| 155 Health - Parkinson's Disease Resources |
| 23andMe identifies two novel genetic associations and substantial genetic component for Parkinson's |
| Today 23andMe, an industry leader in personal genetics, announced the discovery of two significant, novel genetic associations with Parkinson's disease and provided new evidence that there is a substantial genetic component remaining to be discovered for Parkinson's. |
| June 24, 2011 |
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| A mutation in a protein-sorting gene is linked with Parkinson's disease |
| Parkinson disease is a devastating incurable disease in which degeneration of dopamine neurons in the brainstem leads to tremors and problems with movement and coordination. An increasing proportion of patients appear to be genetically predisposed to disease. |
| July 14, 2011 |
| A reliable way to replicate a-synuclein aggregation on cell membranes in Parkinson's disease patients |
| The accumulation of α-synuclein, a small, negatively charged protein, in neural cells, is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. It has been suggested that oligomeric α-synuclein causes membranes to become permeable, or to form channels on the outer cell membrane. |
| January 19, 2012 |
| Abbott reports positive interim results from LCIG Phase III open-label study for advanced Parkinson's disease |
| Interim efficacy and safety results from a long-term, 54-week, Phase III open-label study of Abbott's investigational treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease showed that patients treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel for 12 weeks reported a decrease in "off" time and an increase in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesias. The results were reported at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Toronto. |
| June 9, 2011 |
| Abnormal Neural Activity Recorded from the Deep Brain of Parkinson's Disease and Dystonia Patients |
| Movement disorders such as Parkinson's diseases and dystonia are caused by abnormal neural activity of the basal ganglia located deep in the brain. The basal ganglia are connected to the cerebral cortex in the brain surface through complex neural circuits. Their basic structure and connections, as well as the dysfunctions in movement disorders, have been examined extensively by using experimental animals. On the other hand, little is known about the human brain that is much more complex in either normal or diseased states. |
| March 9, 2011 |
| Abnormal Oscillation in the Brain Causes Motor Deficits in Parkinson's Disease |
| The research group headed by Professor Atsushi Nambu and Professor Masahiko Takada has shown that the 'oscillatory' nature of electrical signals in subcortical nuclei, the basal ganglia, causes severe motor deficits in Parkinson's disease, by disturbing the information flow of motor commands. The group also found that chemical inactivation of the subthalamic nucleus in parkinsonian monkeys improved the motor impairments by reducing the 'oscillations.' |
| November 1, 2011 |
| Application for iPhone may help monitor Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a novel iPhone application that may enable persons with Parkinson's disease and certain other neurological conditions to use the ubiquitous devices to collect data on hand and arm tremors and relay the results to medical personnel. |
| June 23, 2011 |
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| 'Bilingual' neurons may reveal the secrets of brain disease |
| A team of researchers from the University of Montreal and McGill University have discovered a type of "cellular bilingualism" -- a phenomenon that allows a single neuron to use two different methods of communication to exchange information. |
| March 18, 2011 |
| Biologists a Step Nearer to Solving the Parkinson's Conundrum |
| Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step forward in isolating the cause of Parkinson's disease in younger adults. |
| January 16, 2012 |
| Biomaterial aids nerve regeneration |
| A Monash University researcher has developed a new biomaterial that encourages damaged nerves in the brain and spinal cord to regrow. The work could revolutionise treatment of nerve-based injuries and diseases, such as Parkinson's. |
| June 7, 2011 |
| Brain atrophy is evident in Parkinson's patients with MCI |
| Atrophy in the hippocampus, the region of the brain known for memory formation and storage, is evident in Parkinson's disease patients with cognitive impairment, including early decline known as mild cognitive impairment. |
| December 13, 2011 |
| Brain stimulator shown to reduce 'untreatable' epileptic seizures |
| Brain stimulation, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, has now been shown to offer significant relief to patients with intractable seizures for whom drugs and other treatments have not worked. |
| November 8, 2011 |
| Bursting neurons follow the same beat, sometimes |
| A simplified mathematical model of the brain's neural circuitry shows that repetitious, overlapped firing of neurons can lead to the waves of overly synchronized brain activity that may cause the halting movements that are a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. |
| September 12, 2011 |
| By Reprogramming Skin Cells Into Brain Cells, Scientists Gain New Insights Into Mental Disorders |
| Using skin cells from patients with mental disorders, scientists are creating brain cells that are now providing extraordinary insights into afflictions like schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. |
| October 12, 2011 |
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| Carbon nanostructures for easier detection of Parkinson's disease |
| Dopamine deficiency is indicative of serious diseases of the nervous system. Tests of dopamine concentration -- being usually very low in physiological fluids -- are expensive and require specialised equipment that is unavailable in doctors' offices. New electrodes coated with carbon nanoparticles deposited on silicate submicroparticles allow to detect dopamine in solutions easily and at low cost, even in the presence of interferences. |
| October 27, 2011 |
| Chinese medicine could treat Parkinson's: HK study |
| Chinese medicine may be effective in battling certain symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and lessening side effects from the drugs used to treat the condition, according to a new study. |
| July 21, 2011 |
| Coffee could offer key ingredient for new treatments for Parkinson's disease |
| Scientists from Heptares Therapeutics have used Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility, to understand the structure of a protein involved in Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders. Their findings, published this week in the journal Structure, could pave the way for a new generation of targeted drug treatments. |
| September 6, 2011 |
| Computer games help people with Parkinson's disease |
| Playing computer-based physical therapy games can help people with Parkinson's disease improve their gait and balance, according to a new pilot study led by the UCSF School of Nursing and Red Hill Studios, a California serious games developer. |
| October 19, 2011 |
| Copper folds protein into precursors of Parkinson's plaques |
| Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how copper induces misfolding in the protein associated with Parkinson's disease, leading to creation of the fibrillar plaques which characterize the disease. This finding has implications for both the study of Parkinson's progression, as well as for future treatments. |
| June 14, 2011 |
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| Damaged mitochondria equivalent to an environmental disaster in the cell |
| Study of hereditary Parkinson's finds that mitochondria can't be cleared out when damaged |
| November 11, 2011 |
| DBS operation for Parkinson's disease performed inside iMRI |
| Henry Ford Hospital became the third hospital in the United States to perform a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure inside an Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, or iMRI. |
| September 19, 2011 |
