Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on January 9, 2013 For decades, researchers have found that some individuals with Parkinsons disease struggle with impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Now, new research determines the impulse problems come not from Parkinsons disease itself, but as a side effect of medications used to control it. The new research is published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Weve known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinsons medications, but we havent known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors, said study author Daniel Weintraub, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;Psychology / Psychiatry Article Date: 09 Jan 2013 - 12:00 PST Current ratings for: Parkinson's Impulse Disorders May Be Drug-Related The researchers, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, write about their findings in the 8 January issue of the journal Neurology. Although it does not prove it, the study adds weight to the idea that dopamine-targeting drugs cause Parkinson's patients' to experience problems with impulse control. Lead author Daniel Weintraub, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Perelman, says in a statement released on Monday: "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease." Impulse control disorders are more serious than occasionally not being able to resist that last piece of cake, or sometimes breaking a resolution not to buy any more shoes this year. The inability to control impulses becomes a disorder when the consequences cause harm to self or others. Examples include but are not limited to, addictions to gambling, sex, … Continue reading →

Jan. 8, 2013 -- Parkinsons disease itself doesnt seem to raise a persons risk for compulsive addictions to things like gambling, shopping, or sex, a new study shows. Compulsive behaviors affect about 14% of Parkinsons patients treated with drugs such asdopamine agonists to ease symptoms like tremors, stiffness, and slowness. In severe cases, the new addictions that people develop on the drugs can be devastating -- leading to ruined finances and relationships -- and theyve generated a raft of lawsuits against drug manufacturers. In November, a French man won a high-profile case against the company that sells Requip, which he said turned him into a sex and gambling addict. In 2008, a Minneapolis man won a case involving gambling addiction against the maker of Mirapex. As a result, dopamine agonists now carry warnings about compulsive behaviors on their labels. A missing piece to the story was whether just Parkinsons disease itself has any effect or plays any role on the risk of having these problems without the drugs, says researcher Daniel Weintraub, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. In the largest such study to date, Weintraub and his team set out to … Continue reading →

Steroids could be used to treat a debilitating disease that affects thousands in Wales today. Researchers at a university in Wales have highlighted the controversial substances positive side after discovering two steroid type molecules that could treat Parkinsons disease. Professor William J Griffiths and Dr Yuqin Wang at Swansea Universitys Institute of Mass Spectrometry, both experts in identifying biomolecules, believe the find could lead to some of Parkinsons effects being reversed using regenerative medicine. The cruel disease has affected boxing legend Muhammad Ali and actor Bob Hoskins, who last year announced he was ending his career because of Parkinsons. The brain condition, with symptoms including tremors, mood changes, movement difficulties, loss of smell and speech problems, affects almost 130,000 people in the UK. Later, cognitive and behavioural problems may arise as the disease takes hold, with dementia commonly occurring in its advanced stages. Parkinsons motor symptoms result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the mid-brain. The two Swansea researchers working with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, have now identified two steroid-type molecules that play an important role in the survival and production of nerve cells in the mid-brain. The discovery has been … Continue reading →

Untreated Parkinson's Disease Patients No More Likely to Have Impulse Control Disorders Penn Study Suggests Dopamine Treatments May Play Role in Increasing Impulsivity Newswise PHILADELPHIA - While approximately one in five Parkinson's disease patients experience impulse control disorder symptoms, the disease itself does not increase the risk of gambling, shopping, or other impulsivity symptoms, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A new study is the first to show in a large sample that people with untreated Parkinson's were no more likely to have an increased impulsivity than people without the disease. Published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, this study is the strongest research to date reinforcing the reported association between disease medications and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's. "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease," said lead study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Now knowing … Continue reading →

Public release date: 7-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology MINNEAPOLIS Parkinson's disease itself does not increase the risk of impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping that have been seen in people taking certain drugs for Parkinson's disease, according to new research published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "We've known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinson's medications, but we haven't known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors," said study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal directed activity, … Continue reading →

Newswise MINNEAPOLIS Parkinsons disease itself does not increase the risk of impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping that have been seen in people taking certain drugs for Parkinsons disease, according to new research published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Weve known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinsons medications, but we havent known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors, said study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal directed activity, such as continual handling and sorting of common objects) and hobbyism (the compulsive pursuit of a hobby such … Continue reading →

Jan. 7, 2013 Parkinson's disease itself does not increase the risk of impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping that have been seen in people taking certain drugs for Parkinson's disease, according to new research published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "We've known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinson's medications, but we haven't known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors," said study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal directed activity, such as continual handling and sorting of common objects) and hobbyism (the compulsive pursuit of a hobby … Continue reading →

Public release date: 7-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kim Menard kim.menard@uphs.upenn.edu 215-662-6183 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine PHILADELPHIA - While approximately one in five Parkinson's disease patients experience impulse control disorder symptoms, the disease itself does not increase the risk of gambling, shopping, or other impulsivity symptoms, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A new study is the first to show in a large sample that people with untreated Parkinson's were no more likely to have an increased impulsivity than people without the disease. Published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, this study is the strongest research to date reinforcing the reported association between disease medications and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's. "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease," said lead study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Now knowing that the disease … Continue reading →

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A public hearing is planned later this month to add Parkinsons disease to the list of illnesses that would qualify for medical marijuana use in Michigan. WWJ legal analyst Charlie Langton said it would be the first addition since medical marijuana was approved by voters in 2008. Remember, the legislature did not vote for this, the people voted for this. So, if we want to add a disease that would allow for medical marijuana, it would take a 3/4 vote of the legislature, said Langton. A panel met in December to consider adding Parkinsons diseaseand post-traumatic stress disorder, but only Parkinsons made the cut. Its a brain disorder that causes tremors and problems with coordination. This last session of legislature, they did tighten up some restrictions on how you can get your marijuana andwhat kind of doctors notes you need for marijuana, but there does seem to be at least some level of interest in the legislature now to expand and really define what people can use medical marijuana for, said Langton. Current laws pertaining to medical marijuana in Michigan allow for the drug to be used as treatment for certain diseases such as glaucoma, cancer, hepatitis … Continue reading →