0:00:04 > 0:00:06My name's Paul Mayhew-Archer.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08You don't know me,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11but I may have been in your living room at Christmas time.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Not because I'm a thief, or Santa, but because of this.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18- Enter if you're sexy and love Jesus! - GIGGLING
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Evening.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'm a comedy scriptwriter who's been lucky enough to work with
0:00:24 > 0:00:26some pretty funny people.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29OK, what does it mean when that red light's on?
0:00:29 > 0:00:30You're a prostitute?
0:00:32 > 0:00:36And I've always looked on my own life as a bit of a sitcom.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40I think, actually, this was the corner where I was propositioned.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42And I didn't like to let her down too seriously,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45so I just said, "Not today, thank you."
0:00:45 > 0:00:48If you don't help me now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell them
0:00:48 > 0:00:51you are actually Noel Edmonds.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53I've spent my life trying to give people a laugh,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56so when I was told, five years ago,
0:00:56 > 0:00:57that I've got Parkinson's disease...
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Ooh, maybe she can cure it?
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Yeah, it's gone, you see. Isn't that amazing?
0:01:02 > 0:01:05..I decided to focus on the funny side.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08- Oh, damn you!- This is my daily exercise.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13'I'm even writing a rom-com for the BBC about Parkinson's,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'which is proof that my marbles have gone completely AWOL.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'And the funniest bit is, it's actually been commissioned,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21'so I think their marbles have gone AWOL as well.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Really weird!
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Yes, thank you.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29When I saw a neurologist and I was diagnosed, he said,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32"You should expect five good years."
0:01:32 > 0:01:35And I remember thinking, "Well, actually, you know, that's pretty good.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40"Because up until now, I've had the odd good year, but never five!"
0:01:40 > 0:01:42You know, wow! God, that's fantastic!
0:01:44 > 0:01:47But those five good years are coming to an end
0:01:47 > 0:01:51and I want to find out what might be next.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Five bad years?
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Five not-so-bad years?
0:01:54 > 0:01:55Five weeks?
0:01:56 > 0:02:00As yet, there is no cure, so I want to find out what I might be in for,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03who's doing what in the search for treatment...
0:02:03 > 0:02:04Aaaaaaah!
0:02:04 > 0:02:07..and above all, see when I'm entitled to free parking.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13When I was diagnosed, I sort of walked up and down a little bit
0:02:13 > 0:02:17for the professor and then he prodded me in the front and
0:02:17 > 0:02:21then prodded me in the back and then he said, "Yeah, that's Parkinson's."
0:02:21 > 0:02:25And my wife said, "How can you tell, just from that?"
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And he said, "Well, no, there are other signs,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31"like the fact that I know your writing is very small
0:02:31 > 0:02:35"and also your facial muscles have quite frozen.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37"For instance, you seem to be finding it quite hard to smile."
0:02:37 > 0:02:41I said, "Well, that could be because you've told me I've got Parkinson's."
0:02:46 > 0:02:50So, let's not start with hospital visits and neurologists.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Let's start with the most important thing of all.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59I'm heading towards the most exciting aisle in any supermarket.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Which is of course the promised land.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Could you hold this for me, please?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Because I'm going in!
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The vicar of Dibley was of course famous for her love of chocolate.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16A bit of science here.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Parkinson's occurs when your brain produces less and less dopamine,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23but there's a theory that chocolate encourages the brain to
0:03:23 > 0:03:28produce dopamine, so as I see it, chocolate is a vital medicine
0:03:28 > 0:03:32in the battle against Parkinson's and should really be on prescription.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36A lot of people with Parkinson's, we, um...
0:03:36 > 0:03:38From the drugs, usually,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40we have certain obsessions.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I'm going to try these, I haven't tried them before.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It can be sexual, it can be gambling,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48people have been known to lose thousands.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52In my case, it's chocolate.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54I just love chocolate.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58If I can find a fantastic sort of bargain on chocolate,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01that's marvellous and then of course I have to smuggle them
0:04:01 > 0:04:05into the house, because my wife doesn't, you know, approve.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08The trouble is, I could eat this in a day.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Actually, I could eat this in one sitting.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19I COULD eat this before I even get home from the shop. Lovely.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27The two of us are going to have the most fantastic evening together.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- You provide the booze and I'll provide chocolate for the evening. - Fair enough!
