tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182962435875556601.post6184838005315982967..comments2023-09-24T08:04:06.909-04:00Comments on FSK's Guide to Reality: Does Michael J. Fox Have Tardive Dyskinesia?FSKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11903396202330950362noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182962435875556601.post-50512461307169917002011-11-17T03:08:10.571-05:002011-11-17T03:08:10.571-05:00To OP: Parkinson's disease is not the same as ...To OP: Parkinson's disease is not the same as tardive dyskinesia; in fact, they're describing the opposite symptoms. People with PD are known to have difficulty moving due to a lack of dopamine in their brain. Tardive dyskinesia is a condition in which people who have it develop involuntary twitching movements. It is a long-term complication of using medications that increase the amount of dopamine present in the brain. Thus, one can say prolonged treatment of PD can lead to TD.<br /><br />In the case with Michael J Fox, his symptoms of TD is the result of him using medications to treat/manage his PD. As for how he got PD in the first place, it's been theorized that he was taking recreational drugs that contained the chemical MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), which has been shown to cause a syndrome identical to that of PD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182962435875556601.post-73136296038054189932011-02-17T10:47:39.104-05:002011-02-17T10:47:39.104-05:00Tardive Dyskinesia is caused by drugs that are dop...Tardive Dyskinesia is caused by drugs that are dopamine agonists (meaning they mimic dopamine and turn "on" dopamine receptors in the brain.) Many antipsychotics are dopamine agonists, but so are Parkinson's medications. Parkinson's disease occurs when your brain stops making dopamine, so naturally dopamine agonists (which mimic this missing chemical) make sense as a treatment.<br /><br />Anyway, the neurologist who gave a guest lecture for my Neuroscience class at my medical school brought up Micheal J. Fox in his talk. The neurologist explained that Micheal took something like 4 times the recommended dose of his Parkinson's meds to try and prolong his career as much as possible. Now, the neurologist explained, Micheal is a good example of someone with Tardive Dyskinesia. <br /><br />So yes, I agree with your diagnosis but I don't think it was from "recreational" drug use. Poor guy just wanted to keep acting despite his disease. Still wasn't a good idea, obviously, but I figured he's got enough problems without being labeled "drug addict."<br /><br />Anyway, I was just procrastinating by looking up other tardive dyskinesia examples when I stumbled on this blog. I know it's from 2009, so sorry that this post is kind of late!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com