Parkinson's | featured news

Michael J. Fox is planning a return to series TV, more than a decade after he left to concentrate on fighting Parkinson's disease. The actor, who first gained fame in the 1980s sitcom "Family Ties" and later headlined "Spin City," will star in a comedy that's in development at Sony Pictures Television for 2013, according to people with knowledge of the project.

British actor Bob Hoskins says he is retiring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In a statement released Wednesday through his agent, the 69-year-old performer thanked his fans and said he had had a "wonderful career." The statement said Hoskins was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve condition last fall.

The new class of drug, which can be taken orally, is designed to protect the brain by combating the damaging effects of inflammation. Results from early stage clinical trials have yet to be announced, but studies on animals suggest the therapy could be effective against a wide range of conditions which also include motor neurone disease and complications from traumatic brain injury.

The tantalising prospect of treating a range of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, all with the same drug has been raised by UK researchers.