Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 7:07pm El Paso- The Chief Medical Director at Highlands Regional Rehab Hospital in El Paso says Parkinson's Disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that has no cure. 1. 5 million Americans have Parkinson's with the most noted characteristic being the shaky hands or tremors. Some will not seek treatment and suffer quietly, others may take up to 30 pills a day to control it. As this disease continues, simple tasks like walking, talking or riding a bike become very difficult. Doctor Sandberg spoke about a procedure that is now widely recognized by most insurance companies. No longer experimental, D.B.S. Or Deep Brain Stimulation by a company called Medtronic is the difference for some between victim and victor. It's sort of like a pacemaker for your brain. This electric stimulus implanted deep within the brain has allowed Parkinson's patients more freedom from the disease. Roy Roden got the operation a few months ago and has been riding his bicycle across the country to talk to other patients talking about the D.B.S. procedure. He and his wife have ridden half-way from Seattle to Miami and is convinced this procedure has allowed him the freedom to control … Continue reading →

Insightec on Wednesday reported encouraging Phase 1 clinical test results for its pioneering ExAblate Neuro system, which provides a non-invasive alternative for treating chronic neurological disorders. The trials were conducted on 30 patients suffering from Parkinson's, essential tremor, and neuropathic pain. InSightec is a private company, 69% owned by Elbit Medical, the medical division of Moti Zisser's Elbit Imaging group. Its ExAblate Neuro system aims focused ultrasound beams guided by magnetic resonance through the skull to treat tissue deep in the brain without requiring incisions or radiation. The system demonstrated the ability to burn away targeted tissue deep in the brain with high precision. The treatment could become an alternative for patients on whom surgery can't be performed or for those refusing to undergo invasive brain procedures. InSightec CEO Kobi Vortman explained that the system focuses treatment at the center of the brain and destroys two to three millimeter areas of the thalamus, the collection of neurons near the midbrain responsible for sensory information processing. This causes a significant reduction or complete cessation in symptoms such as tremors, speech difficulties, and walking difficulties among Parkinson's patients. This treatment for patients with neurological diseases can provide an alternative to surgery or … Continue reading →

Jan. 31, 2013 The relationship between genetics and Parkinson's has been investigated for more than a decade, but it is only over the last few years that significant results have begun to be obtained. The first mutations related to the development of this disease were found in 2004. A team from the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country came across a mutation of the LRRK2 gene, which is particularly prevalent among the population of Gipuzkoa. It is the R1441G mutation and is known as the Basque mutation. Now, Doctor Javier Ruiz, a doctor on the same team, has submitted a thesis in which he has studied this mutation; apart from the study of its prevalence, the study includes the calculation of its penetrance, the description of its clinical phenotype, its progression, and the neuropathological study of a patient carrying this mutation. The results have been published in the journals Neurogenetics and Movement Disorders. In actual fact, it was no easy task relating Parkinson's with certain genes. "At first, one-off descriptions were made and they pointed to the old idea that Parkinson's was something sporadic, but this is not true," says Ruiz, the author of the study. When a decade ago people … Continue reading →

TORONTO - Canadian researchers have used the power of genomics to identify the cause of a rare Parkinson's-like disease in children of one extended family and come up with a treatment to help reverse its effects. It's believed to be the first time a new disease has been discovered, its cause figured out and a treatment successfully determined in such a short time, in this case about two years. The eight children five boys and three girls born to four sets of parents in a large Saudi Arabian family were born with symptoms similar to those experienced by adults with Parkinson's disease, said principal researcher Dr. Berge Minassian, a neurologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. "They're very interesting, they're like little babies with Parkinson's disease," said Minassian, explaining that the children exhibited typical symptoms of the neurological disorder, including tremors, problems executing movements, and the flat facial expression known as a "masked face." "Those kids are like that. They cry, but you don't see them cry," he said. Dr. Reem Alkhater, a pediatric neurology resident at the hospital, has been travelling back and forth between Toronto and Saudi Arabia as part of the research team's investigations into the familial … Continue reading →

GRAND RAPIDS, MI Myriad factors fell into place to bring about Van Andel Institute's recent breakthrough in Parkinson's disease research. A Rockford basketball coach and Hollywood star Michael J. Fox. Patients at Saint Marys Health Care and patients in Sweden. Rainbow trout in Japan. And a Malaysian scientist. That international constellation of people and places and fish are the touch points in a study that may lead to a better way to detect Parkinsons disease. Connecting the dots was a Van Andel Institute scientist named Sok Kean Khoo, who scanned and analyzed blood samples in a bright, glass-roofed lab overlooking downtown Grand Rapids. From Malaysia to Michigan Khoo, who is of Chinese descent and grew up in Malaysia, has worked at VAI for 13 years. Although she was initially involved in cancer research, she noticed Parkinsons patients blood samples stored in a freezer at the institute. She wondered if she could apply a cancer research technique, looking for tiny molecules called microRNA, to investigate a neurodegenerative disease. Her pilot project, published in December in the Journal of Parkinsons Disease, was the first to identify a molecular biomarker in blood plasma that may one day be used to develop a blood … Continue reading →

