Alan Alda reveals he has Parkinson's disease

Alan Alda reveals he has Parkinson's disease

Starring American actor Alan Alda of M * A * S * H and The West Wing, has revealed that he has Parkinson's disease.


The 82-year-old told CBS the Morning Show that it was diagnosed half-a-century ago, but now he decided to talk about it.

"I want to talk about the public about this ... I've been living my entire life since then," he said.

He said, "You still have the things you can do," he said further, "taking a boxing lesson three times a week".

Parkinson is a progressive condition in which the brain is damaged. This can cause shivering, difficulty in walking, changes in speech, and ultimately memory problems.

Alan Alda reveals he has Parkinson's disease

Elda is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "hockey" Pierce in the TV series M * A * S * H from 1972 to 1983.

He went on to play presidential candidate Arnold Vinic in The West Wing, and was nominated Oscar for Aviator in 2005.

Elda said that he had seen during recent interviews to promote his new podcast that he could "see [his thumb's walk] in some shots".

"I thought, maybe it's just a matter of time before someone does a story from a sad perspective about it, but that's not where I am," he added.
Elda said that she went to her doctor to ask for a scan because she suspected that she could have a disease.


"I read an article by Jane Brodie in the New York Times, who indicated that if you fulfill your dreams, then there is a good chance that it can be a very early symptom where nothing else shows up."

Alda acted alongside Martin Sheen (left) and Jimmy Smits in The West Wing

"I had a dream that someone was attacking me and I threw pot sack on them, but what I was actually doing was throwing a pillow on my wife."

He further said: "It is not to reduce those who are actually suffering from severe symptoms. Symptoms can be very bad, and their family may suffer.

"But in the very beginning, to be immobilized by fear and think that the worst thing happened to you ... you still have the things you can do."

What is Parkinson's?
Parkinson's disease is a condition in which progressive damages in some parts of the brain in many years.

The three main symptoms of Parkinson's disease move on the special parts of the body, slow movements, and involuntary and flexible movements of muscular muscles.

A person with Parkinson's disease can also experience a wide range of other physical and psychological symptoms, including depression and anxiety, balance problems, loss of sense of smell, difficulty in sleep, and memory problems.
In 1991, actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with young-early Parkinson's disease when he was 30 years old. He later established a foundation on his name for research and helped find the cure.

Comedian Billy Connolly, who was diagnosed in 2014, and other singers Neil Diamond, who had announced earlier this year, would retire from the tour following a recent diagnosis.