| Deep Brain Stimulation Effects May Last for 10 Years in Patients With Parkinson's Disease |
| One decade after receiving implants that stimulate areas of their brains, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) appear to sustain improvement in motor function, although part of the initial benefit wore off mainly because of progressive loss of benefit in other functions, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. |
| August 8, 2011 |
| Deep brain stimulation studies show how brain buys time for tough choices |
| Take your time. Hold your horses. Sleep on it. When people must decide between arguably equal choices, they need time to deliberate. In the case of people undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, that process sometimes doesn't kick in, leading to impulsive behavior. New research into why that happens has led scientists to a detailed explanation of how the brain devotes time to reflect on tough choices. |
| September 25, 2011 |
| Dopamine controls formation of new brain cells |
| A study of the salamander brain has led researchers at Karolinska Institutet to discover a hitherto unknown function of the neurotransmitter dopamine. In an article published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell Stem Cell they show how in acting as a kind of switch for stem cells, dopamine controls the formation of new neurons in the adult brain. Their findings may one day contribute to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's. |
| April 8, 2011 |
| Discovery Offers Molecular Insights Into Link Between Parkinson's and Pesticides |
| In a new article published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine take some of the first steps toward unraveling the molecular dysfunction that occurs when proteins are exposed to environmental toxins. Their discovery helps further explain recent NIH findings that demonstrate the link between Parkinson's disease and two particular pesticides -- rotenone and paraquat. |
| June 22, 2011 |
| Disruption of nerve cell supply chain may contribute to Parkinson's |
| New data offer hints to why Parkinson's disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. |
| May 12, 2011 |
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| Early indications of Parkinson's disease revealed in dream sleep |
| During a large-scale study of the socioeconomic costs of this neurodegenerative disease, Danish researchers, some from the University of Copenhagen, discovered that very early symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be revealed in dream or REM sleep. |
| March 28, 2011 |
| Ethnic, gender stereotypes bias treatment of Parkinson's disease |
| Cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes can significantly distort clinical judgments about "facially masked" patients with Parkinson's disease, according to a newly published study from researchers at Tufts University, Brandeis University and the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. |
| July 5, 2011 |
| Exact Brain Electrode Placement for Parkinson's Patients Now Possible; Research Opens the Way to More Precise Deep Brain Stimulation |
| Deep brain stimulation stops limb tremors in Parkinson's patients. But positioning the stimulation electrode in the brain must be done very precisely to avoid undesired side-effects. To make this possible, researcher Ellen Brunenberg of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has developed a method for precise, external localization of the right part of the brain: the motor area of the subthalamic nucleus. She has found an ingenious way to localize this 'magic area': by using MRI to visualize the pathways in the brain that lead to it. |
| September 7, 2011 |
| Exercise/memory research for Parkinson's |
| Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center have launched a study of exercise and computerized memory training to see if those activities may help people with Parkinson's disease prevent memory changes. The type of memory that will be examined is known as "executive function;" it allows people to take in information and use it in a new way. Many Parkinson's patients develop problems with executive function, which can prevent them from working and may eventually require a caregiver to take over more of the complex cognitive tasks of daily living. |
| December 12, 2011 |
| Experts Discover a New Neurotransmitter With Potential Applications in the Treatment of Neurological Diseases |
| A team of scientists has discovered that D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) is a novel neurotransmitter that could potentially be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia. |
| May 5, 2011 |
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| Falls prevention in Parkinson's disease |
| A study carried out by the Primary Care Research Group at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and NIHR PenCLAHRC, has analysed the results of an exercise programme to prevent falls in those with Parkinson's disease. |
| October 12, 2011 |
| FDA panel unanimously votes down Parkinson's drug |
| A panel of federal medical specialists has unanimously voted that a drug for Parkinson's disease from Teva Pharmaceuticals has not been shown to slow progress of the debilitating neurological disease. |
| October 17, 2011 |
| Fighting Parkinson's with carbon nanoparticles |
| One of the problems affecting the human nervous system is dopamine deficiency. But testing of dopamine concentration is costly and requires sophisticated equipment not available in a doctor's office. |
| November 28, 2011 |
| Fighting Parkinson's with carbon nanoparticles |
| One of the problems affecting the human nervous system is dopamine deficiency. But testing of dopamine concentration is costly and requires sophisticated equipment not available in a doctor's office. Enter a team of Polish scientists who developed a method enabling the detection of dopamine in solutions both easily and cheaply, even in the presence of interferences. |
| November 29, 2011 |
| Finding shows potential way to protect neurons in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS |
| Cell biologists pondering the death of neurons -- brain cells -- said today that by eliminating one ingredient from the cellular machinery, they prolonged the life of neurons stressed by a pesticide chemical. The finding identifies a potential therapeutic target to slow changes that lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. |
| March 11, 2011 |
| First Link Between Two Major Parkinson's Genes Identified |
| As Parkinson's Awareness Month gets underway, a Canadian-led international study is providing important new insight into Parkinson's disease and paving the way for new avenues for clinical trials. The study, led by Dr. Michael Schlossmacher in Ottawa, provides the first link between the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson's and the hallmark accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein within the brains of people with Parkinson's. |
| April 4, 2011 |
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| Gene variants can cut risk of Parkinson's disease |
| An international team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found a genetic variation they say protects against Parkinson's disease. The gene variants cut the risk of developing the disease by nearly 20 percent in many populations. The study, published in the online Aug. 31 issue of Lancet Neurology, also reports the discovery of different variants of the same gene, LRRK2-- the most important Parkinson's risk gene found to date -- that double Parkinson's risk in Caucasians and Asians. |
| August 31, 2011 |
| Genetic factors can predict the progression of Parkinson's disease |
| Parkinson's disease is marked by the abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein and the early loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain. A polymorphism in the promotor of a-synuclein gene known as NACP-Rep1 has been implicated as a risk factor for the disease. |
| December 16, 2011 |
| Genetic mutation linked to Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers have discovered a new gene mutation they say causes Parkinson's disease. The mutation was identified in a large Swiss family with Parkinson's disease, using advanced DNA sequencing technology. |
