Rasagiline reduces disability for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease
Giving Parkinson's patients on levodopa treatment an additional drug called rasagiline once daily can improve their motor function, concludes a study published in this week's issue of THE LANCET. ...... Most patients with established Parkinson's disease receiving long-term treatment with levodopa will eventually have motor fluctuations, defined as periods of the day with poor or absent motor res...LRRK2 gene mutation causes Parkinson's disease in several families
Neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., leading a team of researchers in the United States and Europe, have discovered that a novel mutation in the recently identified LRRK2 gene causes parkinsonism in several North American and European families. Their findings will be reported in the April edition of the . The disease causing G2019S mutation in the LRRK2 gene is the first time a...Physical activity linked to protection from Parkinson's disease
Boston MA In the first comprehensive examination of strenuous physical activity and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that men who exercised regularly and vigorously early in their adult life had a lower risk for developing Parkinson's disease compared to men who did not. The findings appear in the February 22, 2005...Duke researchers identify age at onset genes for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease
DURHAM, N.C. Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified a group of chromosomal regions that could be responsible for controlling the onset of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases.... The finding is significant because until now, geneticists have focused their attention on identifying individual genes that control the risk of developing a disease. However, the age at which gen...PCBs, fungicide open brain cells to Parkinson's assault
University of Rochester scientists investigating the link between PCBs, pesticides and Parkinson's disease demonstrated new and intricate reactions that occur in certain brain cells, making them more vulnerable to injury after exposures.... ... In two papers published in the journal NeuroToxicology (Dec. 2004 and Feb. 2005), the group describes how polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) disrupt dopami...New study in NEJM suggests levodopa may slow progression of Parkinson's disease
Levodopa is the most powerful drug available to treat the symptoms of Parkinson disease, and almost all patients with the disease will eventually need to take it. But there has long been controversy about when it should be started, in part because of concern that the medicine itself might cause further damage to the brain cells that are impaired in this disease. To resolve the controversy, a Co...Two-fisted assault on dopamine transport system may be foundation of Parkinson's disease
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Parkinson's disease may be caused by an environmental-genetic double whammy on the neurons that produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter that controls body movement, a new study has shown. ... Researchers at the University at Buffalo, using cultures of rat neurons, have shown that the presence of mutated parkin genes, combined with the toxic effects of the chemical rotenone, res...Antibiotic rifampicin shows promise for fighting Parkinson's disease in lab tests
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have shown that rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis, can prevent the formation of protein fibrils associated with the death of brain cells in people with Parkinson's disease. The drug also dissolved existing fibrils in laboratory tests. ... ...The researchers studied the effects of rifampicin in...University seeks recruits for Parkinson's Disease study
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are seeking people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) to help them better understand how mood-- particularly depression-- affects their symptoms. The study will investigate the way depression impacts on the thinking processes of those with PD, and look at how this mood disorder can be treated....... ...Research psychologist Anthoula Lioni said: " Depression i...Mutations in a multifunctional protein cause parkinsonism
A team of researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and colleagues in Canada and Germany have discovered a gene and six mutations of it that cause symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Their discovery will be reported in the Nov. 18 issue of the journal, Neuron. ... ...The team found a mutation of the gene, named LRRK2, in members of six famil...Marijuana-like compounds may aid array of debiliating conditions ranging from Parkinson's to pain
SAN DIEGO -- October 26, 2004...No longer a pipe dream, new animal research now indicates that marijuana-like compounds can aid a bevy of debilitating conditions, ranging from brain disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease, to pain and obesity. The new research was presented at the 34th Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego....... In past studie...Exercising limbs protects brain cells affected by Parkinson's, study in rodents shows
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 24 In an animal model of Parkinson's, exercise prevents degeneration of nerve cells that are normally impaired or destroyed by the disease, according to University of Pittsburgh researchers. Based on their work, which was presented today at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, a small pilot study has been initiated in patients with Parkinson's to deter...Parkinson's patients get bilateral benefits with unilateral brain stim
For many patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, deep brain stimulation can mean the difference between having difficulty walking and being able to run. Since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997, the treatment has been used by 20,000 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease or other movement disorders to help control their symptoms. Now, researchers have discovered that...Researchers monitor progression of Parkinson's disease by studying molecular changes in brain