0:04:30 > 0:04:33That is a good deal, isn't it?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36One person in every 500 in the UK has Parkinson's.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39That's 127,000 of us.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Which means a lot of people fumbling for change at the checkout.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Thank you very much. This is where it gets difficult.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Trying to just get the money out.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- Thank you very much indeed. Sorry to keep you.- That's OK.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01What we talk about is being "off" and being "on".
0:05:01 > 0:05:05And we're on when we're sort of alert and fine,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08because the medication is having its maximum impact.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11And then we're off when it's starting to lose...
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Wear off, and we need some more.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17But there will come a time, I'm sure, soon, when the illness
0:05:17 > 0:05:21progresses a bit and I'll need more to keep me going,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25because there'll be longer periods when I'm "off", as it were.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31As usual, I'm running a little bit late.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I never allow enough time. I think I'm in denial, you know.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Fuelled by chocolate, I make a mad dash to the centre of Oxford for
0:05:38 > 0:05:42a class run by the English National Ballet for people with Parkinson's.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44By this time, you're probably thinking,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47"I think he's faking it, I don't think he's got Parkinson's at all,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50"the way he seems to be running." Maybe I haven't!
0:05:52 > 0:05:55So you noticed this arm doesn't swing.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57I can make it swing.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01This used to happen naturally,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06um, in the olden days, when the dopamine cells were producing dopamine,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09so I have to sort of remember to do it.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16CHANTING: Now-it-beg-ins!
0:06:18 > 0:06:19GROANING
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Sorry, sorry.- Again! - Sorry, very sorry!
0:06:23 > 0:06:24Sorry!
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Just find a chair.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35When you think of ballet, you probably think of Darcey Bussell and
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Rudolf Nureyev, not a bunch of people with a form of brain damage
0:06:39 > 0:06:43that causes a progressive degeneration of the entire nervous system.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48But it turns out we might not be great at ballet,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51but ballet is certainly great for us.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53In!
0:06:53 > 0:06:54What does it do for you, Jim?
0:06:54 > 0:06:58It makes me walk upright and in a more balanced way.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00And can I just check,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- do you leave cups of coffee lying around the house, Jim?- I do.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And they get cold. I quite like cold coffee though.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08I do, too!
0:07:08 > 0:07:09I used to like coffee hot, but now,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I don't seem to get to it until it's been lying around for about an hour.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15I've got really used to cold coffee.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Do you find that you drink cups of cold coffee and leave them
0:07:20 > 0:07:21lying around the house?
0:07:22 > 0:07:23Yes. Yes, I do.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Aha! Have we discovered a symptom?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- Arabesque! Reach up! - 'Probably not.'
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Anyway, Sally was 59 when she was diagnosed.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37She first noticed a tremor in her hand and tried to ignore it.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Then her voice got weaker and she became anxious in crowds.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43So what do you get out of the dance classes?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46When I go out, I feel I've just had an hour-and-a-half without Parkinson's.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49I forgotten I've got Parkinson's.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Now, what goes on in the middle is just remarkable.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- We do these lovely exercises, you and I giggle a lot...- Get told off again.- Get told off again!
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But it's just relaxation with a lot of exercise.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Which sounds kind of wrong, but...it is.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Chris and Christine have been married for 51 years.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Chris is 71 and he was diagnosed nine years ago.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- And you get hallucinations, Chris, do you, from time to time?- Yes.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37At the moment, he's got a second bedroom that's through the wall,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39in the bedroom.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44He says he goes into it, but I'm not sure how.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- You see children, don't you?- Yes.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Two little girls?- Yes.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It's amazing.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55But Chris knows that it's not actually real, even though he sees it.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- Which is...strange. - That's extraordinary.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59So he knows it's a hallucination?
0:08:59 > 0:09:03You see these things, but you know they're not real, is that right?
