Parkinson’s is the second most common neurological disease in Australia and impacts around 80,000 people around the country. Worldwide, it is thought 10 million people are impacted by the condition.
One of those people is Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox, whose Parkinson’s Foundation has just partnered with a research team from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRa) and UNSW Sydney for an exciting new project that could benefit the lives of people living with Parkinson’s.
The grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is aiming to test eHealth and smart garment technologies to prevent falls in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Falls and loss of balance are common problems for people living with Parkinson’s. They are frequently caused by gait impairments, postural instability and freezing-of-gait, a brief absence of forward momentum of the feet despite the intention to walk.
“This project has the potential to become an affordable option to address gait and balance issues and improve overall quality-of-life for people with Parkinson’s,” Michael J. Fox Foundation Associate Director Jamie L. Hamilton said in a statement.
Participants will be given a NeuRA training mat with colour-coded stepping targets, a pair of Sensoria Smart Socks, an iPad and phone.
The program will encourage participants to step on coloured stepping targets that match a series of colours displayed on their iPad. At the same time, they will listen to rhythmic auditory cues like music and a metronome beat that are synchronised with the vibrating Smarts Socks.
The combination of visual, audio and sensory elements helps to form new connections in less affected parts of the brain, leading to improved walking ability.
“People with Parkinson’s disease have substantial barriers to maintaining their independence,” NeuRa’s Dr Matthew Brodie said. “Our program has individually tailored tools to empower all people with Parkinson’s to manage their symptoms, increase capacity to remain independent and enjoy the highest possible quality of life.”
Fox first started showing signs of Parkinson’s Disease in 1991, but wasn’t diagnosed until a year later. He kept his diagnosis a secret for seven years and has previously explained in his 2002 book, Lucky Man, he spent much of that time in denial.
Fox said he spiralled into a pit of anger and denial after his diagnoses, drinking heavily and relying on alcohol to get him through the day.
After a year, his wife of 29 years Tracey Pollan confronted him and he joined Alcoholics Anonymous.
The actor told Haute Living in 2016 he thinks of Parkinson’s as the “gift that keeps on taking” but has learned to manage his condition day to day.
“The biggest problem I have now is balance. That’s kind of tricky because you fall down a couple of times at 55 and you realise that you’re not 25,” he said.
While he still appears regularly in movies and television shows, Fox spends much of his time advocating for further research into Parkinson’s Disease.
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