The actress and entrepreneur tells our reporter why she has joined the fight against this devastating disease.
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| Jane with her her brotherin-law Gordon, who suffers from Parkinson's disease |
She has acted alongside Hollywood greats including Michael Caine in Alfie, received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Jeremy Irons’ wife in Brideshead Revisited and has been nominated for two Baftas.
But according to British actress Jane Asher, her most important role to date is the one she currently plays in raising awareness of Parkinson’s disease following her brother-in-law’s diagnosis 13 years ago.
Gordon, now 72, first noticed something was wrong during a long-haul flight to Australia when he experienced a weakness in one of his feet.
“He was being treated for chest problems at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London at the time so he mentioned the foot weakness to his consultant,” says Jane, 70, who lives in Chelsea, west London with her husband, the cartoonist and illustrator Gerald Scarfe, 80.
Gordon is Gerald’s brother.
The consultant spotted something in the way Gordon moved and said he thought he might have Parkinson’s disease. Like a lot of people we knew little to nothing about the condition.”
Parkinson’s is a degenerative condition caused by the loss of nerve cells in the brain. This leads to a reduction in dopamine – a chemical which is vital for regulating movement of the body.
It affects 127,000 people in the UK. Although there is currently no cure, medications are available to treat symptoms, including tremors, slowness or loss of movement and rigidity.
While symptoms are mild at first, they can increase in severity over time and make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks and activities.
“Gordon had a minimal tremor at the time of his diagnosis,” says Jane. “However he’d always said he had no sense of smell and I now know that can be a very early sign of Parkinson’s disease.”
Claire Bale of the Parkinson’s UK research team, says: “People gradually lose the ability to co-ordinate their body, although everyone’s progression is different. It can affect swallowing and speaking and can be very diffi cult to live with.”
Gordon was referred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and joined a support group run by Parkinson’s UK. Feeling that there wasn’t enough awareness of the condition and too little support for the charity, he asked Jane to get involved to raise its profile.
“When someone close to you is diagnosed with something as devastating as Parkinson’s, of course you want to do all you can to help,” says Jane, who is now Parkinson’s UK president and wants to highlight symptoms so people know what to look out for.
The so-called ‘mask of Parkinson’s’ is actually very distinctive,” she says. “I once spotted it in a friend and thought he might have the disease and indeed he was later diagnosed. “It’s all too easy to write someone off for being withdrawn – if you tell them a joke and they don’t respond, for example – but it can lead to people with Parkinson’s becoming increasingly isolated.”
Parkinson’s can also make sufferers freeze, leaving them immobile – and people’s reactions can be less than sympathetic. “If someone freezes, sometimes a gentle tap on their shoulder or back can prompt movement again,” says Jane.
“And while I would never go up to an immobile stranger in the street and tap them on the shoulder, if I thought someone was in trouble I would always ask if they needed help.” Although Gordon is now largely confined to bed he is able to go out occasionally using a wheelchair. He also takes medication which can cause unpleasant side effects. Claire explains:
“While it can’t slow or stop the progression of the disease, it can mask symptoms by increasing dopamine in the brain. “Yet dopamine can have strange effects on other areas of the brain responsible for reward, which leads some people into gambling or hypersexuality.”
Jane adds: “In Gordon’s case he started collecting items such as squirrels or kitsch knick-knacks.”
As a retired graphic artist, Gordon took great pleasure in contributing to the annual awards run by Parkinson’s UK. THE Mervyn Peake Awards are named after the writer, artist and illustrator and creator of the Gormenghast trilogy of novels, who had Parkinson’s, and they celebrate the creativity of people who have the disease.
Now in their 15th year, the awards showcase creative work in art, photography, poetry, books and multimedia. Gordon enjoyed contributing to the photography section, just as Jane now takes huge pleasure in judging the poetry.
“When someone is physically incapacitated, it’s all too easy to assume that they now lack creativity, and that’s dangerous and totally wrong,” says Jane, who is a celebrated baker and owned a company that made party cakes.
“This is our way of showing that even though people may be physically incapacitated, they can be very creative and produce wonderful things.” After many years as president of Parkinson’s UK, Jane now works closely with researchers who believe that a new treatment could be on the horizon.
Parkinson’s UK is funding research to develop gene therapy to slow or halt the development of the disease.
This is a really important time for Parkinson’s research since scientists worldwide have made huge strides over the past decade,” says Claire. “We are now much closer to understanding why people get Parkinson’s and how we can slow, stop or reverse the condition. “And we believe better treatments for Parkinson’s will come in years, not decades.”
Jane agrees: “I would like to think a far more effective treatment, if not a cure, will be available in my lifetime. “Until that time comes, we have to keep searching for a cure and raising awareness of this potentially devastating disease.”
The annual Mervyn Peake Awards celebrate the creativity of people with Parkinson’s. The 2016 Mervyn Peake Awards calendar, which includes winners, highly commended and a selection of other entries, is on sale from mid-July from parkinsons.org.uk/shop. Visit parkinsons.org.uk or call 0808 800 0303 for more information.
Video:http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/688444/Alfie-actress-Jane-Asher-Parkinsons-disease-brother-in-law-health-Michael-Caine
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/688444/Alfie-actress-Jane-Asher-Parkinsons-disease-brother-in-law-health-Michael-Caine
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