Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

NEW YORK (AP) Shares of Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. more than doubled to their highest price in more than three years Tuesday after the company said its drug pimavanserin reduced psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease. Acadia said pimavanserin was more effective than a placebo in treating the condition. Patients who took the drug also slept better at night, were more awake during the day, and were less of a burden to caregivers. Acadia shares gained $3.40 to $5.70 in morning trading. Earlier the stock peaked at $6.54, its highest price since August 2009. The shares closed at $2.30 on Monday. In the late-stage trial, 199 patients took either 40 milligrams of pimavanserin or a placebo once a day for six weeks. The most common side effects of pimavanserin in the study were urinary tract infections and falling. Acadia says up to 60 percent of Americans with Parkinson's disease develop psychosis and there is no approved therapy to treat the condition. The company said anti-psychotic drugs are sometimes used to treat the condition, but those drugs can increase the risk of death as well as side effects like the loss of motor control. Acadia said pimavanserin did not affect patients' motor … Continue reading →

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (AMBS), a biotechnology company developing new disease-modifying treatments and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injury centered on its proprietary anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein MANF, today announced that the Company has successfully completed experiments demonstrating that MANF has an excellent diffusion profile in the striatum of rat brains. The striatum is located in the brain, and is partially responsible for proper movement as part of the basal ganglia network. The striatum becomes severely compromised in Parkinson's disease due to neurite retraction from dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra. The data generated in this study show that when compared to GDNF, a neurotrophic factor currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for Parkinson's disease, MANF had a significantly higher volume of distribution when delivered to the striatum. These results are part of on-going animal studies to determine the best localization of delivering MANF to the brain in Parkinson's disease human clinical studies. "The data obtained in this study provide strong evidence that volume distribution from the site of delivery in the brain is unlikely to be an impediment to MANF's clinical progress," said John W. Commissiong, PhD, Chief Scientist at Amarantus. … Continue reading →

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD) more than doubled in the shares biggest one-day increase ever after the companys experimental treatment helped Parkinsons disease patients with psychosis in a study. Acadia rose to $5.43 at the close of New York trading, its largest jump since the stock began trading in May 2004. The shares have quadrupled in the past 12 months. The drug, pimavanserin, met the primary goal of reducing psychotic symptoms in the late-stage study, the San Diego-based company said today in a statement. The most common side effects were urinary tract infections and falls, Acadia said. Psychosis, which can include hallucinations and delusions, is common in patients with the advanced stages of Parkinsons disease and there are no approved treatments for the condition, Acadia said. Pimavanserin is Acadias most advanced treatment in testing and would be the companys first product on the market if approved. To contact the reporter on this story: Shannon Pettypiece in New York at spettypiece@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net See the original post: Acadia Surges as Parkinson’s Treatment Shows Benefit … Continue reading →

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (AMBS), a biotechnology company developing new treatments and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injury centered on its proprietary anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein MANF, today announced that OneMedPlace's Research Division has released an update to its previous research report on Amarantus Biosciences, highlighting recently announced positive ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction, heart attack) efficacy data for MANF in animals. The updated research report focuses on the mechanisms of action by which MANF functions to protect heart cells under conditions that simulate ischemic heart disease in animals. The updated research report from OneMedPlace Research can be found online at http://www.onemedplace.com/reports/Amarantus_Research_Update_112012.pdf. The report states: "The results showed that MANF has a robust ability to protect the heart; during episodes of ischemia-reperfusion injury, hearts treated with MANF had 40% less total area of cell death as compared control hearts that did not receive treatment. These data serve as strong evidence that positions MANF as a potential breakthrough therapeutic treatment for ischemic heart conditions. This study adds to an accumulating body of research that all corroborate the therapeutic effects of MANF. Since its original discovery in 2003, MANF has been the subject … Continue reading →

