Ozzy Osbourne reveals Parkinson's diagnosis on US talk show
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Juliet Bremner
Ozzy Osbourne has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The former lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath and reality TV star made the announcement on talk show Good Morning America, explaining his condition was discovered after surgery on his neck.
The 71-year-old said: "I did my last show New Year's Eve at The Forum.
"Then I had a bad fall. I had to have surgery on my neck, which screwed all my nerves and I found out that I have a mild form."
His wife Sharon added: "It's Parkin 2 which is a form of Parkinson's.
"There's so many different types of Parkinson's, it's not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect certain nerves in your body.
"And it's like you have a good day, a good day, and then a really bad day."
Osbourne continued: "I’m on a host of medications, mainly for the surgery.
"I got a numbness down this arm for the surgery, my legs keep going cold.
"I don’t know if that’s the Parkinson’s or what, you know, but that’s the problem. Because they cut nerves when they did the surgery. I’d never heard of nerve pain, and it’s a weird feeling."
Speaking to host Robin Roberts, Sharon revealed the couple will now go abroad so Osbourne can receive treatment, saying: "We have reached a point in this country where we can’t go any further because we have got all the answers we can get here, so in April we are going to a professor in Switzerland who deals with getting your immune system at its peak.
"We are going to go wherever we can go to seek answers."
Osbourne also said he hopes to perform again, saying: "I just can’t wait to get well enough to go on the road, that is what is killing me.
"I need it, that is my drug today. I’ve done all of the other crap, left that by the wayside, survived that, and I ain’t done yet and I ain’t going to go anywhere yet."
What is Parkinson's?
The NHS describes Parkinson's as a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.
The three main symptoms are involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body (tremor), slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles.
Parkinson's disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra, according to the NHS.
This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain, which plays a vital role in regulating the movement of the body.
A reduction in dopamine is responsible for many of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Exactly what causes the loss of nerve cells is unclear. The NHS explains most experts think a combination of genetic and environmental factors is responsible.
It is thought around 1 in 500 people are affected by Parkinson's disease.
Most people with Parkinson's start to develop symptoms when they're over 50, although around 1 in 20 people with the condition first experience symptoms when they're under 40.
Men are slightly more likely to get Parkinson's disease than women.
Source: NHS