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- Oh, yeah, yeah.- That they don't frighten you?- No, no.- No.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11You always strike me as incredibly cheerful about it all.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Yes... Not always. There are times when it's quite hard.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21- But we get on and make the best of it, really, don't we?- We do.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- And we laugh about your hallucinations, don't we?- Yeah.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- Because they are quite funny sometimes!- Quite strange ones.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Yes!
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Anne Clark used to be a geography teacher
0:09:34 > 0:09:38who travelled the world every chance she got, until very recently.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Do you find the dance itself helps?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Yes, I think it does.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47How long have you had the Parkinson's?
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Oh, ever since 1998.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- 17 years.- Mmm.- Good Lord.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59That's extraordinary.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08I find the people in this group absolutely amazing.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Partly the fact that the people with Parkinson's remain so
0:10:12 > 0:10:17high-spirited and joyous and positive about whatever the future might bring
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and also the love and devotion that they get from their partners.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It just is really an eye-opener
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and I find it very moving, even though I've got Parkinson's.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30So I'm just full of admiration for them.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Have you had anything to eat? - Um, no, I haven't really.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39'My wife Julie, who'll you notice gives me bananas, not chocolate,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43'was one of the first people to spot that the way I moved was changing.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46'It's a bit like sometimes I'm in slow motion.'
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Can I have a bit of chocolate?
0:10:48 > 0:10:50'Especially peeling bananas.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'Gosh, this really is TV gold.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Quite nice.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58We look back and realise how long he'd had it before he was
0:10:58 > 0:11:02diagnosed, just over four... Well, four-and-a-half years ago.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06And it makes sense of things.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Now, one of the things about the pills, is that they're quite small.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14And for someone who has not very much dexterity in their fingers,
0:11:14 > 0:11:15it can be a bit tricky.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But, anyway, there are two of them, and I take two of these.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Often, I forget whether I've taken two lots or one lot.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'Cold coffee and tablets are all very well at the moment,
0:11:27 > 0:11:28'but what of the future?'
0:11:28 > 0:11:30You could finish this one!
0:11:30 > 0:11:31I don't worry about the future.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Oh, gosh! Oh, right. That's comforting.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44- TEARFULLY:- Sorry. I never think about that.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46We prefer not to know in many ways.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Of course, one of the things I've learnt is that
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I have to be very careful going upstairs,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58even more so than going downstairs, because if I lose my balance
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and I'm a bit wobbly, then I'm going to fall backwards rather than
0:12:01 > 0:12:05forwards and then I don't actually know where I'm going to fall, so...
0:12:05 > 0:12:07There we go, I'm up.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14So, this is me now, coming into my little den up on the second floor.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16This is where I write.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20One thing I'll show you, one of the first things I noticed
0:12:20 > 0:12:25that indicated that I actually had a problem, was my writing.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Because my handwriting's always been pretty bad, but if I start there...
0:12:35 > 0:12:37There, you see.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41If you notice, my handwriting gets smaller...
0:12:43 > 0:12:45..and... HE LAUGHS
0:12:45 > 0:12:47..so by the end, it's just...
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I mean, can you read that? I mean, even I can't read that.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54As the disease progresses, what may happen to me
0:12:54 > 0:12:56is that I lose other abilities.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58I might find it difficult to swallow,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02I might have trouble with my... My voice might get weaker.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06I'm already losing my sense of smell, I'm aware of.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08There are various things that can happen.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10But, on the other hand, they might not.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17I know so little, but Oxford's full of people who might know a bit more.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Neuroscientist Dr Farhan Begg is one of them.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25To start with, I'm going to read a list of words that
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I'd like you to remember now and later on.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Listen carefully.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34When I'm through, I want you to tell me as many words as you can remember.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37It doesn't matter what order you say them.
0:13:38 > 0:13:45Face, velvet, church, daisy, red.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Face, velvet, church, daisy, red.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Fantastic.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Can I just say, this is absolutely terrifying for me,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57because I have this terrible fear that
0:13:57 > 0:14:02if I don't remember all the words, I won't be going home.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06I'll be going to A home, but it won't necessarily be my own home.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Now, repeating the words, faith, velvet, church, daisy...
0:14:09 > 0:14:11OK, Yeah.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12What I'm going to do is...