NESS ZIONA, Israel, November 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today that enrollment of healthy subjects is ongoing in its Phase I clinical trial of ND0612, a novel drug formulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ND0612 is a proprietary levodopa/carbidopa liquid formula administered continuously via a subcutaneous delivery patch device.It is designed to provide steady levodopa blood levels and enhanced bioavailability of oral levodopa for the reduction of motor complications in Parkinson's disease. In pre-clinical studies of ND0612, plasma concentrations of levodopa reached straight-line steady state levels. The current Phase I double-blind, dose-escalation trial in young, healthy volunteers will assess ND0612 for safety and tolerability as well as for levodopa and carbidopa steady state plasma levels. "This first trial of ND0612 in man is a significant step in the development of a new levodopa treatment standard for Parkinson's disease," said Oded S. Lieberman, PhD, NeuroDerm's Chairman and CEO. "For many years, oral levodopa has been the leading Parkinson's disease drug therapy. However, due to low and erratic oral levodopa bioavailability, advanced Parkinson's patients suffer from debilitating motor complications even under the best current standard of care. Should ND0612 achieveconstant levodopa base blood levels, than low, harmful levodopa trough … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2012) Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson's disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time. In addition, this new method has the potential to track the progression of Parkinson's, as well as measure the effectiveness of treatments for the disorder, said Rahul Shrivastav, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University's Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and a member of the team developing the new method. It involves monitoring a patient's speech patterns -- specifically, movement patterns of the tongue and jaw. "In Parkinson's disease, a common limitation is that the movements become slow and have a reduced range," said Shrivastav. "We believe we see this pattern in speech too -- the tongue doesn't move as far as it should, doesn't move as quickly as it should and produces subtle changes in speech patterns." This method is particularly sensitive to Parkinson's disease speech and, Shrivastav said, is effective with only two seconds of speech. "That's significant in several ways: The detection methodology is noninvasive, easy to administer, inexpensive and capable of being used remotely and in telemedicine … Continue reading →

BACKGROUND: Parkinsons disease is a disorder in the brain which leads to shaking and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Parkinsons is one of the most common nervous system disorders of the elderly and it most often develops after the age of 50, although it can sometimes occur in younger adults. Parkinsons disease occurs when the nerve cells in the brain that make dopamine are slowly destroyed, and without dopamine the nerve cells in that part of the brain cannot properly send messages leading to the loss of muscle function. Why the brain cells begin to be destroyed is unknown. (Source: http://www.nih.gov) SIGNS/SYMPTOMS: The first symptoms of Parkinsons disease can be hard to diagnose, especially in older patients, and often start out mild and worsen over time. The most common signs of Parkinsons disease are shaking, called tremors, and jerky, stiff movements. Some of the other possible signs include: TREATMENT: There is no known cure for Parkinsons disease and treatment is aimed at controlling the symptoms of the disease. Parkinsons patients will often times take medications, most of which increase the levels of dopamine in the brain, to control their symptoms but eventually the effects of the medication will wear … Continue reading →

When Michael J. Fox got an ovation at this year's Emmys, it highlighted how much he's done to help people understand Parkinson's disease and to demonstrate how to live with it. His latest show (on air in 2013) echoes his real-life story: It's a comedy about a father of three who has Parkinson's. More than a million North Americans also have the neurological disease (it disrupts production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which can affect movement, balance, thinking and emotions). It can take 20 years for the characteristic spasms and twitches to develop. The first signs -- often ignored -- include loss of sense of smell and jerky movements during deep sleep. The latest theory about the cause: a virus that enters the body through the nose or gut. Contaminated, illicit designer drugs also have been known to trigger the disorder. While there is no cure as of now, some alternative therapies (used along with conventional medications) seem to ease symptoms. The latest news is that acupuncture, when used on a specific point (GB34) on the outside of the right leg below the knee, reactivates, at least temporarily, an area of the brain that is knocked offline by Parkinson's. So far, … Continue reading →

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (AMBS), a biotechnology company developing new treatments and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injury centered on its proprietary anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein MANF, today announced that President & CEO Gerald Commissiong issued a letter to shareholders as detailed below. Dear Shareholders, I thank you for the trust you have placed in our management team. We fully respect the value of the money you have chosen to invest in Amarantus Biosciences, selecting us over the many other investment options available. We are focused on our mission to offer meaningful products to help patients suffering from debilitating diseases, and we believe our technologies and expertise can have an impact in multiple areas. As was recently announced, we were able to strengthen the corporation's balance sheet by raising cash and reducing liabilities. These financing transactions were vital for the Company to pay certain vendors who are critical to on-going operations, as well as raise sufficient working capital to pursue our corporate strategy, as detailed below. Our management team and Board of Directors remain extremely dedicated to the overall success of the corporation. This is evidenced by every member working without cash consideration since … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2012) Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed a key factor controlling damage to brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The discovery could lead to new targets for Parkinson's that may be useful in preventing the actual condition. The team, led by TSRI neuroscientist Bruno Conti, describes the work in a paper published online ahead of print on November 19, 2012 by the Journal of Immunology. Parkinson's disease plagues about one percent of people over 60 years old, as well as some younger patients. The disease is characterized by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons primarily in the substantia nigra pars compacta, a region of the brain regulating movements and coordination. Among the known causes of Parkinson's disease are several genes and some toxins. However, the majority of Parkinson's disease cases remain of unknown origin, leading researchers to believe the disease may result from a combination of genetics and environmental factors. Neuroinflammation and its mediators have recently been proposed to contribute to neuronal loss in Parkinson's, but how these factors could … Continue reading →