| July 15, 2011 |
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| H2S plays critical role in signaling pathway linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's |
| They have discovered that hydrogen sulfide - the flammable, highly toxic gas that we usually associate with the smell of rotten eggs in landfills and sewers - plays an important role in the regulation of a signaling pathway implicated in biological malfunctions linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, among others. |
| December 14, 2011 |
| Healthy Welders May Be at Increased Risk for Early Brain Damage |
| New research suggests that workers exposed to welding fumes may be at risk for developing brain damage in an area of the brain also affected in Parkinson's disease. The study is published in the April 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. |
| April 6, 2011 |
| High risk of Parkinson's disease for people exposed to pesticides near workplace |
| In April 2009, researchers at UCLA announced they had discovered a link between Parkinson's disease and two chemicals commonly sprayed on crops to fight pests. |
| May 26, 2011 |
| Hysterectomy is associated with increased levels of iron in the brain |
| The human body has a love-hate relationship with iron. Just the right amount is needed for proper cell function, yet too much is associated with brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. |
| October 04, 2011 |
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| Ibuprofen May Lower Risk of Parkinson's Disease |
| Study Shows About a One-Third Reduction in Parkinson's Risk for Regular Ibuprofen Users |
| March 2, 2011 |
| Impax announces results of IPX066 ADVANCE-PD and APEX-PD Phase III study against Parkinson's |
| Impax Pharmaceuticals, the branded products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc., today announced that IPX066 ADVANCE-PD and APEX-PD Phase III clinical study data will be presented in Poster Sessions at the 15th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Conference in Toronto, Canada, held from June 5 to June 9. |
| June 4, 2011 |
| Implanted Electrodes Loaded With Drugs Could Monitor Brain And Treat It When Necessary |
| Microelectrode arrays implanted in the brain monitor neurological conditions in living patients all the time, sometimes even influencing brain activity if it gets out of line. So, thought researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, why not load one up with drugs so it can deliver chemical therapy to problem sites immediately upon detecting an issue? |
| June 9, 2011 |
| Increased arm swing asymmetry is early sign of Parkinson's disease |
| People with Parkinson's disease swing their arms asymmetrically -- one arm swings less than the other -- when walking. This unusual movement is easily detected early when drugs and other interventions may help slow the disease, according to Penn State researchers who used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of Parkinson's disease patients to measure arm swing. |
| December 13, 2011 |
| Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in methamphetamine users, study finds |
| People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). |
| July 26, 2011 |
| Innovative new strategy to treat Parkinson's disease |
| Stabilizing the cell's power-generating center protects against Parkinson's disease in a rat model, according to a report published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. |
| December 19, 2011 |
| Intertwined diseases may both contribute to cognitive decline in Parkinson's |
| A method of classifying brain atrophy patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients using MRIs can also detect cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease. Researchers also found that higher baseline Alzheimer's patterns of atrophy predicted long-term cognitive decline in cognitively normal Parkinson's patients. |
| December 13, 2011 |
| Investigational drug may reduce involuntary movements |
| Results of the first randomized, placebo-controlled long-term clinical trial show the investigational drug safinamide may reduce dyskinesia or involuntary movements in mid-to-late stage Parkinson's disease. The findings will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9, 2011, in Honolulu. |
| April 12, 2011 |
| IUPUI develops mathematical model of brain's neural circuitry |
| Researchers from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have developed a mathematical model of the brain's neural circuitry that may provide a better understanding of how and why information is not transmitted correctly in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. This knowledge may eventually help scientists and clinicians correct these misfires. |
| September 28, 2011 |
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| Keeping an Eagle Eye on Parkinson's Disease |
| EyeBrain, a French developer of medical devices for early diagnosis of neurological diseases, has announced that its EyeBrain Tracker device is to be used in a clinical trial evaluating dyskinesia in Parkinson's patients treated with levodopa. The EyeBrain Tracker, which was featured previously on Medgadget, measures eye movements using high resolution cameras, sampling at 300Hz. |
| December 14, 2011 |
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| Landmark study analyzes scientific productivity and impact of the top 100 PD investigators |
| IOS Press is pleased to announce the publication of a landmark study in which both traditional and innovative scientometric approaches have been employed to identify the top 100 Parkinson's disease (PD) investigators since 1985 and measure their scientific productivity as well as the impact of their contributions to the field. |
| June 9, 2011 |
| Lasers light the path of neuron regeneration |
| Lasers have been used to fabricate tiny scaffolds to be used as delivery vehicles to drop cells off at damaged locations and help treat diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. |
| September 21, 2011 |
| Lithium profoundly prevents brain damage associated with Parkinson's disease |
| Lithium profoundly prevents the aggregation of toxic proteins and cell loss associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) in a mouse model of the condition. |
| June 24, 2011 |
| Lipid-based nanocarriers for drug delivery |
| Scientists seeking to improve cancer treatments have created a tiny drug transporter that maximizes its ability to silence damaging genes by finding the equivalent of an expressway into a target cell. |
| July 26, 2011 |
| Low Intensity Treadmill Exercise Is Best to Improve Walking in Parkinson's, Study Suggests |
| Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center found that Parkinson's patients who walked on a treadmill at a comfortable speed for a longer duration (low-intensity exercise) improved their walking more than patients who walked for less time but at an increased speed and incline (high-intensity exercise). The investigators also found benefits for stretching and resistance exercises. |
| April 12, 2011 |
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| Manipulating single molecules to unravel secrets of protein folding |
| Better understanding of protein folding is essential because incorrectly folded proteins cause diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The experiments focused on the protein calmodulin, which is not implicated in these diseases but plays a role in many processes vital to cellular functions, and thus to human health. |
| October 27, 2011 |
| Master gene may shed new light on lysosomal and neurodegenerative disorders |
| Cells, like ordinary households, produce "garbage" -- debris and dysfunctional elements -- that need disposal. When the mechanism for taking out this garbage fails, rare genetic diseases called lysosomal storage disorders (including Tay-Sachs, Batten and Fabry disease) can disable and even kill the children they affect. In adults, such failure leads to neurodegenerative diseases that occur later in life, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. |
| May 26, 2011 |
