THE Chase star Paul Sinha has told fans to “cherish life” as he gave them a health update.
The 51-year-old was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago.
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Earlier today he opened up about what it’s like living with the progressive nervous system disorder during an appearance on Loose Women.
Paul told the panel: “To be perfectly honest with you, Covid has been more part of my life than Parkinson’s because Parkinson’s is quite a slow process compared to a global pandemic.
“So I’ve had more worries with Covid than Parkinson’s because I’m not quite where I was two years ago for sure but I’m still fighting fit.”
The Chaser explained that his diagnosis was a shock to the system because he spent two years with “troublesome right shoulder”.
He told viewers at home: “Please don’t panic if you’ve got a frozen shoulder by the way, but apparently a frozen shoulder is a relatively common presentation of Parkinson’s disease.
“But for a year and a half I only saw orthopedics specialists, not neurological specialists.”
However he did highlight that if anyone is worried that they have symptoms, they should speak to a doctor.
Paul – known as The Sinnerman on The Chase – said: “In general terms if you have anything that you’re worried, the NHS is still one of the greatest things we have and it’s there for you and you’ve paid your taxes to use it so.”
He later told viewers at home to “cherish life” after he watched a different segment from the ITV show.
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The ITV star last spoke out about his health battle in July 2021.
He wrote on Twitter: “I’ve decided i’m not going to cower from Parkinson’s. That’ll show it.”
What is Parkinson’s disease and symptoms?
Parkinson’s disease is a condition where parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.
Most people who start to develop symptoms are over 50, but one in 20 with the condition first experience symptoms under 40.
It is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra.
This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain – dopamine is key to regulating the movement of the body.
Therefore a reduction in dopamine is responsible for many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
According to the NHS, symptoms can include:
- involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body (tremors)
- slow movement
- stiff and inflexible muscles
- depression and anxiety
- balance problems
- loss of sense of smell
- problems sleeping
- memory problems
His post appeared to be in response to Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s comments saying people should no longer “cower” from coronavirus, for which he has since apologised.
It came weeks after Paul tweeted his support to University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman after the 71-year-old revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
He wrote: “Hey Paxman let’s kick the s**t out of this.”
