Rory Cellan-Jones

2 weeks ago | rorycellanjones.substack.com | Rory Cellan-Jones

It was in March 2024 that six people living with Parkinson’s launched Movers and Shakers with the aim of capturing the flavour of the conversations we had been having in a pub in London’s Notting Hill. Judge Nick Mostyn referred to our regular meetings as a support bubble and we wanted to share that experience with the wider Parkinson’s community.

3 weeks ago | rorycellanjones.substack.com | Rory Cellan-Jones

It is the first thing many people ask you when you reveal that you have been diagnosed with Parkinsons’s - “is it genetic?” By which I suppose they mean did you get it from a parent. Now as my father had Parkinson’s that was relevant but at first I had no way of knowing for sure. A genetic test is not a routine part of the diagnostic process, even though something like 15% of Parkies have one of the mutated genes linked to the disease.

3 weeks ago | rorycellanjones.substack.com | Rory Cellan-Jones

This week’s episode of Movers and Shakers is a musical extravaganza. It features performances by two collections of veteran rockers - including an impromptu gig with a judge, a distinguished comedy producer and three former BBC journalists in various states of disrepair. But we will return to the Movers and Shakers’ live drumming lesson later. We start with Think Loud, an album which brings together a host of great names in British rock and folk to raise money for Cure Parkinson’s.

1 month ago | rorycellanjones.substack.com | Rory Cellan-Jones

For someone like me who gave up biology at 14 and did a humanities degree, the Cure Parkinson’s twice yearly research update is an amazing but intense experience. First you get to meet lots of lovely people from the Parkinson’s community who share your interest in research into our condition. Then you spend an afternoon concentrating very hard as world-leading scientists explain the work they are doing in pursuit of the simple aim of the charity which helps fund them - curing Parkinson’s.

1 month ago | rorycellanjones.substack.com | Rory Cellan-Jones

For much of the past year I have been trying to find examples of artificial intelligence being used in healthcare in the UK . I have seen plenty of cases where AI is being demonstrated in a lab, or even piloted in a couple of hospitals, very few where it is fully deployed, with either the NHS or insurers actually paying for it. Now I have found an example. It involves the use of AI in IVF to improve the selection of embryos, and is a service which couples are paying for.