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'Of course, the Holy Grail is early diagnosis
0:14:15 > 0:14:18'and it could lie in a phone app.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:23Now, when you're ready, I want you to say, "Aaaaaah" into the phone.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Aaaaaah.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27'What can you tell from that?'
0:14:27 > 0:14:30'We've managed to compare the differences between people
0:14:30 > 0:14:33'with Parkinson's and people without Parkinson's.'
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- 'From an "Aaaaaah"?- From an "Aaaaaah".'
0:14:35 > 0:14:38One of the ten main things that we look at
0:14:38 > 0:14:41looks to see if there's a breakdown in the voice with people
0:14:41 > 0:14:44with Parkinson's that we don't get with people without Parkinson's.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50So, just think, my "Aaaaaah" might contribute to ultimately an,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54"Ah! We've worked out the answer of how we can find out about Parkinson's."
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Remember those five words?
0:14:59 > 0:15:02I hope you do, because you'll be tested on them later.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Anyway, words are pretty important to me.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I'm at a script meeting with my producers, Hilary Bevan Jones and Ellie Wood.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The film's called While We Still Can and I'm writing it
0:15:15 > 0:15:17while I still can.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20It's about my ballet class
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and Hilary has a very personal reason for getting involved.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Dad had Parkinson's for, oh, crumbs, over 20 years.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31And what was so extraordinary was he didn't actually get tremors,
0:15:31 > 0:15:37but he got very stiff and his muscles on his face just froze up.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40But the one thing that he could still do was play the piano,
0:15:40 > 0:15:41right to the end.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46And we got him to the piano and he sat there and he could play.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- And it was beautiful.- And he had it for 20 years?- 20 years.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Which means that he probably had it for 23 or 24 years?- Probably.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Because normally you have it for four years.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- Yes. He died when he was just over 80... 82.- Gosh.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Well, this is giving me lots of hope! LAUGHTER
0:16:00 > 0:16:03This is fantastic! Hooray!
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Hillary's dad lived for music. I live for laughs.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18Sometimes, you think, "Ooh, that's very funny." And then it's not.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And sometimes you think, "Hmm, yeah, that might work."
0:16:21 > 0:16:26If any person here knows of any just cause or impediment why these
0:16:26 > 0:16:31two should not be joined together in holy matrimony, let them speak now.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35There was a moment in a Dibley episode where it was the
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Alice and Hugo wedding and I had this woman coming in
0:16:38 > 0:16:40and interrupting the service.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44- The groom is already married. - SHOCKED GASPING
0:16:47 > 0:16:48Oh. Sorry!
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Wrong church.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57And I was so excited when I wrote that joke,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00that I actually sort of danced up and down.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06It's sort of like discovering penicillin for me.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10but truthfully, that's what it was like.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12HE LAUGHS
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Slowy curl up through the spine, so gradually starting...
0:17:14 > 0:17:17So, that was my penicillin moment.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Unfortunately, I don't have a cure for Parkinson's.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Getting taller and taller and taller.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Which is a pity, really, considering what some people have to put up with.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31I get an assortment of types of nightmare that I've
0:17:31 > 0:17:36classified over the years and one is screaming nightmares.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43I've been on holiday once in the last two years, for a few days.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I had to take a friend with me, because you can't
0:17:46 > 0:17:50scream down a whole hotel full of guests unknown to you.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59Um, and you can't start dismantling the furniture in a hotel room,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01because I do that at home.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05I tried really hard to break in through the side of a wardrobe,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09thinking it was a garage door and I was imprisoned in the garage.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11It's not easy to live with.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16I live on my own, I have to sleep with the bedroom windows shut
0:18:16 > 0:18:20so that I don't wake the whole village, if I scream.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Blimey, Josephine.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27And this is Anne, who also lives alone.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Well, at the beginning, it didn't seem all that bad,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35though one realised it could get worse in the future.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39But I was assured by various people that nobody died of Parkinson's.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45RADIO: 'But if you are a stressed middle-aged woman...'