Ronald Parkinson, 67, lived a hermit-like existence from living room Mr Parkinson was found dead naked with some food completely untouched 'He had a history of depression and alcoholism', an inquest has heard His cousin said he was a 'renowned happy individual' and was 'greatly loved' By Larisa Brown PUBLISHED: 16:21 EST, 31 January 2013 | UPDATED: 16:35 EST, 31 January 2013 A world-renowned art historian and former head of education at the V&A museum died in squalor after a secret battle with depression, an inquest heard today. Ronald Parkinson, 67, lived a hermit-like existence from the living room of his home in Tooting, south west London, surrounded by empty takeaway wrappers and piles of dirty clothes. Mr Parkinson was found dead, lying face down on the floor naked with some food, which had been left for him five days earlier, completely untouched. Ronald Parkinson, a world-renowned art historian and former head of education at the V&A museum, pictured, died in squalor after a secret battle with depression, an inquest has heard Westminster Coroner's Court heard Parkinson, a noted author on the works of artist John Constable, drank heavily for more than 30 years and battled depression. 'He had a … Continue reading →

Canadian researchers have used the power of genomics to identify the cause of a rare Parkinson's-like disease in children of one extended family and come up with a treatment to help reverse its effects. It's believed to be the first time a new disease has been discovered, its cause figured out and a treatment successfully determined in such a short time, in this case about two years. The eight children five boys and three girls born to four sets of parents in a large Saudi Arabian family were born with symptoms similar to those experienced by adults with Parkinson's disease, said principal researcher Dr. Berge Minassian, a neurologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. "They're very interesting, they're like little babies with Parkinson's disease," said Minassian, explaining that the children exhibited typical symptoms of the neurological disorder, including tremors, problems executing movements, and the flat facial expression known as a "masked face." "Those kids are like that. They cry, but you don't see them cry," he said. Dr. Reem Alkhater, a pediatric neurology resident at the hospital, has been travelling back and forth between Toronto and Saudi Arabia as part of the research team's investigations into the familial disorder. The … Continue reading →

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Jan. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Parkinson's disease affects one million people in the United States and seven million worldwide. While L-Dopa is effective in treating the disease symptoms, the vast majority of patients taking it chronically eventually develop L-Dopa Induced Dyskinesia (LID), abnormal involuntary movements that can be disabling. A new company, MentiNova, Inc., is exploring an oral medication that could reduce these uncontrollable, often chaotic movements in patients being treated with L-Dopa. Foundation Venture Capital Group (FVCG), a New Jersey Health Foundation affiliate, has committed up to $500,000 to advance this research and development. According to James M. Golubieski, president of FVCG, the investment in MentiNova will allow the company to advance the status of its IND (Investigational New Drug) filing with the FDA and to perform clinical trials testing the efficacy of the treatment. Dr. M. Maral Mouradian, the William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology and Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative and Neuroimmunologic Diseases at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ, is a co-founder of the company. Dr. Mouradian said MentiNova's focus at this time is to use a drug that is currently clinically … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Scripps Clinic, in partnership with The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has begun the research phase of a proposed clinical trial using induced pluripotent stem cells to halt or reverse the effects of Parkinson's disease. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121018/LA95241LOGO) Under the leadership of Melissa Houser, MD, neurologist and medical director of Scripps Clinic's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, and co-investigator Jeanne F. Loring, PhD, professor and director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at TSRI, skin cells taken from Parkinson's disease patients who meet select criteria are being cultivated in vitro and turned into pluripotent stem cells. These stem cells will be developed into dopamine-producing brain cells. The plans, which will require Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, are to implant these cells back into the donor patients' brains; the goal is for the cells to integrate inside the brain and produce enough dopamine to alleviate the worst symptoms of Parkinson's disease. There are currently several clinical trials using pluripotent stem cells to replace cells lost to injury or neurodegenerative disease, as well as for the development of pharmaceuticals, but reimplantation of cells into the same patient for function restoration as a treatment for Parkinson's … Continue reading →

Described as a big step forward for research and treatment of Parkinsons disease, new research from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Banner Sun Health Research Institute suggests that testing a portion of a persons saliva gland may be a way to diagnose the disease. The study was released last week and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurologys 65th Annual Meeting March 16 to 23 in San Diego. There is currently no diagnostic test for Parkinsons disease, said study author Charles Adler, a neurologist with Mayo Clinic in Arizona. We have previously shown in autopsies of Parkinsons patients that the abnormal proteins associated with Parkinsons are consistently found in the submandibular saliva glands, found under the lower jaw. This is the first study demonstrating the value of testing a portion of the saliva gland to diagnose a living person with Parkinsons disease. Making a diagnosis in living patients is a big step forward in our effort to understand and better treat patients. The study involved 15 people with an average age of 68 who had Parkinsons disease for an average of 12 years, responded to Parkinsons medication and did not have known saliva gland disorders. Biopsies were taken … Continue reading →