Ny ledtråd om Parkinsons sjukdom. När forskarna vid Harvard Medical School undersökte proteinet alfa-synuclein, som spelar en nyckelroll i utvecklandet av Parkinsons sjukdom, hade man inte förväntat sig det resultat man fick. Det visade det sig nämligen att proteinet verkade ha en helt annan struktur än man tidigare trott. Forskare har länge antagit att alfa-synuclein förekommer i en lång rak kedja i friska celler, en så kallad monomer. I stället visade det sig att proteinets naturliga skepnad är form av fyra identiska monomer-kedjor som är förbundna i en viss struktur, kallad tetramer. Upptäckten har enligt forskarna stor betydelse för hur framtida behandlingar mot sjukdomen bör utformas. Genom att få proteinet att behålla sin naturliga struktur hoppas forskarna kunna förhindra nervceller från att brytas ned, och på så sätt stoppa sjukdomsförloppet av Parkinsons sjukdom.
Kanske till och med förhindra att sjukdomen överhuvudtaget utvecklas. – Det är intressanta och överraskande resultat. Parkinson's Pearls: Wisdom from sharing Knowledge. Drug-induced parkinsonism: A review of 17 years' e... [Mov Disord. 2011] - PubMed result. Pros and cons of a prion-like pathogenesis in Parkinson's disease. PESTICIDES: Exposition à proximité du lieu de travail, risque de Parkinson multiplié par 3. PESTICIDES: Exposition à proximité du lieu de travail, risque de Parkinson multiplié par 3 Actualité publiée le 27-05-2011 European Journal of Epidemiology Le risque élevé de maladie de Parkinson chez les agriculteurs utilisant des pesticides a déjà été démontré. Cette nouvelle étude suggère que les personnes exposées aux pesticides parce qu’habitant ou travaillant à proximité de champs pulvérisés présenteraient également un risque augmenté au minimum de 80%.
En effet, en avril 2009, des chercheurs de l'UCLA avaient déjà découvert le lien, pour les agriculteurs, entre la maladie de Parkinson et 2 produits pesticides généralement pulvérisés sur les cultures. Lire l'ensemble de l'article.
Parkinson's may have links to certain cancers. PD - Viartis. Data Driven Health. Early Parkinson’s Symptoms May Occur In Sleep. By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 29, 2011 Danish researchers have discovered that very early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may emerge in part of the sleep cycle. “In the study, we saw that eight years before diagnosis, Parkinson’s sufferers exhibited work and health indications that something was wrong,” said Poul Jennum, M.D., professor of clinical neurophysiology at the University of Copenhagen. Among the very early symptoms is the sleep disorder RBD, or REM sleep behavior disorder.
REM is a particular stage of sleep in which we dream, and our eyes flicker rapidly behind our eyelids, hence the term REM, or Rapid Eye Movement. To prevent us from actually acting out our dreams, the body usually shuts down our muscle movement during REM sleep, but in RBD it is still active, and REM sleepers with RBD display a range of behaviours from simple arm and leg spasms to kicking, shouting, seizing or jumping out of bed. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Oxidative Stress, Defective Nucleoli Likely a Cause of Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson’s disease may be caused by oxidative stress within cells due to defective nucleoli. Dopamine producing neurons are particularly sensitive to oxidative stress. The researchers present evidence showing defective nucleoli within dopamine producing neurons lead to oxidative stress and damage, resulting in symptoms mimicking those of Parkinson’s disease, such as palsy shaking. Genetically modified mice with dopamine-producing neurons only capable of forming defective nucleoli were studied by the researchers.
These mice exhibited movement impairment very much like those seen with Parkinson’s disease patients. Dopamine-producing neurons in these mice brains also died prematurely. The research further found that reduced mTOR enzyme activity was a likely cause of defective nucleoli and oxidative stress within cells. With a new model to study, cellular cues to monitor and promising new details revealed, the path to understanding and treating Parkinson’s disease is clearing. Research Notes: Stem Cells Delivered in Nasal Spray Ease Parkinson's Disease Symptoms in Rats.
Scientists have shown that stem cells delivered to rats via a nasal spray lead to an improvement of motor functions in rats with Parkinson’s disease like symptoms. Mesenchymal stem cells sprayed into the rat noses migrated to the brain and survived for at least 6 months. Dopamine levels increased in previously damaged areas and motor functions improved up to 68% of normal in the stem cell treated rats.
A nasal spray delivery system for stem cells could help avoid problems related to surgical implantation of stem cells. This new method could also make repeated stem cell treatments much safer. The research article is available for free. Article More general information is provided in the release below. Dramatic Improvement in Parkinson Disease Symptoms Following Intranasal Delivery of Stem Cells to Rat Brains In this groundbreaking study, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) delivered via the nose preferentially migrated to the brain and were able to survive for at least 6 months.
Brain Cell Destruction Blocked in Parkinson's Disease Models with SR-3306. Major progress in Parkinson’s disease treatments has been accomplished based on evidence that the drug SR-3306 blocks neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease rat and mice models. Scientists show that SR-3306 delivered orally to mice and rat models of Parkinson’s disease was able to protect brain cells from neurodegeneration. SR-3306 inhibits the c-jun-N-terminal kinases (JNK) class of enzymes, previously shown to play large roles in neuron survival.
Dysfuntional motor responses were reduced by nearly 90 percent in the Parkinson’s disease models. Though SR-3306 shouldn’t be considered a cure for Parkinson’s disease, it does look like it has the potential to slow, or even stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease. This news could be very promising for patients and researchers of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders and diseases. The release below offers many more details about this Parkinson’s disease research. Findings may open door to first protective therapy. Svensk upptäckt kan bromsa Parkinson. Det handlar om att forskarna identifierat sjuka proteiner som sprider sig från cell till cell. – Nästa steg hoppas vi är att vi kan hämma mekanismen så att vi kan stoppa sjukdomens fortskridande.
Det skulle innebära att patienter som precis fått diagnosen skulle kunna få ett nytt tilltänkt läkemedel i framtiden. Det läkemedlet skulle göra att de inte blev sämre utan hade en väldigt mild sjukdom, säger Patrik Brundin, professor i neurovetenskap i Lund. Något typ av bromsmedicin? – Ja, det är det vi hoppas. Många försöker hitta den här bromsmedicinen men ingen har försökt att angripa just den här mekanismen. De sjuka proteinerna sprider sig på ett infektionsliknande sätt från cell till cell i hjärnan. . – Det är den näst vanligaste sjukdomen som långsamt bryter ner hjärnan efter Alzheimers sjukdom, säger Patrik Brundin.
Lundaforskarna går nu vidare och skall försöka bromsa spridningsprocessen med potentiellt nya läkemedel. Gene Therapy Trial For Parkinson's Disease Effective In Improving Motor Function. New Parkinson's Treatment Hopeful For Motor Control. New Genetic Clues to Parkinson’s Disease. Researchers Identify Genetic Variants That May Be Linked to Parkinson’s Why do I need to register or sign in for WebMD to save? We will provide you with a dropdown of all your saved articles when you are registered and signed in. Feb. 1, 2011 -- A new set of genetic variants has been implicated in the search for genetic risk factors that could lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease. Researchers say six genetic factors that apparently affect the neurological disease have been previously identified. But in a new study, the researchers say they have now identified five more of the variants. The research, a collaboration of investigators in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Iceland, is published online in the Feb. 2 issue of The Lancet.
Researchers say the study is the product of the largest genetic analysis of Parkinson’s disease ever done and that about 7.7 million possible variants were examined. Genetic Roots of Parkinson’s Continue reading below...