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I find it difficult now to read,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51which is strange, because I used to read about three books at once.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58Now I mainly seem to be looking after myself, pills and things
0:18:58 > 0:19:03like that and I'm finding it difficult to walk.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07And to balance.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14I can get up still,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18I think without anybody else there and without anything to hold on to.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22But I'm not sure how long that'll last for.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I haven't found it all that difficult, having Parkinson's.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33And I'm grateful every time I think of the people
0:19:33 > 0:19:35stuck in tunnels, in earthquakes...
0:19:37 > 0:19:44..and with diseases like motor neurone disease and all that sort of thing.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I'm much luckier than they are.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Come on, everybody, shake a claw.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57ALL: Let's hear you bellow, let's hear you roar!
0:19:57 > 0:19:59'John Foster is a children's author
0:19:59 > 0:20:03'and enjoys reading his poems in schools.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07'He's had Parkinson's for over ten years and he has a serious tremor,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10'but you wouldn't know it, because,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14'and this is just amazing, he's got a thing in his brain which has
0:20:14 > 0:20:16'transformed his life.'
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Water splashed over the side...
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- John, how are you?- Hello, James. Good to see you.- Come in, come in.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24'I've come to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27'where the deep brain stimulation device thing was put in.'
0:20:27 > 0:20:31So, how did you know you'd got Parkinson's and at what stage
0:20:31 > 0:20:34did it become important for you to have this thing put in your head?
0:20:34 > 0:20:39I developed a slight tremor about ten years ago.
0:20:39 > 0:20:45After four or five years, I was offered deep brain stimulation
0:20:45 > 0:20:48which I was told would control the tremor.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52It wouldn't take the tremor away, but it controls it.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56And it's been life-changing. It gave me all my life back.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58So, when you put this thing in his brain,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I mean, what's actually happening then?
0:21:00 > 0:21:02When we put the wire in, it's a bit like
0:21:02 > 0:21:04having a pacemaker but the wires are going in the brain
0:21:04 > 0:21:07through small holes in the skull rather than in the heart, obviously.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10And the electricity that is being delivered into your brain
0:21:10 > 0:21:13is going to an area called the subthalamic nucleus,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17which is one of the places we put wires for Parkinson's quite often
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and it can really help with those kinds of symptoms.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23The thing I'm thinking about is there's a Black & Decker,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25and there's a bloke sort of... HE IMITATES DRILL
0:21:25 > 0:21:26You know, and like a masonry drill.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Well, no, actually, the one we use is a hand drill.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30And the, the...
0:21:31 > 0:21:34PAUL HYSTERICALLY LAUGHS
0:21:34 > 0:21:36'Oh, do calm down, Paul.'
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Well, I am incredibly excited in a sort of, well,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46I hope not in a ghoulish way, but also incredibly privileged to
0:21:46 > 0:21:49actually see what happens when John switches this thing on.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And then obviously James is going to switch it back on again,
0:21:53 > 0:21:59- because you won't be physically able to switch it on again.- No.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The tremor, it will be so...er...marked
0:22:03 > 0:22:04that I won't be able to do it.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06OK. Over to, to you, John.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08BEEP
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- It's quite a violent tremor as you can see.- Oh, my God.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I think that's enough. We'll put it back on. Stretch your arm out.
0:22:22 > 0:22:23And you can see...
0:22:25 > 0:22:27- ..almost straight away.- Oh!
0:22:29 > 0:22:33That is...absolutely astonishing.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It's fantastic.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And when it's turned off and you're shaking that,
0:22:38 > 0:22:39how does it actually feel?
0:22:39 > 0:22:41It's quite distressing.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Because I've become so used to not having the tremor that
0:22:45 > 0:22:50when it comes back as markedly as it does, it's quite distressing.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54- Is it painful or is it...? - No. It's just very annoying!
0:22:54 > 0:22:57THEY LAUGH
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Now, I'm laughing, but actually I find it incredibly moving,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04because that could be me further down the line
0:23:04 > 0:23:10and it's just incredibly useful and helpful to know that I could be
0:23:10 > 0:23:14given this same sort of treatment by these people like James.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16It's just... It's amazing.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'Controlling John's tremor is pretty miraculous,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28'but what we'd really like is a cure.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32'And I'm pinning a lot of hope on Oxford's Parkinson's Disease Centre.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36'In this tiny room, they've made a massive discovery.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41'Ground-breaking research, funded by Parkinson's UK, is going
0:23:41 > 0:23:46'on here turning skin cells taken from people with Parkinson's into
0:23:46 > 0:23:51'stem cells and then into brain cells to work out what's going wrong.'
