Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

ExAblate treatment is indicated for use for essential tremor, tremor dominant Parkinson's disease and neuropathic pain TIRAT CARMEL, Israel, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InSightec Ltd. announced that its transcranial focused ultrasound system, ExAblate Neuro, has been awarded the European CE mark for the treatment of neurological disorders in the brain including essential tremor, Parkinson's disease and neuropathic pain. Millions of people suffer from neurological disorders which cause significant disability and negatively affect their quality of life and that of their caretakers. Treatment options for patients who do not respond to drug treatments include deep brain stimulation, radiofrequency ablation and radiosurgery which are invasive or involve ionizing radiation and are associated with recognized risks: high doses of ionizing radiation or high risk of complications and side effects including infection, bleeding and collateral brain tissue damage. Visit: http://www.insightec.com/ExAblate-Neuro-CE.html "ExAblate offers great potential for treating brain disorders. Because of its targeting accuracy, real time treatment monitoring and ability to provide non- invasive brain treatment, there is hope that many people who suffer from neurological diseases can benefit from this treatment." said Dr. Kobi Vortman, President of InSightec. "Results from the clinical studies showed that patients, many of whom who suffered for years … Continue reading →

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on December 3, 2012 For those suffering from Parkinsons disease, depression can bemore of a burden than the physical symptoms of the disease, according to early findings of the largest study conducted on the illness. Its not because theyre sad they have the disease, which they may very well be, but this depression is related to underlying changes in the brain, and for many, it will occur before diagnosis of Parkinsons, said Dr. Laura Marsh, director of mental health services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston. The more aggressively it is treated, the better the outcome, she said. Theres a real problem with under- recognition and under-treatment. The disease affects about 1 million people in the USA and 5 million worldwide, and is characterized by tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement and speech difficulties. There is no cure. Nearly everyone thinks of the disease as a mobility disorder, but the number one problem turns out to be depression, said Joyce Oberdorf, president of the National Parkinson Foundation, an advocacy group. For the study, which began three years ago, researchers set out to determine which treatments allow some … Continue reading →

NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As Rainbow Coral Corp. (RBCC) nears a new joint venture agreement to commercialize advances made by Amarantus BioSciences (AMBS), the companys latest target continues to seek out additional investment capital from high-profile investors. Amarantus Chief Science Officer John W. Commissiong recently presented his organizations brilliant MANF therapeutic protein for Parkinsons disease at the Scientific Session of CNS Summit 2012 in Boca Raton. The CNS Summit brings together researchers, developers and investors to collaborate in bringing new treatments to patients suffering from brain disorders. The high-profile event put Amarantus proprietary, anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein in the spotlight in front of researchers and investors from around the world. We continue to be very impressed with Amarantus outreach efforts toward potential investors and clients alike, said RBCC CEO Patrick Brown. We look forward to wrapping up our joint venture agreement shortly, and then our first priority will be moving their groundbreaking therapeutics forward toward full commercialization. Both companies forswear realizing revenues from the impending commercialization of Amarantus NuroPro, a sophisticated test developed to more accurately and easily diagnose Parkinsons disease. By cutting the typical timeline from years to only one year, RBCC and its shareholders believe they will see larger profits … Continue reading →

Parkinson's, Dementia & Mental Health Promising Drug Slows Down Advance of Parkinson's Disease and Improves Symptoms GM1 ganglioside slowed progression of disease in patients over at least a 2-year period; once the participants went off drug, their disease worsened Nov. 30, 2012 - Treating Parkinson's disease patients with the experimental drug GM1 ganglioside improved symptoms and slowed their progression during a two and a half-year trial, Thomas Jefferson University researchers report in a new study published online November 28 in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences. Although the precise mechanisms of action of this drug are still unclear, the drug may protect patients' dopamine-producing neurons from dying and at least partially restore their function, thereby increasing levels of dopamine, the key neurochemical missing in the brain of Parkinson's patients. The research team, led by senior author Jay S. Schneider, Ph.D., Director of the Parkinson's Disease Research Unit and Professor in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Department of Neurology at Jefferson, found that administration of GM1 ganglioside, a substance naturally enriched in the brain that may be diminished in Parkinson's disease brains, acted as a "neuroprotective" and a "neurorestorative" agent to improve symptoms and over an … Continue reading →

By Kathleen Doheny WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Nov. 28, 2012 -- For many people with Parkinson's disease, depression affects quality of life more than the symptoms such as shaking, according to new research. "At least 50% of people with Parkinson's have depression," says Michael S. Okun, MD, national medical director of the National Parkinson Foundation and professor of neurology at the Center for Movement Disorders at the University of Florida, Gainesville. That was a main finding of the Parkinson's Outcomes Project, a report released today by the National Parkinson Foundation. "The big news is how large of a role depression plays in Parkinson's disease, how under-diagnosed and under-treated it is," says Joyce Oberdorf, CEO and president of the foundation. The impact of depression on the health of people with Parkinson's is nearly twice that of movement problems, the researchers found. About 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 4 million worldwide have the disease. It is marked by tremors and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Beginning in 2009, the researchers evaluated the care of more than 5,500 patients, ages 25 to 95. They went to 20 Centers of Excellence in the U.S., Canada, … Continue reading →

