Fox campaigns for Democrat hopeful

Actor Micheal J Fox has thrown his support behind a Missouri Democratic Senate candidate to promote his campaign for stem cell research.

Actor Michael J Fox has thrown his support behind a Missouri Democratic Senate candidate to promote his campaign for stem cell research.

The Teen Wolf star, who is battling Parkinson's disease, told how the race for the Senate could affect millions of Americans across the country.

Headlining candidate Claire McCaskill's campaign fundraiser last week, Fox urged voters to back her bid to relax embryonic stem cell research laws.

He said, "Contrary to what (former House Speaker) Tip O'Neil said, politics is not local.

"What happens here does affect my three girls, my son, my wife and me, and the 100 million Americans living with a disease that could be helped by stem cell research."

He added of his struggle with the debilitating illness: "If I take time to live with that loss, there's no vacuum. It's filled with opportunity.

"I'd love to have a cure, but there's a lot of life in the fight."

In 1998, Fox confirmed he had been fighting Parkinson's disease for seven years, and underwent brain surgery to lessen the tremors caused by the illness.

His charity, the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, is currently the largest funder of Parkinson's research outside the federal government.