Journalist and TV presenter Fiona Phillips has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease after suffering from brain fog. Fiona used to host the ITV breakfast show GMTV and now writes a column for The Mirror, which is where she shared the news of her diagnosis.
How old is Fiona Phillips?
Fiona Phillips is 62 years old and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when she was 61.
When was she diagnosed with Alzheimer's?
'It all started with Fiona feeling crippling anxiety towards the end of 2021,' Fiona's husband Martin explained. To which Fiona responded, 'and I’d never had that in my life.' Then one afternoon last year, she visited the doctor who confirmed her results showed the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.
'It’s something I might have thought I’d get at 80,' she said. 'But I was still only 61 years old.' Fiona is now undergoing trials for a revolutionary new drug which scientists hope could slow or even reverse the illness for millions of sufferers in the future.
Who is Fiona Phillips' husband?
Fiona has been married to Martin Frizell, editor of This Morning, since 1997. Speaking to The Mirror, he said: 'My only frustration is just I want her to get better. I want her to remember things. I want the apathy to go and I want this person back who was vibrant and interested in things and eager to do new things...' He added that 'she's not there at the moment.'
Martin has been supporting and caring for his wife since her diagnosis.
Do Fiona and Martin Frizell have children?
Fiona has two sons, Nat, aged 24, and Mackenzie, 21, with Martin. They were both tested for the Alzheimer's carrying gene and the results came back negative.
Their Dad described his relief, saying 'when the results came back as negative it was a huge moment - such an enormous sense of relief. There’s no Alzheimer’s on my side of the family and thank goodness it seems the boys have not inherited from Fiona’s side of the family.'
Did Fiona Phillips' parents have Alzheimers'?
Yes, Fiona's mother, father and uncle all suffered from the same disease. She described how Alzheimer's 'decimated' her family in her interview with the Daily Mirror. Fiona wrote: 'My poor mum was crippled with it, then my dad, my grandparents, my uncle. It just keeps coming back for us.'
Having a parent or sibling with Alzheimer's increases your risk of developing the disease. However, having a relative with the disease does not mean you are guaranteed to develop it. Equally, having no relatives with the disease does not mean you will be spared it either.
What were her symptoms?
Fiona had been suffering from brain fog and anxiety, which she and her husband attributed to the menopause. But after seeing a menopause specialist and being treated with HRT, the brain fog remained.
Typical early symptoms of Alzheimer's include, memory loss, poor judgement leading to bad decisions, loss of spontaneity and sense of initiative, losing track of dates and location, taking longer than normal to complete tasks and repeating questions.
How do you know if you have brain fog?
Brain fog does not have a medical definition, but it is often used by people to describe a fuzzy head, poor concentration and struggling to think clearly or quickly.
Fiona is now taking part in trials of a drug called miridesap at University College Hospital in London. This involves injections in her stomach every day for a maximum of 12 months. The aim is to find out whether the drug can stop amyloid plaques from damaging brain cells.