Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and told the public about it in 1998. He semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of the disease worsened. He has since become an advocate for research toward finding a cure, and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Sweden's Karolinska Institute gave him an honorary doctorate on March 5, 2010 for his work advocating a cure for Parkinson's disease.