RESTON, Va.--The progress of Parkinson's disease (PD), or any brain-wasting disease, is painful to watch in oneself or in a loved one. Physicians and researchers are not immune to that pain, but they watch the progression of disease with an eye toward understanding it and, one day, halting or reversing it. ...Johannes Schwarz, M.D., and a team of researchers from Germany and Canada reported in...Exercise prevents Parkinson's symptoms in lab model mimicking human form of the disease
Exercise might one day provide a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical way to protect adults against the onset of symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). These findings, by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, are published in a current, special issue of Molecular Brain Research, called "Molecular Aspects of Parkinson's Disease." ...PD affects more than 2 percent of the world's adu...Northwestern receives $2.1 million grant for Parkinson's disease research
Northwestern University has received a three-year, $2.1 million award from the Picower Foundation to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of Parkinson's disease. ... D. James Surmeier, Nathan Smith Davis Professor and chair of physiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is the principal investigator on the grant. ... Enrico Mugnaini, M.D., Edgar C. Stuntz Profe...Lab studies show two proteins prevented progressive nerve cell loss in Parkinson's disease
LOS ANGELES (September 8, 2004) In recent years, scientists have made important strides in developing drugs that help patients manage the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease a chronic, progressive movement disorder affecting as many as one million Americans. But despite their effectiveness, the drugs don't stop Parkinson's disease from progressing, causing patients' symptoms to eventually grow wor...Parkinson's caregivers at risk for deteriorating health
PORTLAND, Ore. - An Oregon Health & Science University study shows the health of family caregivers should be as top of mind as that of Parkinson's disease patients. ... ...The study by researchers at the OHSU Parkinson Center of Oregon found that people caring for spouses with Parkinson's disease, either at home or in a care facility, are at heightened risk for deteriorating health and well-being...Dental pulp cells may hold key to treatment of Parkinson's disease
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Cells derived from the inside of a tooth might someday prove an effective way to treat the brains of people suffering from Parkinson's disease.... ...A study in the May 1 issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience shows dental pulp cells provide great support for nerve cells lost in Parkinson's disease and could be transplanted directly into the affected parts of the brain....Study shows possible link between Parkinson's medication and cardiac valve disease
SAN FRANCISCO A recent study of Parkinson's disease patients who use the medication pergolide shows a possible link between pergolide and injured cardiac valves. Study details and conclusions will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004.... ...Valvular heart disease has been reported by various groups, totaling about 2...APOE gene linked to Parkinson's disease
SAN FRANCISCO One variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, according to an analysis of research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004....... APOE comes in three forms, or alleles, called 2, 3 and 4. The APOE-2 form of the gene increases the risk for Parkinson...Molecule pumped directly into brain improves Parkinson's disease symptoms
SAN FRANCISCO A recent study has shown clinical improvement of Parkinson's disease symptoms after long-term infusion of a neurorestorative molecule, pumped directly to the center of the brain. The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004....... The cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) is a dopamine deficiency in...Parkinson's disease cell loss starts years before diagnosis
SAN FRANCISCO The loss of brain cells that leads to Parkinson's disease starts an estimated 13 years before the diagnosis, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004.... ...The study examined the brains of 12 deceased men who had Parkinson's disease and compared them to the brains of 174 me...Parkinson's drug effective in treating restless leg syndrome
ST. PAUL, Minn. Pergolide, a drug commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, has recently been shown to be effective in treating restless legs syndrome. Researchers from seven countries collaborated on the study, published in the April 27 issue of , the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology....... Restless legs syndrome (RLS), characterized by sensory and motor abnor...Nitric oxide links bulk of sporadic and familial Parkinson's disease
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions from erection to nerves' communication, also shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease. ......The finding finally provides a biochemical link between Parkinson's disease (PD) that occurs in families and the vast majority of cases which occur randomly in the population, as well...New hereditary gene linked to Parkinson's disease
UCL scientists have discovered a new gene implicated in the early development of Parkinson's disease. In a study of families with early onset disease, Professor Nick Wood and colleagues at UCL's Institute of Neurology identified a novel gene which produces a malfunctioning protein that could pave the way for new treatments for Parkinson sufferers....... The international study involving 14 resear...A new protective protein against Parkinson's disease