Time for discussion on role of "purpose-driven" spiritual depression treatments alongside physiological ones, says faith-based website, followme.org. (PRWEB) November 29, 2012 That statement came today as the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF) released new findings that depression appears in over 60 percent of Parkinson's patients, according to a USA Today report from Wednesday. "Nearly everyone thinks of the disease as a mobility disorder but the No. 1 problem turns out to be depression," Joyce Oberdorf, the president of the NPF, told USA Today. Parkinson's affects 1 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide. Its primary indicators are tremors, slow movement, difficulties speaking, and stiffness. The ongoing NPF study, the Parkinson's Outcome Project, is the largest ever undertaken on Parkinson's, according to USA Today. The project involves 20 research centers in four countries and considers the results of over 5,500 patients, ranging from ages 25 to 95. The results are based on annual health surveys that Parkinson's patients completed, according to a WebMD report from Wednesday. According to the NPF, 61 percent of Parkinson's patients reported suffering from depression, with 18 percent of patients wrestling from major disorders, USA Today reported. Why is depression so common among Parkinson's patients? "It's not because … Continue reading →

Featured Article Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness;MRI / PET / Ultrasound Article Date: 27 Nov 2012 - 0:00 PST Current ratings for: Fast Cycling Benefits Parkinson's Patients 1 (2 votes) 2.5 (2 votes) Results of the study were revealed on Monday at the Radiological Society of North America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago. Most cases occur after the age of 50, and as the disease progresses, cognitive and behavioral problems such as dementia, may also develop. In a statement, in which he describes the finding as "serendipitous", Alberts recalls: "I was pedaling faster than her, which forced her to pedal faster. She had improvements in her upper extremity function, so we started to look at the possible mechanism behind this improved function." fcMRI measures changes in blood oxygen in the brain, which enables researchers to look at how active different brain regions are and how well they connect with each other, explains Shah. The researchers randomly assigned the patients to one of two groups. One group (13 patients) cycled at their own voluntary pace, while the other group cycled at a forced rate. Originally posted here: Fast Cycling Benefits Parkinson's Patients … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Sarah McDonnell s_mcd@mit.edu 617-253-8923 Massachusetts Institute of Technology CAMBRIDGE, MA -- A new imaging technique developed at MIT offers the first glimpse of the degeneration of two brain structures affected by Parkinson's disease. The technique, which combines several types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), could allow doctors to better monitor patients' progression and track the effectiveness of potential new treatments, says Suzanne Corkin, MIT professor emerita of neuroscience and leader of the research team. The first author of the paper is David Ziegler, who received his PhD in brain and cognitive sciences from MIT in 2011. The study, appearing in the Nov. 26 online edition of the Archives of Neurology, is also the first to provide clinical evidence for the theory that Parkinson's neurodegeneration begins deep in the brain and advances upward. "This progression has never been shown in living people, and that's what was special about this study. With our new imaging methods, we can see these structures more clearly than anyone had seen them before," Corkin says. Parkinson's disease currently affects 1 to 2 percent of people over 65, totaling five million people worldwide. The disease gradually … Continue reading →

Public release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Anita Kar anita.kar@mcgill.ca 514-398-3376 McGill University This press release is available in French. Clinician-scientists take a unique, integrated approach that is essential to advancing science and medicine. Problems encountered in the clinic inspire research and new findings from the labs are directly applied to patients' needs. The integrated model is a hallmark of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital The Neuro, at McGill University and the MUHC and is now being replicated worldwide. Two clinician-scientists at The Neuro have been awarded grants today to further research on Parkinson's disease and HIV/AIDS. Tag. You're it! Studying how an enzyme relates to Parkinson's disease When the protein parkin functions properly it acts like a quality control officer, tagging other proteins that no longer work correctly for destruction. When there are mutations in the gene for parkin, this process no longer occurs efficiently, which causes cell death and leads to a familial form of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Edward Fon, Director, McGill Parkinson Program and clinician-scientist at The Neuro studies what regulates parkin's tagging process and the role a specific enzyme that removes tags may have in this process. Learning more about how … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD) today announced successful top-line results from its pivotal Phase III trial evaluating the efficacy, tolerability and safety of pimavanserin in patients with Parkinsons disease psychosis (PDP). Pimavanserin is ACADIAs proprietary, non-dopaminergic product candidate that selectively blocks serotonin 5-HT2A receptors. Pimavanserin met the primary endpoint in the Phase III trial by demonstrating highly significant antipsychotic efficacy as measured using the 9-item SAPS-PD scale (p=0.001). Pimavanserin also met the key secondary endpoint for motoric tolerability as measured using Parts II and III of the Unified Parkinsons Disease Rating Scale, or UPDRS. These results were further supported by a highly significant improvement in the secondary efficacy measure, the Clinical Global Impression Improvement, or CGI-I, scale (p=0.001). In addition, clinical benefits were observed in all exploratory efficacy measures with significant improvements in nighttime sleep, daytime wakefulness and caregiver burden. Consistent with previous studies, pimavanserin was safe and well tolerated in this Phase III trial. These data represent an unprecedented advance for Parkinsons patients who suffer from the psychosis frequently associated with this disease, said Jeffrey Cummings, M.D., Sc.D., Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Among Parkinsons patients, psychosis is the leading cause … Continue reading →