| Mayo Clinic researchers tie Parkinson's drugs to impulse control problems |
| Mayo Clinic researchers found that dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson's disease result in impulse control disorders in as many as 22 percent of patients. |
| March 24, 2011 |
| Medtronic Announces Availability of Its Activa SC Deep Brain Stimulator |
| Adding to its Activa line of deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices, Medtronic has announced the US and European launch of its new Activa SC DBS system. The new implant is a single-channel neurostimulator used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. |
| March 16, 2011 |
| Michael J. Fox Foundation awards Impax $400,000 grant for research of IPX066 for Parkinson's disease |
| Impax Pharmaceuticals, the branded products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc., has been awarded funding of up to $400,000 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for ongoing clinical research of the Company's investigational carbidopa-levodopa extended release (CD-LD ER) product IPX066, which is intended to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). |
| July 14, 2011 |
| Microencapsulated cell transplant can help treat chronic illnesses more effectively |
| Chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's could be treated more effectively in the future, by means of the transplant of microencapsulated cells. The researcher from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Dr Ainhoa Murua has presented a number of proposals for optimising this technique. Amongst other things, she put forward improvements that can make viable the transplant of cells from other species (xenotransplants) to human patient, which would resolve the problem caused by the habitual scarcity of human tissues for transplanting. Her PhD thesis is entitled Cell microencapsulation for therapeutic purposes: towards greater control over biocompatibility. |
| July 21, 2011 |
| Molecule that spurs cell's recycling center may help Alzheimer's patients |
| Cells, which employ a process called autophagy to clean up and reuse protein debris leftover from biological processes, were the original recyclers. A team of scientists from Paul Greengard's Rockefeller University laboratory have linked a molecule that stimulates autophagy with the reduction of one of Alzheimer's disease's major hallmarks, amyloid peptide. Their finding suggests a mechanism that could be used to eliminate built-up proteins in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Down syndrome, Huntingdon's and Parkinson's. |
| March 16, 2011 |
| More opportunities to develop therapies for protein misfolding |
| Romping clumps of misfolded proteins are prime suspects in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. Those diseases are devastating and incurable, but a team of biologists at Brown University reports that cells can fix the problems themselves with only a little bit of help. The insight suggests that there are more opportunities to develop a therapy for protein misfolding than scientists had thought. |
| March 21, 2011 |
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| Nerve cells grown from stem cells give new insight into Parkinson's |
| Oxford University researchers have succeeded in using stem cell technology to grow nerve cells in the laboratory from initial skin samples taken from Parkinson's patients. It's the first large-scale effort of its kind in the UK. |
| June 20, 2011 |
| Neuronal energy deficit may cause Parkinson's disease |
| Research by a team in the University's Department of Biology found evidence that movement disorders, including tremor and slowness of movement, associated with Parkinson's disease may be due to a defect in energy production in the nervous system. The advance may help to identify young adults who may be susceptible to the disease. |
| January 17, 2012 |
| Neurosurgeons Test New Device for Placing Brain Implants |
| A new MRI device that guides surgeons as they implant electrodes into the brains of people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders could change the way this surgery, called deep brain stimulation, is performed at medical centers across the country, according to a group of doctors at University of California, San Francisco. |
| April 13, 2011 |
| New approach simplifies Parkinson's surgery |
| University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics has become the second academic medical center in the country where neurosurgeons can perform deep-brain stimulation (DBS) in an intra-operative MRI (iMRI) suite. |
| May 25, 2011 |
| New clue to Parkinson's: Shape of key protein surprises researchers |
| A new study finds that a protein key to Parkinson's disease has likely been mischaracterized. The protein, alpha-synuclein, appears to have a radically different structure in healthy cells than previously thought, challenging existing disease paradigms and suggesting a new therapeutic approach. |
| August 14, 2011 |
| New data from ProSavin Phase I/II trial in Parkinson's presented at ASGCT annual meeting |
| Oxford BioMedica plc, a leading gene therapy company, announces that new data from the on-going Phase I/II trial of ProSavin(R) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) were presented at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 14th Annual Meeting held in Seattle, USA by Professor Stephane Palfi, Principal Investigator at the Henri Mondor Hospital in Paris, on Saturday 21 May 2011. |
| May 23, 2011 |
| New Details About Medically Important Protein Family |
| Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation. |
| March 10, 2011 |
| New Findings About the Prion Protein and Its Interaction With the Immune System |
| Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease which can function as a model for other diseases caused by an accumulation of proteins resulting in tissue malformations (proteinpathies), such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Many questions regarding these diseases still remain unanswered. |
| December 29, 2011 |
| New Link Between Parkinson's Disease and Cellular Sorting |
| Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München working in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna have identified a mutation associated with a inherited form of late-onset Parkinson's disease. The mutation occurs in a gene that plays a role in intracellular protein sorting. |
| July 19, 2011 |
| New method delivers Alzheimer's drug to the brain |
| Oxford University scientists have developed a new method for delivering complex drugs directly to the brain, a necessary step for treating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Motor Neuron Disease and Muscular Dystrophy. |
| March 21, 2011 |
| New modeling of brain's circuitry may bring better understanding of Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have developed a mathematical model of the brain's neural circuitry that may provide a better understanding of how and why information is not transmitted correctly in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. This knowledge may eventually help scientists and clinicians correct these misfires. |
| September 27, 2011 |
| New mouse model may lead to new therapies for degenerative diseases |
| Most degenerative diseases begin with a gradual loss of specific cell types that progresses, eventually leading to symptoms. For example, in type I diabetes, hyperglycemia commonly develops when approximately 80 percent of the beta cells in the pancreas are lost; in Parkinson's disease, motor dysfunction typically begins when neurons in a certain portion of the brain are decreased by 70 to 80 percent. Finding ways to stop early cell destruction is vital, but methods to do so have proven challenging because of limitations of models for early stages of cell loss. |
| May 16, 2011 |
| New research aims to make proteins 'behave badly' |
| Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology are trying to get proteins to create the sticky plaque often associated with neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even Mad Cow. If successful, the study would better equip researchers to prevent or find a cure for these diseases. |
