2023-05-08 13:55:35
US actor Michael J. Fox has suffered from the dreaded Parkinson’s disease for many years. At the age of 29 he received the terrible diagnosis. Now Fox, who is now 61, claims his early drug use triggered the disease.
Can that really be, can drugs Parkinson trigger? BILD clarifies the question.
Cocaine, amphetamines and other hard drugs! Fox says his parties in the 1980s made him what he is today: a man with severe Parkinson’s disease.
Prof. Christoph Kleinschnitz, Director of Neurology at Essen University Hospital, on BILD: “Fox has a very early form of Parkinson’s disease, which is usually genetic, meaning it’s inherited.”
The fact is: The cause of classic Parkinson’s disease is still unknown to physicians today. We know what happens in the brain, but we don’t know why the affected nerve cells die.
Environmental toxins are possible triggers
Prof. Kleinschnitz: “There is the hypothesis that environmental toxins such as pesticides or carbon monoxide can be the trigger. Virus infections are also under discussion. But we’re talking about rare cases here.”
It is not yet known that drugs can also trigger the disease directly. Certain drugs also damage certain brain regions. There is also evidence that adults who abuse cocaine may have an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.
But whether this is actually a trigger is still completely unclear.
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