0:23:51 > 0:23:54You can see that we have the neurons, the brain cells,
0:23:54 > 0:23:55growing in the dish
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and then we can identify those which are the dopamine neurons.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01They're the ones in green.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03They're the ones that are not working properly.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07In Parkinson's patients, eventually dying off, leading to the symptoms.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Right. So, what have you found out recently about...?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14So, we are able to study these neurons, the dopamine neurons, the ones in green,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and recently we've been able to show that they accumulate
0:24:18 > 0:24:22and release a key Parkinson's protein called alpha-synuclein.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25This protein is mis-folded in the cell.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28The cell can't process it properly, so it ejects it,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30a bit like an ocean liner throwing its rubbish over the side.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33It can't process it, it ejects it and then we think
0:24:33 > 0:24:37it probably passes to the next neuron, the next dopamine neuron,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and that might be the way it spreads across the brain in a patient.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- So, it's like a domino effect across my brain?- Exactly.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47And we've recently found that, and this gives us new therapeutic opportunities,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49because for a protein to spread,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53it needs to be released from one cell and taken up by the next cell
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and that gives us two potential targets for therapies.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57So, while it's between cells?
0:24:57 > 0:25:00And while it's between cells, it gives us another opportunity
0:25:00 > 0:25:02that the immune system might be able to see it.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04We might be able to develop vaccines or antibody therapies
0:25:04 > 0:25:09where the immune system can come and clear out that protein as it tries to sneak from cell to cell.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'And while we're waiting, life goes on.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'And it goes on pretty well for some of us.'
0:25:19 > 0:25:21'I did a skydive in 2012.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25'It was very high and I dropped like a stone.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'With a very, very nice Liverpudlian behind me holding me, holding me tight.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33'At first you think life is going to stop.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35'Life as you know it.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37'But in the end you've just got to brace yourself
0:25:37 > 0:25:40'and just do something that you wouldn't otherwise do.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45'And if I hadn't got Parkinson's, I'd never have done the dive, but I did.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54'I'm not sure whether it's therapy.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58'I certainly don't believe it's ballet from my point of view!
0:25:59 > 0:26:01- 'Or you, Paul.- No.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14'It's socialising, it's this meeting up at the end and talking to people.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17'Finding out how people's last week has been.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23'Yes, it's group therapy and R&R.'
0:26:34 > 0:26:36APPLAUSE
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- Now, earlier on, I did ask you to remember some words.- Yes.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- I wonder if you could tell them back to me, please.- 'All together now...'
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Face.
0:26:45 > 0:26:46Velvet.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Church.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Daisy.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Red. Yes! Yes!
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I'm not going to a home.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Oh, look, it's a sunset. I think it's time for me to go.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04What have I learned?
0:27:06 > 0:27:09A philosopher once said, I think it was Forrest Gump,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11"Life is like a box of chocolates.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13"You never know what you're going to get."
0:27:13 > 0:27:17And Parkinson's is like a particularly rubbish sort of box of chocolates.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Every symptom, every chocolate is particularly disgusting.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23But some are more disgusting than others.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26And let's hope, as I come to the end of my five good years,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28that I won't end up with the orange cream.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And there are things that I can do to help myself.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I can take advantage of the new therapies,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36I can do exercise like the ballet,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40I can keep myself cheerful by laughing at the disease,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and also, of course, I can have a go at this.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Thank you for being with me. Mmm.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49HE LAUGHS WITH MOUTH FULL
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Oh!
0:27:52 > 0:27:54HE SOUNDS SATISFIED
0:27:54 > 0:27:55Mmm.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Bye.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06I did have an apple as well, but...
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I think I'll stick to the chocolate.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Mmm.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18I have no home to go to.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Cos my wife has chucked me out, cos I eat some chocolate, so...
0:28:22 > 0:28:25This is actually my home now.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28At least it's got a nice view, even though it is a bit cold.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Anyway, night-night.