| March 15, 2011 |
| New research reveals how alpha-synuclein interacts with cell membranes in Parkinson's disease |
| The accumulation of a-synuclein, a small, negatively charged protein, in neural cells, is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. It has been suggested that oligomeric a-synuclein causes membranes to become permeable, or to form channels on the outer cell membrane. |
| January 18, 2012 |
| New research works towards early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease |
| An international team of researchers has moved forward the development of diagnostic biomarkers for degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's. |
| May 4, 2011 |
| New study supports view that Lewy bodies are not the primary cause of cell death in Parkinson's Disease |
| The pathology of Parkinson's disease is characterized by a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SN), an area of the brain associated with motor control, along with the development of a-synuclein (aS) protein in the form of Lewy bodies (LB) in the neurons that survive. The spread of LB pathology is thought to progress along with the clinical course of Parkinson's disease, although recent studies suggest that they are not the toxic cause of cell death. |
| January 9, 2012 |
| New study to test unusual hypothesis on beta brainwaves |
| Beta oscillations are tightly linked to Parkinson's disease and the ability to process sensory information, such as touch. Two neuroscientists have brought their collaboration to Brown University and won funding from the National Science Foundation to see if they can finally provide a definitive, if unorthodox, explanation for beta brainwaves. |
| November 28, 2011 |
| New technique can precisely locate subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's patients |
| Deep brain stimulation stops limb tremors in Parkinson's patients. But positioning the stimulation electrode in the brain must be done very precisely to avoid undesired side-effects. To make this possible, researcher Ellen Brunenberg of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has developed a method for precise, external localization of the right part of the brain: the motor area of the subthalamic nucleus. She has found an ingenious way to localize this 'magic area': by using MRI to visualize the pathways in the brain that lead to it. "If you take away the towns and cities on a map, you can still see where they are located from the pattern of the roads", says Brunenberg, who will gain her PhD on Thursday 8 September for her thesis entitled 'Hitting the right target'. |
| September 7, 2011 |
| New, more effective DBS paradigm may manage Parkinson's symptoms |
| Parkinson's disease (PD) is a devastating and incurable disease that causes abnormal poverty of movement, involuntary tremor, and lack of coordination. A technique called deep brain stimulation (DBS) is sometimes used to improve motor symptoms in patients with advanced disease. Now, a study published by Cell Press in the October 20 issue of the journal Neuron describes a new and more effective DBS paradigm that makes real-time adjustments in response to disease dynamics and progression and may be better for managing symptoms of advanced PD. |
| October 20, 2011 |
| Newly discovered role for enzyme in neurodegenerative diseases |
| Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are partly attributable to brain inflammation. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now demonstrate in a paper published in Nature that a well-known family of enzymes can prevent the inflammation and thus constitute a potential target for drugs. |
| March 10, 2011 |
| Next-generation brain stimulation may improve treatment of Parkinson's disease |
| Parkinson's disease (PD) is a devastating and incurable disease that causes abnormal poverty of movement, involuntary tremor, and lack of coordination. A technique called deep brain stimulation (DBS) is sometimes used to improve motor symptoms in patients with advanced disease. Now, a study published by Cell Press in the October 20 issue of the journal Neuron describes a new and more effective DBS paradigm that makes real-time adjustments in response to disease dynamics and progression and may be better for managing symptoms of advanced PD. |
| October 19, 2011 |
| NIH-funded twin study finds occupational chemical exposure may be linked to Parkinson's risk |
| A new research report contributes to the increasing evidence that repeated occupational exposure to certain chemical solvents raises the risk for Parkinson's disease. Researchers analyzed the occupational histories of twins in which one of the pair developed the neurodegenerative disorder, and assessed that twin's likelihood of exposure to six chemicals previously linked to Parkinson's. |
| November 14, 2011 |
| Novel neurotransmitter could fight against neurological diseases |
| A team of scientists has discovered that D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) is a novel neurotransmitter that could potentially be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia. The research paper, published in the Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (The FASEB Journal), is signed by the experts Jordi García-Fernàndez, Salvatore D'Aniello and Ildiko Somorjai, from the UB's Department of Genetics and the Institute of Biomedicina of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and by Enza Topo and Antimo D'Aniello, from the Department of Neurobiology of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Research Station in Naples. |
| May 6, 2011 |
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| Occupational chemical exposure raises for Parkinson's |
| A new research report contributes to the increasing evidence that repeated occupational exposure to certain chemical solvents raises the risk for Parkinson's disease. |
| November 14, 2011 |
| Opting to track, not treat, early prostate cancer |
| John Shoemaker visited six doctors in his quest to find the best treatment for his early stage prostate cancer - and only the last one offered what made the most sense to the California man: Keep a close watch on the tumor and treat only if it starts to grow. |
| December 19, 2011 |
| Oxidative stress: Less harmful than suspected? |
| Arterial calcification and coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, cancer and even the aging process itself are suspected to be partially caused or accelerated by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress arises in tissues when there is an excess of what are called reactive oxygen species (ROS). |
| December 5, 2011 |
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| Parkinson's disease breakthrough with stem cell research |
| A new stem cell study has raised hopes for therapy in Parkinson's disease. Researchers said they have, for the first time, generated stem cells from one of the most rapidly-progressing forms of the disease. They said the development will boost research into the condition because it will allow scientists to model the disease in laboratories and help them shed light on why certain nerve cells die. The research was led by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with University College London (UCL). |
| August 24, 2011 |
| Parkinson's Disease May Be Caused by Microtubule, Rather Than Mitochondrial Complex I, Dysfunction |
| Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suffer a specific loss of dopaminergic neurons from the midbrain region that controls motor function. The exact mechanism of this selective neurodegeneration is unclear, though many lines of evidence point to dysfunctional mitochondrial complex I as one root cause of the disease. Yet new research now suggests that defective regulation of microtubules may be responsible for at least some cases of PD. The study appears in the March 7 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology. |
| March 7, 2011 |
| Parkinson's Disease Patients May Benefit from Virtual-Reality-Based Therapies |
