Anushka Shetty, an Indian actress known for her work in Telugu and Tamil cinema is suffering from a rare, genetic condition that makes it impossible for her to stop laughing once she starts. 

In an old interview she expressed that she has a laughing disease. She added, “You might wonder, ‘Is laughing a problem?’ For me, it is. If I start laughing, I can’t stop for 15 to 20 minutes.”  

The Actress said that it is hard for her while watching or shooting comedy scenes to control laughter and she literally rolled on the floor laughing, and the shoot used to be halted many times. 

What is the laughing disease? 

The laughing disease also known as Pseudobulbar Affect or PBA in medical language, is a condition that makes the person to have uncontrolled or inappropriate laughing or crying.  

According to experts, these emotions may not necessarily match your internal emotional state but develops if the person has met a brain injury or suffering from an underlying neurological condition. 

Doctors say that sometimes the moments of laughing or crying can easily trigger with events causing it like seeing or hearing something funny or sad, these events tend to be more difficult to stop the laugh or cry. PBA can easily have a significant impact on our life as well as the lives of our family members and caregivers and cause confusion and anxiety which leads to social withdrawal and isolation. 

According to statistics, PBA affects approximately 3.6 to 42.5 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease. The range is wide because PBA can vary in severity and is often misdiagnosed. 

Signs and symptoms of PBA 

According to experts, there is a huge difference between the mood and emotions when it comes to understanding this disease. Emotions are short-lived feelings that comes from a known cause. While moods are feelings that are longer lasting than emotions and have no clear starting point of formation. 

Laughing or crying can be: 

• Unpredictable, sudden, and unintentional 

• Out of proportion to the cause 

• Occurring for no apparent reason 

• Involuntary outbursts of anger or frustration may also happen 

PBA is associated often with underlying neurological conditions, such as brain injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). But some people with PBA experience variant symptoms. 

What causes PBA? 

Although doctors do not know the exact cause behind the pseudobulbar Affect, some studies reveal that it may occur due to disruptions in the neural pathways that regulate emotional expression in the brain. But several neurological conditions can cause the pseudobulbar Affect such as: 

• Traumatic brain injury 

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease 

• Multiple sclerosis 

• Alzheimer’s disease 

• Stroke 

• Parkinson’s disease 

• Brain tumours 

• Epilepsy 

• Wilson’s disease 

Other Actors Facing this Disorder 

Joaquin Phoenix’s film ‘Joker’ features Arthur Fleck, a character with the Pseudobulbar affect, a mental disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably.

The movie highlights how Arthur’s illness affects him, even though he can control it. Scott Lotan, playing the character of Joker in the film also suffers from multiple sclerosis in the reality. He truly can understand Arthur’s feelings and pain.  

When asked in an interview about his experience with the PBA, he expressed that PBA is a symptom of his multiple sclerosis and caused him to have laughing outbursts lasting up to 10 minutes.

Arthur added that he has faced issues with not being served at restaurants, being asked to leave due to discomfort from waitstaff and being perceived as laughing at friends with low self-esteem. Lotan’s PBA often leads to uncomfortable situations, similar to Arthur in the film. 

Can Pseudobulbar Affect be Treated? 

Although there is still no known cure for Pseudobulbar Affect, several drugs can help control symptoms and lessen the frequency and intensity of crying or laughing outbursts.

Doctors also advise to take antidepressants and quinidine sulphate, as a medication that was once used to treat cardiac arrhythmias, in very small doses for PBA patients.