Parkinson’s in comedians

Parkinson’s is a neuro degenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly and affects movement. Tremors, slowed movement and dementia are among the symptoms of this incurable disease.

It hasn’t been long since Madan Krishna Shrestha, one half of Nepal’s most famous comedian duo, made his Parkinson’s diagnosis public. He went through the first ever Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery in Nepal, carried out by a team of Japanese experts and Nepali neurosurgeons at the Annapurna Neuro Hospital in Kathmandu. I met Shrestha about a year ago, when I learned of his health condition (even before he had revealed it). At that time, I was aware of the diagnosis of one more famous comedian, Canadian Michael J Fox. I discussed this with Shrestha and asked him, “Do you think this disease targets comedians?” He smiled at my question and replied, “I am not a comedian, I am an actor.”

My purpose for meeting Shrestha was to convince him to work for advocacy on Parkinson’s disease. But as he was not in the best of health then, I was unable to do so. Now, he has himself revealed this fact in public and has also promised to work to spread awareness of this disease, as his condition has become far better after surgery.  

Some months after my meeting with Madan Krishna Shrestha, there was news about the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in the septuagenarian comic legend, Billy Connolly, who also had prostate cancer.

Comedians are people whose job is to entertain people and make them laugh by telling jokes and stories. These four legends—Madan Krishna Shrestha, Micheal J Fox, Billy Connolly and the late Robin Williams—are not just comedians but are also great actors. It is probably just a coincidence that they all have Parkinson’s disease. But having been an advocate for awareness of this disease for almost five years now, there is an issue which needs research: ‘Does humour have anything to do with the death of dopamine-generating cells?’

Degenerating ailment

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The motor symptoms of the disease result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the Substantia nigra, a region in the mid-brain. The cause for the death

and impairment of these cells is as of yet unknown. During the early phase of the disease, the most obvious symptoms are movement related, which include shaking, rigidity, slowness of walking and difficulty in walking and gait. Later, thinking and behavioural problems might also arise, with dementia commonly occurring in the advanced stage whereas depression is the most common psychiatric symptom. Other symptoms include sensory, sleep and emotional problems. However, Parkinson’s disease is much more common in old people.

New advocates

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring our mind and body to balance than a good laugh. Humour lightens our burden, inspires hope, connects us with others and keeps us grounded, focused and alert. Laughter helps to maintain mental health. It works like medicine. So isn’t it sad that life itself made fun of these comedians, who had committed their lives to making people laugh?

Even though they now have a hard life, something good has happened; some of them have started to work as an advocate for the awareness of this disease. It is the good fate of the Parkinson’s community that it now has such wonderful people advocating more research and knowledge. Since Michael J Fox went public with his diagnosis, he has been a strong advocate of Parkinson’s disease research.  His foundation, The Michael J Fox Foundation, was created to help advance promising research paths to curing Parkinson’s disease, including embryonic stem cell studies.

Similarly, Madan Krishna Shrestha, in a recent interview, said that he will start working to spread awareness of this disease. Having him as an advocate will certainly make a change in the current situation of Parkinson’s in Nepal.  

Khanal holds a Masters in Business Studies from Tribhuvan University