| In people with Parkinson's Disease (PD), the inability to make quick movements limits basic functioning in daily life. Movement can be improved by various cueing techniques, such as providing visual or auditory stimuli when movements are started. In a study scheduled for publication in the August issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers report that virtual reality (VR) and physical reality exercises can be used to provide effective stimuli to increase movement speeds in PD patients. |
| July 11, 2011 |
| Parkinson's Disease: Investigational Drug May Reduce Involuntary Movements |
| Results of the first randomized, placebo-controlled long-term clinical trial show the investigational drug safinamide may reduce dyskinesia or involuntary movements in mid-to-late stage Parkinson's disease. The findings will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9-16, 2011, in Honolulu. |
| April 12, 2011 |
| Parkinson's patients sing in tune with creative arts therapy |
| Twice a month a jam session takes place on the third floor of Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital. A diverse group of men and women, ranging in age and ethnicity, gather in a circle with instruments in hand and sing together. This is no ordinary jam band; all its members have Parkinson's disease. They are participating in Creative Arts for Parkinson's, a music and drama therapy program offered through Northwestern's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center. |
| June 14, 2011 |
| Parkinson's Treatment Shows Positive Results in Clinical Testing |
| Researchers from the University of Florida and 14 additional medical centers reported results in the online version of The Lancet Neurology journal indicating that deep brain stimulation -- also known as DBS -- is effective at improving motor symptoms and quality of life in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. |
| January 11, 2012 |
| People With Parkinson's Disease May Have Double the Risk for Melanoma |
| An analysis of several studies shows that people with Parkinson's disease have a significantly higher risk of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer and the leading cause of death from skin diseases. The research is published in the June 7, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. |
| June 6, 2011 |
| People with Parkinson's exhibit increased arm swing during early stage |
| People with Parkinson's disease swing their arms asymmetrically -- one arm swings less than the other -- when walking. This unusual movement is easily detected early when drugs and other interventions may help slow the disease, according to researchers who used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of Parkinson's disease patients to measure arm swing. |
| December 14, 2011 |
| People with Parkinson's more likely to have leg restlessness than restless leg syndrome |
| People with Parkinson's disease may be more likely to have a movement disorder called leg motor restlessness, but not true restless legs syndrome as previous studies have suggested, according to a study published in the Nov. 9, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. |
| November 9, 2011 |
| People With Signs of Parkinson's Wait to See Doctor |
| Survey Shows Many Are Reluctant to See Doctor After Experiencing Tremors |
| April 6, 2011 |
| Pollutants in some urban areas increase Parkinson's disease risk |
| High levels of manganese and copper pollution in urban areas are linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a large-scale analysis of urban pollution and Parkinson's incidence in the United States. |
| November 1, 2010 |
| Positive results from NeuroDerm's ND0611 Phase I/II study for advanced Parkinson's disease |
| NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today the results of a Phase I/II safety and pharmacokinetic trial of ND0611, administered as an adjunct therapy to Sinemet®, Sinemet® CR or Stalevo®, in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. ND0611 is a proprietary carbidopa liquid formula administered sub-cutaneously via a dermal patch to increase the bioavailability and efficacy of orally- administered levodopa. Results of this study support the continued development of ND0611 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. |
| November 9, 2011 |
| Potential cause of severe sleep disorder discovered, implications for Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers at the University of Toronto are the first to indentify a potential cause for a severe sleep disorder that has been closely linked to Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. |
| June 15, 2011 |
| Promising Clue to Mechanism Behind Gene Mutation That Causes Parkinson's Disease |
| Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a way that mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause the most common inherited form of Parkinson's disease. The study, published online in PLoS ONE, shows that upon specific modification called phosphorylation, LRRK2 protein binds to a family of proteins called 14-3-3, which has a regulatory function inside cells. When there is a mutation in LRRK2, 14-3-3 is impaired, leading to Parkinson's. This finding explains how mutations lead to the development of Parkinson's, providing a new diagnostic and drug target for the disease. |
| March 25, 2011 |
| Protein Linked to Parkinson's Disease May Regulate Fat Metabolism |
| National Institutes of Health researchers have found that Parkin, an important protein linked with some cases of early-onset Parkinson's disease, regulates how cells in our bodies take up and process dietary fats. |
| August 25, 2011 |
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| Rare genetic disorder provides unique insight into Parkinson's disease |
| Massachusetts General Hospital investigators appear to have found the mechanism behind a previously reported link between the rare genetic condition Gaucher disease and the common neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease. In a report to appear in the July 8 issue of Cell and receiving early online release, they describe how disruption of the molecular pathway that causes Gaucher disease leads to the toxic neuronal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein (a-syn) found in Parkinson's and related disorders. In addition, rising a-syn levels further inhibit the Gaucher's-associated pathway, leading to even more a-syn deposition, a finding that indicates therapies targeting this pathway may be a new option for patients with Parkinson's disease. |
| June 23, 2011 |
| Re-training the brain |
| People experiencing the early signs of Parkinson's disease could see their symptoms improved through a process of regulating and re-training how their brains respond to certain activities and actions, new University research has uncovered. |
| November 9, 2011 |
| Referring Doctors Increasingly Aware of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy; More Work Remains |
| While deep brain stimulation has gained recognition by referring physicians as a treatment for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, just half of the patients they recommend are appropriate candidates to begin this relatively new therapy immediately, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York say. |
| August 16, 2011 |
| Reprogramming brain cells important first step for new Parkinson's therapy, study finds |
| In efforts to find new treatments for Parkinson's Disease, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have directly reprogrammed astrocytes, the most plentiful cell type in the central nervous system, into dopamine-producing neurons. PD is marked by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. |
| December 13, 2011 |
| Research May Lead to New Treatments for Parkinson's Disease and Other Neurological Disorders |
| A group of scientists at Marshall University is conducting research that may someday lead to new treatments for repair of the central nervous system. |
| March 25, 2011 |
| Researchers enlist symptom-specific exercise in battle against Parkinson's Disease |
| The Parkinson's Disease Exercise Initiative, a new collaboration between the Gardner Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute and the Cincinnati YMCA, is taking aim at a progressive disease by meeting it head-on with progressive exercise. |
| September 2, 2011 |
