Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

Perspectives

Author: Joe McAweaneyPublished: 11 October 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

‘Shake with Laughter’ – a Parkinson’s comedy fundraiser featuring Rob Deering and Tim Vine – will be performed at London’s iconic Comedy Store on 16 October

On 16 October The Comedy Store, London, UK, will play host to the sixth edition of the Parkinson’s fundraiser ‘Shake with Laughter’.

The annual comedy show, from which all proceeds go to charity Parkinson’s UK, will feature comedians including Rob Deering, Gary Delaney, Lucy Porter, Paul Mayhew-Archer and Tim Vine.

‘Shake with Laughter’ launched in London in 2012 and has since been held in Manchester and Newcastle, with plans to debut in Glasgow next month.

Rob Deering, whose father has Parkinson’s, is a longstanding fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK. The popular stand-up has participated in marathons, comedy events and celebrity quiz shows including Pointless and The Weakest Link. He is currently on track to reach his £100,000 fundraising target over 10 years.

For more information about the event and the comedians taking part, you can visit the Parkinson’s UK website here.

Read more: October 2017 events

Diana Levine: taking photos for a cure

Last Month

Next Month

Go Back

Share this story

Comments

Carers' Corner

Unemployment, debt, poverty & depression… the life of a carer

These 10 statistics highlight the realities of being a carer

Martin Wishart: a Parkinson’s-friendly Christmas meal

Serve up a Michelin star feast this Christmas

6 inspiring TED talks on Parkinson’s disease

Some of the most uplifting presentations given on Parkinson’s

Diesel exhaust fumes may increase the risk of Parkinson’s, study suggests

A new study by researchers in the US has found evidence that chemicals in diesel exhaust fumes can damage brain cells – and potentially increase the risk of Parkinson’s. As part of the study – published in ‘Toxicological Sciences’ – researchers tested the effects of diesel exhaust fumes on zebrafish, as their neurons interact in a similar way to those of humans. The researchers found that after being exposed to the chemicals, the zebrafish had fewer cells that dispose of toxic build-up of the protein alpha-synuclein, which occurs in Parkinson’s. The researchers replicated the experiment with cultured human cells and found similar results. Dr Jeff Bronstein, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), US, said: “Overall, this report shows a plausible mechanism of why air pollution may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease.”

Can Covid-19 increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s could be caused or modulated by infections like Covid-19, a new study suggests – though more evidence is needed to draw a definitive conclusion. As part of the study, researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, drew on previous findings to support their hypothesis. For example, studies in mice have found that infection with some strains of influenza could cause neural changes similar to those in Parkinson’s. Furthermore, people born during or around the 1918 influenza pandemic were over twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s than those born in the decades before or after. Patrik Brundin, co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, said that while it’s “too early to know what the long-term consequences of Covid-19 will be on the brain, the clinical psychiatry and neurology research communities definitely need to be vigilant in monitoring how those who recover from moderate and severe Covid-19 fare in…

New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

Scientists have proposed the use of a multi-arm, multi-stage trial platform (MAMS) to assess different potential treatments for Parkinson’s and help progress the search for a cure. This would depart from conventional clinical procedures, allowing several potential treatments to be assessed simultaneously. In a continuous process, each treatment ‘arm’ is evaluated and unsuccessful ‘arms’ of the trial are dropped, enabling a far more cost and time efficient system. Currently, MAMS are used to evaluate treatments for certain types of cancer – and work is underway to develop MAMS for other neurodegenerative conditions. Camille Buchholz Carroll, associate professor at the University of Plymouth, UK, and study author, said that MAMS trials could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”. She said: “We have the opportunity to learn from the experience in these other conditions and design a new trial that will work for people with Parkinson’s.”

All fields required

First name*
Last name*
Email address*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Country of residence*
About me*
- I have Parkinson's disease
- I am a partner / carer / family / friend of someone who has Parkinson's
- I am a healthcare professional with an interest in Parkinson's
- I work for a Parkinson's disease organisation
- Other
CAPTCHA
*
- By proceeding you agree to our
Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

Perspectives

Author: Joe McAweaneyPublished: 11 October 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Carers' Corner

Unemployment, debt, poverty & depression… the life of a carer

Recipes & Nutrition

Martin Wishart: a Parkinson’s-friendly Christmas meal

Perspectives

6 inspiring TED talks on Parkinson’s disease

Diesel exhaust fumes may increase the risk of Parkinson’s, study suggests

Can Covid-19 increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s?

New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

{title}

Subscribe

Comedy stars unite for ‘Shake with Laughter’

Perspectives

Author: Joe McAweaneyPublished: 11 October 2017

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Related articles

Carers' Corner

Unemployment, debt, poverty & depression… the life of a carer

Recipes & Nutrition

Martin Wishart: a Parkinson’s-friendly Christmas meal

Perspectives

6 inspiring TED talks on Parkinson’s disease

Diesel exhaust fumes may increase the risk of Parkinson’s, study suggests

Can Covid-19 increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s?

New Parkinson’s trial platform could “dramatically speed up the search for a cure”

{title}

Subscribe

Sign in