Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells. Public release date: 31-Jan-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Katherine Scottkatherine.scott@jove.com 617-765-4367 x301The Journal of Visualized Experiments 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. Up until now, research into the brain cells responsible for Parkinson's disease has focused on the function and degeneration of these neurons in the adult and aging brain. "Little is known about the behavior of these neurons during their differentiation and migration phase," said article author Dr. The new technique also makes the cells available for genetic manipulation, and more information about how these cells develop and function could lead to new treatment options.
Gladstone Scientists Identify Protein that Contributes to Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. Scientists report first step in strategy for cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are a promising avenue for cell replacement therapy in neurologic diseases.
Psychiatric Treatment Crucial for Many Parkinson’s Patients. Not just the public, but many clinicians, believe that Parkinson’s disease is exclusively a neurological disorder—that is, that it only entails tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with balance.
Yet there are many psychiatric aspects to the illness as well, psychiatrists who specialize in Parkinson’s disease stressed during recent interviews with Psychiatric News. Parkinson’s patients can experience a raft of psychiatric symptoms, Daniel Weintraub, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and a psychiatrist with the Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, reported. Inability To Express Emotion May Be Early Symptom Of Parkinson’s. By Eurasia Review Alexithymia has been found to be strongly associated with depression in both general and clinical populations.
Alexithymic and depressive symptoms may be partially overlapping, but not all are correlated with depressive symptoms, thus underlining the relative independence of the two disorders. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a clinical condition often characterized by depression and an altered emotional processing. In medicated PD patients alexithymia has a prevalence of 21% and is related to depression. The investigation of alexithymia in newly diagnosed untreated (de novo) PD patients before the administration of dopaminergic therapy is of particular clinical interest considering that affective symptoms may precede the clinical motor onset of PD.
The de novo PD patients were enrolled in two Italian movement disorder tertiary clinics (Versilia Hospital, Viareggio; Neurological Clinic, University of Pisa). About the author: Eurasia Review. New research reveals how alpha-synuclein interacts with cell membranes in Parkinson's disease. 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. Now, a group of scientists from Sweden has found a way to reliably replicate α-synuclein aggregation on cell membranes to investigate how different forms of α-synuclein interact with membranes under different conditions and to learn if any of the α-synuclein species can penetrate these membranes. Researchers identify path to treat Parkinson's disease at its inception. (Medical Xpress) -- 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.
A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University, has demonstrated that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of aggregation, or clumping together, which is the first step of Parkinson’s. The results are published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Biologists a step nearer to solving the Parkinson's conundrum. Posted on 16 January 2012 Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step forward in isolating the cause of Parkinson's disease in younger adults.
Research by a team in the University’s Department of Biology found evidence that movement disorders, including tremor and slowness of movement (bradykinesia), associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) 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. Parkinson’s, the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease, principally affects people aged over 60, but some forms – known as juvenile PD – usually start in the 30-40 age group.
One in 20 people diagnosed with Parkinson's are under 40 and such early onset PD is often inherited. Constant Electrical Brain Stimulation Safe in Parkinson's. Constant-current deep brain stimulation (DBS) increased symptom control and decreased medication use, and resulted in adverse effects similar to those seen in other studies, researchers found.
At three months, both study groups reported an increase in good quality "on time," when a patient had good control of their symptoms (difference in mean change: 2.51 hours, 95% CI 0.87 to 4.16, P=0.003) reported Michael S. Okun, MD, from the University of Florida College of Medicine, and colleagues. The levodopa equivalent dose of medication was reduced by 319 mg at six months and by 391 mg at one year during the study, which was reported online in Lancet Neurology. Parkinson treatment shows positive results in clinical testing. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Researchers from the University of Florida and 14 additional medical centers reported results today 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.
The study, sponsored by St. Jude Medical Inc., tested the safety and effectiveness of a constant current DBS device developed by St. New study supports view that Lewy bodies are not the primary cause of cell death in Parkinson's Disease. Civitas Therapeutics Announces Positive Results from Clinical Study of CVT-301, an Inhaled L-dopa for Parkinson's Disease. URI pharmacy researcher discovers new gene that regulates body weight. Public release date: 4-Jan-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Dave Lavalleedlavallee@advance.uri.edu 401-874-5862University of Rhode Island KINGSTON, R.I. – January 4, 2012 – Abraham Kovoor was studying a brain protein, called RGS9 2, that he had previously related to the involuntary, random and repetitive body movements that are side effects of drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
While studying these side effects, which are called dyskinesia, Kovoor, an assistant professor in the University of Rhode Island's College of Pharmacy, discovered that RGS9 2 also plays a role in regulating body weight. Results of his study were published in the November issue of PLoS One, an interactive open-access, peer-reviewed scientific and medical research journal. Kovoor and his collaborators found that humans with a gene variation that could reduce RGS9 2 levels had a significantly higher body mass index. "When you see Michael J. Parkinson's Called Hidden Killer. Life expectancy for patients with Parkinson's disease is poorer than some previous studies have suggested, with barely one-third of patients surviving six years with the condition, researchers said. Among nearly 140,000 Medicare beneficiaries with Parkinson's disease diagnosed in 2002 -- about half of whom were younger than 80 -- 64% had died by 2008, reported Allison W.
Willis, MD, and colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis. This rate was similar to that seen in Medicare patients suffering myocardial infarctions and Alzheimer's disease, and substantially higher than in those diagnosed with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or colorectal cancer, the researchers pointed out in Archives of Neurology. On the other hand, there was no difference in death rates between areas of high and low lead pollution, the researchers indicated. Blacks also had the highest mortality rates at 66.4%, but whites were a close second at 64.6%. False. Demographic and clinical factors appear associated with survival in patients with Parkinson's disease. Public release date: 2-Jan-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Joni Westerhousewesterhousej@wustl.edu 314-286-0120JAMA and Archives Journals.