| Researchers find drug that stops progression of Parkinson's disease in mice |
| In a major breakthrough in the battle against Parkinson's disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a drug that stops the progression of the degenerative illness in mice and is now being tested in humans. |
| March 8, 2011 |
| Researchers find new clues about protein linked to Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder. |
| June 17, 2011 |
| Researchers identify path to treat Parkinson's disease at its inception |
| Imagine if doctors could spot Parkinson's disease at its inception and treat the protein that triggers it before the disease can sicken the patient. |
| January 16, 2012 |
| Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells |
| In the US alone, at least 500,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to control his or her movement. New technology from the University of Bonn in Germany lets researchers observe the development of the brain cells responsible for the disease. |
| January 31, 2012 |
| REM sleep behavior disorder is a risk factor for Parkinson's disease |
| Patients suffering REM sleep behaviour disorders dream nightmares in which they are attacked and pursued, with the particularity that they express them by screaming, crying, punching and kicking while sleeping. Lancet Neurology has published the third consecutive work in five years about the relationship between this disorder and Parkinson's disease. |
| July 29, 2011 |
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| Scientists artificially grow brain cells from Parkinson's patients to find treatment |
| The UK's population is ageing and with it comes an increased risk of developing age-related diseases such as Parkinson's. About 70% of dopamine producing brain cells will have been lost by the time a sufferer visits the doctor, with symptoms that include difficulties with movement and a resting tremor. A progressive neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson's affects about 120,000 people in the UK. |
| August 18, 2011 |
| Scientists build Parkinson's disease in a dish to study cells' death |
| Until now, there have been no witnesses to the death of brain cells in people with Parkinson's disease. And like any murder mystery, this has slowed the search for the killer. |
| April 5, 2011 |
| Scientists create neurons with symptoms of Parkinson's disease from patient's skin cells |
| Neurons have been derived from the skin of a woman with a genetic form of Parkinson's disease and have been shown to replicate some key features of the condition in a dish, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The scientists hope to use the neurons to learn more about the disorder and to test possible treatments. Such a tool is critical because there are no good animal models for Parkinson's disease. It also validates the use of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, to model various diseases. |
| March 3, 2011 |
| Scientists discover 'small molecule' substance that blocks cholesterol formation in the brain |
| A needle-in-the-haystack search through nearly 390,000 chemical compounds had led scientists to a substance that can sneak through the protective barrier surrounding the brain with effects promising for new drugs for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. They report on the substance, which blocks formation of cholesterol in the brain, in the journal, ACS Chemical Biology. |
| April 21, 2011 |
| Scientists Find Way to Block Stress-Related Cell Death: New Drug Target for Heart Attack, Stroke and Parkinson's Disease? |
| Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a potentially important new therapeutic target that could prevent stress-related cell death, a characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, as well as heart attack and stroke. |
| June 2, 2011 |
| Scientists identify a novel therapy with potential for treating Parkinson's disease |
| The therapy, which has been shown to be effective in rat models of the condition, involves exploiting the natural process by which common viruses protect mitochondria (the energy-producing power house of cells) in order to keep cells alive while they replicate. |
| December 22, 2011 |
| Scientists identify new inherited form of Parkinson's disease |
| Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München working in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna have identified a mutation associated with a inherited form of late-onset Parkinson's disease. The mutation occurs in a gene that plays a role in intracellular protein sorting. The results have been published in the current issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. |
| July 19, 2011 |
| Seeds of Destruction in Parkinson's Disease: Spread of Diseased Proteins Kills Neurons |
| New research suggests that small "seed" amounts of diseased brain proteins can be taken up by healthy neurons and propagated within them to cause neurodegeneration. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 6 issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the mechanisms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and provides a model for discovering early intervention therapeutics that can prevent or slow the devastating loss of neurons that underlies PD. |
| October 05, 2011 |
| Shedding light on cell mechanism which plays a role in such diseases as Huntington's and Parkinson's |
| New research from scientists at the University of Cambridge provides critical insight into the formation of autophagosomes, which are responsible for cleaning up cellular waste. |
| July 26, 2011 |
| Skywalker ensures optimal communication between neurons |
| Patrik Verstreken has discovered the mechanism that ensures neurons can continue to send the right signals for long consecutive periods - a process that is disrupted in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's. Verstreken and his colleagues discovered that an enzyme called Skywalker controls the subtle balance in communication. |
| April 1, 2011 |
| Slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins cause Parkinson's disease |
| Imagine if doctors could spot Parkinson's disease at its inception and treat the protein that triggers it before the disease can sicken the patient. |
| January 18, 2012 |
| Smoking's up-side: Nicotine protects the brain from Parkinson's disease |
| If you've ever wondered if smoking offered society any benefit, a new research report published in The FASEB Journaloffers a surprising answer. Nicotine protects us from Parkinson's disease, and the discovery of how nicotine does this may lead to entirely new types of treatments for the disease. |
| August 1, 2011 |
| Sniffing out Parkinson's |
| A team of neuroscientists in UConn's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has mapped the brain's nerve connections that help control the sense of smell, which could add another brain region to the list of those affected by Parkinson's Disease. |
| September 23, 2011 |
| St. Jude Medical's Deep Brain Stimulator Demonstrates Benefit for Parkinson's Patients |
| The use of implanted Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease has been the focus of a lot research activity and technological innovation over the last number of years. Yesterday St. Jude Medical announced positive results from a controlled study of their Libra family of DBS implantable pulse generators, the results of which were published in the journal The Lancet Neurology. |
| January 12, 2012 |
| Stem Cell Study Offers Hope for Parkinson's Patients |
| The development will help research into the condition as it will enable scientists to model the disease in the laboratory to shed light on why certain nerve cells die. |
| August 23, 2011 |
| Stem cell therapy for Parkinson's |
| U.S. researchers have finally found a way to overcome difficulties in coaxing human embryonic stem cells to become the neurons killed by Parkinson's disease. |
| November 8, 2011 |
| Stem cells reverse disease in a model of Parkinson's disease |
| In a new study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers compared the ability of cells derived from different types of human stem cell to reverse disease in a rat model of Parkinson disease and identified a stem cell population that they believe could be clinically relevant. |
