[John Vause, Cnn International Anchor:] Welcome back, everybody, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause, with the headlines this hour. Facebook has shut down dozens of pages and accounts which could be linked to Russia, may have hundreds of thousands of followers. The social media giant says they identified a new and coordinated effort to interfere in U.S. politics and mislead American voters ahead of November's congressional elections.
[Vause:] Well, Neil Diamond surprised firefighters in Colorado, performing one of his all-time classics, Sweet Caroline. He lives in the area where fire has burned over 48 square kilometers. The music legend recently retired from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And on Tuesday, actor Alan Alda, revealed he's been living with Parkinson's for more than three years. The 82-year-old went public because he noticed his hand was twitching and worried that a sad and depressing gloomy story was only a matter of time. And he says that's not what he wanted.
[Alan Alda, Actor:] To be immobilized by fear and think the worst thing has happened to you hasn't happened to you. You still have things you can do.
[Anthony Mason, Anchor, Cbs News:] Yes.
[Alda:] I'm taking boxing lessons.
[Mason:] Three days a week, I read.
[Alda:] Three times a week. I do singles tennis, a couple of times a week. I march to Souza music because marching to march music is good for Parkinson's.
[Vause:] Well, joining us now with more of what we know about Parkinson's is Dr. Michele Tagliati, and you're going to say that for me one more time, he's the director of the Movement Disorders Program at the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Sorry, one more time?
[Dr. Michele Tagliati, Director Of The Movement Disorders Program, Cedars-sinai Medical Center:] Michele Tagliati.
[Vause:] Tagliati. Thank you. I knew I was going to get that wrong, so I apologize. OK, Alan Alda, he talked a lot about staying active, during that interview on CBS. On Twitter, he had this advice. I decided to let people know I have Parkinson's to encourage others to take action. I was diagnosed 3-12 years ago, but my life is full. I act, I give talks, I do my podcast, which I love. If you get a diagnosis, keep moving! The recent research would suggest that's pretty good advice.
[Tagliati:] Absolutely. That's a fantastic announcement that Alan Alda made for all patients with Parkinson's disease, celebrity that comes out, swinging with this positive, you know, message, which is actually true. This is what we tell our patients when they come to the clinic.
[Vause:] Because by staying active, actually delay the onset of the worst symptoms.
[Tagliati:] Correct. Exercise is the only remedy that we know, as of today that can slow down the progression of the disease.
[Vause:] Alda said he actually had no symptoms when he went in to be tested, but he did have an episode of acting out a dream, which is why he was actually concerned in the first place. Listen to what he said on CBS.
[Alda:] I asked for a scan because I thought I might have it. I read an article by Jane Brody in the New York Times that indicated that if you have if you act out your dreams, there's a good chance you might that might be a very early symptom that where nothing else shows. And by acting out your dreams, I mean, I was having a dream that someone was attacking me and I threw a sack of potatoes at them. What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at my wife. I didn't have any symptoms. The doctor said why do you want a scan? You don't have any symptoms. And I said, I want to know if there's anything I can do, I want to do it before things start to show up.
[Vause:] Explain the link here. How is someone acting out their dream, linked as being a symptom of possibly having Parkinson's?
[Tagliati:] So, that's correct. And we are starting to recognize that there are certain symptoms like acting our dreams or losing your sense of smell, sometimes, constipation, that can anticipate, that can procure the typical symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the shaking, the stiffness. And the reason is that we're starting to recognize the disease seems to progress through the brain. And part of the brain where the dream, sort of, controlled and formed, is very close to the part of the brain that controls the movements. And so there is, sort of, a step before, is where the dreams start to become unusual.
[Vause:] Well, it's fascinating how all of this is connected, how it all works together. Right now, there's no cure for Parkinson's, but, you know, there has been some progress and research. We have this clinical trial underway in Japan at Kyoto University. Essentially, I may have this tell me if I've got this right, they plan on injecting stem cells into the brain to increase dopamine levels, because dopamine is a neurotransmitter. A lack of dopamine can impact motor skills, can cause all that shaking, that kind of stuff. We looked at that research and what they're doing. What's your opinion? How promising is that or not?
[Tagliati:] So, I mean, I'm a researcher, so every research is promising and stem cells, of course, evoke a lot of hope, you know, in many people. The stem cells promise to, sort of, regenerate this dying parts of the brain. And so, we look at that at research with a lot of respect. We tend to use stem cells to study the disease. You can reproduce personalized parts of the brain and really study subject by subject. You know, Alan Alda said that today, everyone has a different, slightly different type of Parkinson's disease. So, it becomes essential to be able to study your Parkinson's disease, his Parkinson's disease, her Parkinson's disease. And stem cells can do that.
[Vause:] What's interesting, though, you know, we hear a lot about Parkinson's when there's a celebrity, when there's Alan Alda, when there's Neil Diamond, when there's Michael J. Fox. It seems the disease is a lot more common than many people might realize when it's about 10 million people around the world. One study expects the number of sufferers in the U.S. to double, what, by 2030? Well over, a million people. That is a lot of consequences, obviously, for the health care system. But also, what's driving those numbers? What's driving this increase?
[Tagliati:] In one word, aging.
[Vause:] Yes.
[Tagliati:] The population is aging. We are eating better, we exercise, and we are arriving, as a population, older and older, ages in reasonable good shape. And that brings with them the risk of developing Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. So, it's as far as we understand, this is purely a consequence of the general aging of the population.
[Vause:] Very quickly, we got 30 seconds left.
[Tagliati:] Yes.
[Vause:] For anyone who wants to know the best, sort of, lifestyle, the best thing they could do, is there anything you can do to try and help avoid this disease later in life?
[Tagliati:] Well, definitely, exercising. Obesity seems to be associated. We're finding some parallel between diabetes and Parkinson's disease, so, eat well, sleep well and exercise.
[Vause:] It's the old advice. It's the old advice for the good advice. Dr. Michele Tagliati?
[Tagliati:] Yes.
[Vause:] Thank you so much.
[Tagliati:] My pleasure.
[Vause:] Appreciate it.
[Tagliati:] Thank you for having me.
[Vause:] We'll take a quick break here. And then, it's Trump versus Lincoln, and the President claims he's got better poll numbers.