Lucy Atkins. "You might trace all the people in a cluster to one apartment block," Langston explains, "then discover that it was torn down in 1982 and made into a mall." However, since these genes are extremely rare, these studies by no means account for most cases of older-onset Parkinson's. Can you "catch" Parkinson's? Leo's charm and good luck guided him through tricky but humorous situations and his young sidekick's adept mind helped the pair get out of trouble. So right now, as Langston puts it, "there is no smoking gun." Fox, in his television acting debut, playing Jamie, the 12-year-old younger nephew of Leo (Brent Carver). "That is the 64 million dollar question," Langston says, "and it is why clusters of the disease are so interesting: they could point to an environmental cause - some common exposure." The cause, of course, is not the cure. This rate was 30% higher than the general population. Parkinson's 'cluster', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_and_Me&oldid=1109243829, This page was last edited on 8 September 2022, at 19:16. And it is even more difficult to establish, from that, what could have caused the outbreak. Other investigations into the disease in mining communities have shown certain metals to be guilty parties - aluminium and manganese are the main villains. "The average time from the first symptom appearing to diagnosis is two years," says Langston. Fox stated, "Believe it or not, from a scientific point of view, that's not significant. "You can find studies that people who spend time with each other are more susceptible to Parkinson's disease and you can find the reverse," Dr Abe Lieberman, medical director for the National Parkinson Foundation in Miami, told the Sun-Times. The problem is that clusters are "incredibly difficult to investigate - you would have to do daunting research to get an answer". Now three people who worked with him on a sitcom during the 70s have revealed they also have the disease. Even if the building still exists, toxins once present may have dissipated. Fox part of B.C. "We once put together a proposal to set up a team which would investigate all suspected clusters of Parkinson's across the US," Langston says. Leo and Me is a Canadian television sitcom that was produced in 1977 and aired in 1978.. However: "When it comes to most cases of typical older-onset Parkinson's, genetics don't look likely as an explanation.". [1][2][3], When asked about the cluster by Howard Stern in a September 25, 2013, interview on The Howard Stern Show, Michael J. He told the Chicago Sun-Times that studies have found there to be an increased risk of clusters among certain workers who operate closely together - principally teachers, medical workers, loggers and miners. It is, for instance, extremely difficult (and expensive) to differentiate between a cluster and a coincidence. How could he have a disease normally associated with the elderly? "If Michael J Fox's wife developed Parkinson's disease, I would pay more attention to the cluster theory.". Scientists are arguing over whether this could be classed as a "cluster" of Parkinson's cases - and if so, what could have caused it? In 1999 Langston's team published a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in which they compared instances of the condition in twins with exactly the same genetic make-up and fraternal twins. Dr Donald Calne, of the University of British Columbia Hospital, is treating two of the cast of Leo and Me. Leo and Jamie lived on the yacht moored in the harbour. The Leo and Me news merely highlights how little we know about a disease that hits about 1% of people over the age of 50. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. The outlook, however, is not entirely bleak: Langston believes that there is certainly "a good chance of finding a cause of Parkinson's in the next 10 years". Did they all breathe in some environmental toxin in the studio? This is because certain cells in your brain are simply fading away. It starred a 15-year-old Michael J. It may, it has now emerged, have been more than that. "These cells - the pigmented neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain - produce dopamine, a chemical messenger responsible for transmitting signals within the brain," Langston explains. But if we know who's pulling the trigger we might, eventually, be able to dodge the bullets. Leo and Me was produced by Don Eccleston, directed by Don S. Williams and written by Marc and Susan Strange. It appeared to be genetic bad luck on a grand scale. So what about Fox and the suspected Leo and Me cluster? Dr Paul Maestrone, director of scientific and medical affairs at the American Parkinson's Disease Association, emphasises that "no definitive data exists" to fully explain the causes of Parkinson's. "If there is not enough dopamine, critical nerve cells in the brain, or neurons, start to fire out of control.". Fox - who looked about 16 years old - was in his 30s when diagnosed. The water table, they concluded, had been contaminated by pesticides and herbicides). Others maintain that most cases of Parkinson's are caused by the world around us: exposure, perhaps, to some kind of viral infection, or to environmental pollutants. They could, the theory goes, be exposed to more viruses than most people, and this might cause them to develop the disease. The Michael J Fox Foundation, which supports research into Parkinson's, estimates that while "at least one million people in the United States have Parkinson's, many of them, perhaps half, are thought to be undiagnosed". Calne said, "It could be coincidence. Some believe that the condition is a result of still-to-be-discovered genetic factors. Fox) to live with him. The rate of Parkinson's in both types of twin was virtually the same. Is there a link? And the Michael J Fox Foundation is equally cautious, saying on its website that "most scientists believe a combination of genetic and environmental factors" are to blame. Remaining evidence may be scarce, or patchy. Leo (Brent Carver) was a carefree, hard-living Italian adventurer who had won a large, decrepit yacht in a poker game, and had taken his orphaned nephew Jamie (Michael J. Fox, in his television acting debut, playing Jamie, the 12-year-old younger nephew of Leo (Brent Carver).. Leo and Me was produced by Don Eccleston, directed by Don S. Williams and written by Marc and Susan Strange. This difficulty could explain why other suspected Parkinson's clusters have remained enigmatic. But it's intriguing, it might be something they were exposed to."[2]. The disease is certainly not new. Investigations into incidences of Parkinson's in agricultural communities, for instance, have repeatedly linked high exposure to certain pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers with the disease (one Canadian study of farming communities showed that those who drank well water were dramatically more likely to develop the disease. To most of us this didn't seem possible. Or did they perhaps pass the disease to each other? One theory, that has been around for years, is that Parkinson's could be caused - or perhaps triggered - by a viral infection, maybe even influenza. His "young-onset" Parkinson's, which affects those under the age of 40, accounts for only 3-4% of cases. 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