| May 16, 2011 |
| Structure of Parkinson's disease protein identified |
| A team of researchers from the Petsko-Ringe and Pochapsky laboratories at Brandeis have produced and determined the structure of alpha-synuclein, a key protein associated with Parkinson's disease. |
| October 24, 2011 |
| Structure of Key Protein Associated With Parkinson's Disease Determined |
| A team of researchers from the Petsko-Ringe and Pochapsky laboratories at Brandeis have produced and determined the structure of alpha-synuclein, a key protein associated with Parkinson's disease. |
| October 24, 2011 |
| Study demonstrates a connection between a common chemical and Parkinson's disease |
| A University of Kentucky faculty member is a contributing author on a new study demonstrating a connection between a common solvent chemical and Parkinson's disease. |
| November 29, 2011 |
| Study finds benefit of low-intensity exercise for walking in Parkinson's patients |
| Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center found that Parkinson's patients who walked on a treadmill at a comfortable speed for a longer duration (low-intensity exercise) improved their walking more than patients who walked for less time but at an increased speed and incline (high-intensity exercise). The investigators also found benefits for stretching and resistance exercises. The study results will be presented April 12 at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Honolulu. |
| April 12, 2011 |
| Study finds no support for primary pathogenic role of LBs in PD |
| The pathology of Parkinson's disease is characterized by a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SN), an area of the brain associated with motor control, along with the development of a-synuclein (aS) protein in the form of Lewy bodies (LB) in the neurons that survive. |
| January 10, 2012 |
| Study finds promising clue to mechanism behind gene mutation that causes Parkinson's disease |
| Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a way that mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause the most common inherited form of Parkinson's disease. The study, published online this month in the journal Public Library of Science, shows that upon specific modification called phosphorylation, LRRK2 protein binds to a family of proteins called 14-3-3, which has a regulatory function inside cells. When there is a mutation in LRRK2, 14-3-3 is impaired, leading to Parkinson's. This finding explains how mutations lead to the development of Parkinson's, providing a new diagnostic and drug target for the disease. |
| March 25, 2011 |
| Study investigates effects of dopamine replacement therapy on cognition in patients with Parkinson's |
| Dopamine replacement therapy, which is used to manage motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease, can, at times, adversely affect cognition. |
| June 15, 2011 |
| Study provides first link between 2 major Parkinson's genes |
| As Parkinson's Awareness Month gets underway, a Canadian-led international study is providing important new insight into Parkinson's disease and paving the way for new avenues for clinical trials. The study, led by Dr. Michael Schlossmacher in Ottawa, provides the first link between the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson's and the hallmark accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein within the brains of people with Parkinson's. It is published in the most recent edition of the journal Annals of Neurology. |
| April 4, 2011 |
| Study suggests seeing a neurologist helps people with Parkinson's live longer |
| People with Parkinson's disease who go to a neurologist for their care are more likely to live longer, less likely to be placed in a nursing home and less likely to break a hip than people who go to a primary care physician, according to a study published in the August 10, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). |
| August 10, 2011 |
| SUMO molecules might prevent protein aggregations that typify PD |
| Insoluble protein clusters are the hallmarks of several neurodegenerative diseases. In PD, neurons harbor insoluble clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. What triggers these protein pileups remains obscure. A possible clue for PD came when researchers overexpressed alpha-synuclein in human kidney cells and found that the protein was modified by the addition of the small, ubiquitin-like molecule SUMO. |
| July 12, 2011 |
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| Test for Alzheimer's disease predicts cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease |
| A method of classifying brain atrophy patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients using MRIs can also detect cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease. Researchers also found that higher baseline Alzheimer's patterns of atrophy predicted long-term cognitive decline in cognitively normal Parkinson's patients. |
| December 12, 2011 |
| The doctor will see all of you now? Group doctor visits may be feasible for Parkinson's disease |
| Group appointments where doctors see several people for a longer time may be feasible for Parkinson's disease, according to a new study published in the April 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). |
| April 27, 2011 |
| Tiny worms head into the breach as team searches for Parkinson's treatment |
| McMaster researchers from three disciplines are deploying thousands of tiny worms and a homegrown invention to test drugs in a collaborative bid to defeat Parkinson's Disease. |
| June 24, 2011 |
| Toward new medications for chronic brain diseases |
| A needle-in-the-haystack search through nearly 390,000 chemical compounds had led scientists to a substance that can sneak through the protective barrier surrounding the brain with effects promising for new drugs for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. They report on the substance, which blocks formation of cholesterol in the brain, in the journal, ACS Chemical Biology. |
| April 20, 2011 |
| Tracking Down Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease |
| In Parkinson's disease, the human body generates antibodies to combat the amyloid-producing protein alpha synuclein early in the course of the disease. A simple blood test that measures these antibodies can facilitate early diagnosis of the disorder, writes Ludmilla Morozova-Roche and her associates at Umeå University in Sweden in the latest issue of the journal PLoS One. |
| April 28, 2011 |
| Traumatic brain injury increases risk of Parkinson's disease, researchers say |
| Traumatic brain injury has entered the public's consciousness as the silent, signature wound brought back by many of our military warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. But such injuries don't only happen in warfare, they happen to civilians too. Think car crashes, a slip and fall, two football players colliding helmet to helmet. |
| August 22, 2011 |
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| Vitamin D insufficiency high among patients with early Parkinson disease |
| Patients with a recent onset of Parkinson disease have a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, but vitamin D concentrations do not appear to decline during the progression of the disease, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. |
| March 14, 2011 |
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| Using bone marrow to protect the brain |
| The ability to produce neuroprotectors, proteins that protect the human brain against neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and ALS, is the holy grail of brain research. A technology developed at Tel Aviv University does just that, and it's now out of the lab and in hospitals to begin clinical trials with patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. |
| September 20, 2011 |
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| Worm model to evaluate drugs for Parkinson's disease |
| Test is based on the difficulty that these parkinsonian C. elegans worms have in switching from swimming to crawling |
| November 11, 2011 |