In a recent finding that broadens our understanding of axon loss in neurodegenerative disorders, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have shown that a spontaneous dominant mutation has a protective effect on axons in an mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons projecting...UVA researchers make cellular model of Parkinson's disease
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 12 For the first time, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have engineered cells that produce the pathological hallmark found in the brain cells of all patients with Parkinson's disease Lewy bodies, tiny balls of damaged protein, found only in the brain and discovered more than ninety years ago. ... ...The U.Va. research on Lewy bodies means t...Clozapine effective for controlling dyskinesias in people with severe Parkinson's
ST. PAUL, Minn. Low-dose clozapine is effective in treating dyskinesias (involuntary, often jerky movements) resulting from long-term levodopa therapy in patients with severe Parkinson's disease, according to a study in the February 10 issue of , the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.... ...Fifty patients participated in the 10-week, double-blind (where neither patients no...Implanted stimulator for Parkinson's disease impairs cognitive function
New Orleans, Nov. 12, 2003 -- Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that stimulating the brain's subthalamic nucleus (STN) to control motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease has an unintended consequence: It interferes with cognitive function. When given cognitive tests, patients performed better when their stimulators were turned off than when they were...Medication 'wearing off' a bigger problem for Parkinson's patients than physicians may realize
TAMPA, FL (Oct. 23, 2003) Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who are taking levodopa therapy the most widely-used agent to treat the illness may experience the effects of their medication "wearing off" sooner than their health care providers realize. New data presented Oct. 19 at the Parkinson's Study Group (PSG) meeting in San Francisco concluded that a specifically-designed patient ques...Daily living problems facing Parkinson's disease patients
The problems faced by seniors with Parkinson's disease in coping with daily living are the subject of a research study by Jeffery Allen, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology....... "Our research seeks to clarify the relationship of adaptive functioning and executive control deficits in a sample of elderly residents with Parkinson's disease...Northwestern named Udall Center for Parkinson's Disease Research
Northwestern University has received $5.5 million award from the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke to establish a Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research. ... The center, which will focus on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the motor and cognitive symptoms of Parkinson's disease, will be headed by D. James Surmeier, Nathan Smith Dav...Deep brain stimulation offers benefits against Parkinson's
Deep brain stimulation via electrodes implanted on both sides of the brain markedly improves the motor skills of patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease, says a new long-term study by researchers at the University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital....... "We saw a pronounced decrease in the motor scores associated with Parkinson's Disease - the tremors, stiffness and slowness - and this...A cheap and easy way to treat Parkinson disease
A team of researchers, led by Serge Przedborski, at Columbia University in New York, have demonstrated that infusion of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate (D-beta-HB) to mice suffering from Parkinson disease restored impaired brain function and protected against neurodegeneration and motor skill abnormalities. D-beta-HB, already utilized in the treatment of epilepsy, may represent a cheap and easy way to tre...Study shows new drug reduces advanced Parkinson's disease symptoms
Tampa, FL (August 13, 2003) -- After 40 years of treating Parkinson's disease with dopamine medications, a new study shows potential for a non-dopamine drug that may provide benefit for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.... ...Robert A. Hauser, M.D., first author of the study and director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of South Florida, and oth...Parkinson's medication linked to gambling
ST. PAUL, MN Excessive gambling could be an unfortunate yet rare side effect in Parkinson's patients who take certain dopamine agonists, according to a study in the August 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.... ...Researchers at Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center in Phoenix, Ariz., examined the data of 1,884 Parkinson's patients who were seen d...Parkinsons symptoms indicated for first time on pet scans of brains of living patients
PITTSBURGH, April 2 A University of Pittsburgh neurologist has used an advanced form of brain imaging to identify changes in small regions of the brains of living Parkinson's disease patients for the first time. These results were presented today at the American Academy of Neurology meeting being held in Honolulu, Hawaii....... Robert Y. Moore, M.D., Ph.D., Love Family Professor and professor of...DALLAS - Feb. 19, 2003 A drug used for the last 40 years to treat Parkinson's disease increases blood levels of an amino acid that could put patients at increased risk for heart disease, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.... ...Doctors have suspected that the drug levodopa can elevate body levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which is associated with an incre...NEW YORK, N.Y. and HAIFA, Israel, January 13, 2003 -- A study conducted on 404 patients at several U.S. sites has determined that a new drug called Rasagiline effectively treats early-stage Parkinson's disease. The study was reported in the December Archives of Neurology. ... "These findings are especially important since hopes for treating Parkinson's with fetal cells were recently dashed," sai...