Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

While its long-awaited novel drug to treat Parkinson's disease inches closer to the finish line,Impax Laboratories ( IPXL ) has found other ways to keep its growth engine humming. Products treating migraine headache and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, have recently led the way. Revenue from the two treatments powered Impax's second-quarter results, which in turn lifted shares more than 8% July 31, the day of the report, to over 22. They've since climbed a bit higher. Hayward, Calif.-based Impax is a specialty drug company that has built a reputation on controlled-release oral delivery techniques. It focuses on both generic and branded drugs, especially for disorders of the central nervous system. But it's Rytary, Impax's first internally developed branded drug for Parkinson's disease, that could be the big game-changer. The drug is also known by its filing name, IPX066. Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative movement disorder afflicting more than 3 million people in the U.S., Europe and Japan alone. Impax will have a lock on the big U.S. market.GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK ) is licensed to sell Rytary outside the U.S. and Taiwan. Better Efficacy Rytary is an extended release capsule reformulation of an immediate release version containing the treatment standard … Continue reading →

An estimated 500,000 to one million people are living with Parkinson's diseases in the United States, and while there is treatment there is no cure for the disorder. One area lab recently received a special grant for research. Shazia Khan filed the following report. To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page. A team of scientists in Jamaica, Queens are working on what they hope will be a breakthrough in the earlier diagnosis and care of Parkinson's disease. If you catch it early, you have a much better chance of dealing with it, said Dr. Simon Moller of St. Johns University. The research is made possible through a $900,000 grant. The Research Council of Norway awarded the prize to Moller, a professor of biological sciences. Currently there is no cure for Parkinson's, a degenerative neurological disorder. Symptoms include tremors, muscle stiffness and dementia. Though there is an increased awareness, Moller says very little advancement has been made since the 1970s. I think the reason for that is that it is a complex disease. It's hard to tackle and of course it's … Continue reading →

Public release date: 13-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine The second of two studies on latrepirdine, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrates new potential for the compound in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine scientists found that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice. Latrepirdine was initially sold as an antihistamine in Russia, following its approval for use there in 1983. In the 1990s, the compound appeared effective in treating some of the earliest animal models of Alzheimer's disease. In a high profile Phase II clinical trial in Russia, overseen by a panel of top U.S. clinical trial experts, including Mount Sinai's Mary Sano, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, latrepirdine showed significant and sustained improvement in cognitive behavior in Alzheimer's patients with minimal side effects. However, when the drug was tested in the U.S. in a Phase III trial, it did not demonstrate any improvement in people … Continue reading →

WORCESTER Paul Green of Saugatuck Rowing Club, the oldest rower in this year's USRowing Masters Nationals, is not your typical 88-year-old. The sprightly Boston native, who has called Westport, Conn., his home for the past four decades, was a charter member at Saugatuck, which is among the largest teams participating in this weekend's regatta at Lake Quinsigamond. Green also competed in the national championships in 2005, the last time they were held in Worcester, and is assured of bringing home a medal as one of three rowers in today's 1:31 p.m. lightweight singles final for those over age 80. I'm not a great rower, that's for sure, Green said with a chuckle. I'm hoping I can do the 1,000 meters. I'll just take my time, but the big thing is to do it. Oh, and one more important detail about Green he has Parkinson's disease. Diagnosed nearly 20 years ago, he was years ahead of the experts in prescribing himself a treatment of vigorous exercise to engage his muscles and joints. The whole thing with Parkinson's is use it or lose it, Green said. I think people are surprised that I'm still rowing, and I think for people with Parkinson's, … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/r5jrks/randd_trends_park) has announced the addition of the "R&D Trends: Parkinson's Disease - Pipeline swells but a paradigm shift is unlikely in the mid-term" report to their offering. Review of key trends in the development of new Parkinson's disease drugs across the seven major markets. Includes detailed analyses of the composition of the pipeline, clinical trial design, target product profile, and future treatment developments. Since early 2011, R&D efforts in Parkinson's disease have been met with mixed success. In Q1 2012, the US FDA re-approved UCB's Neupro (rotigotine patch), and accepted the New Drug Application filing for Impax/GSK's IPX066 for idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Meanwhile, the development of eight late-stage pipeline candidates has been discontinued due to lacklustre efficacy. Scope Highlights Key Topics Covered: OVERVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLINICAL PIPELINE OVERVIEW Originally posted here: Research and Markets: R&D Trends: Parkinson's Disease - Pipeline swells but a paradigm shift is unlikely in the mid-term … Continue reading →

ATLANTA Scientists at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have identified a drug that could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinsons disease. The research used a new kind of antioxidant to prevent the diseases development. Neuroscientist Bobby Thomas and his colleagues targeted a substance in the body called Nrf2 that fights oxidative stress and inflammation. They used powerful new antioxidants to keep Nrf2 from degrading so it can trigger genes that control that inflammatory response. Basically, it can prevent the induction of oxidative stress and also exacerbated inflammation, which we clearly see in Parkinsons, Thomas said. Thomas says patients with Parkinsons have an overload of this oxidative stress and the bodys response inflammation which can lead to the death of brain cells that produce dopamine. So by regulating that response with the new drugs, they were able to prevent development of the disease in animal models. The researchers tested the drugs on cells that developed Parkinsons-like damage within days in the lab. Now theyre testing them on animal models that are genetically programmed to develop the disease more slowly, like humans do. Thomas says its the first time this new class of antioxidants has been tested on Parkinsons-like … Continue reading →

TORONTO--(Marketwire -08/08/12)- Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. (CTH:TSX-V) today announced that it has been awarded a grant of USD$947,925 from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) to support clinical studies to develop APL-130277, a sublingual (oral) thin film strip reformulation of apomorphine. Apomorphine is an approved drug in the US, Europe and several other countries as a subcutaneous injection or infusion for Parkinson's patients experiencing daily "OFF" or motor fluctuation episodes. APL-130277 is potentially the only oral formulation of Apomorphine, and as such will provide patients with a convenient and more tolerable alternative to multiple daily injections. The grant was awarded under the Foundation's The Edmond J. Safra Core Programs for Parkinson's Research, Clinical Intervention Award, aimed at supporting human clinical trials testing promising Parkinson's therapies that may significantly and fundamentally improve treatment for people with Parkinson's. "Improved methods of delivery for apomorphine, which has been shown to effectively treat 'off-episodes' in motor fluctuation, have been a goal of pharmaceutical research for at least a decade," says Maurizio Facheris, MD, MSc, Associate Director of Research Programs at MJFF. "Preliminary data around Cynapsus' novel formulation (APL-130277) show promise for a more frequent and effective use of this dopaminergic drug. We … Continue reading →

To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page. A team of scientists in Jamaica, Queens are working on what they hope will be a breakthrough in the earlier diagnosis and care of Parkinson's disease. If you catch it early, you have a much better chance of dealing with it, said Dr. Simon Moller of St. Johns University. The research is made possible through a $900,000 grant. The Research Council of Norway awarded the prize to Moller, a professor of biological sciences. Currently there is no cure for Parkinson's, a degenerative neurological disorder. Symptoms include tremors, muscle stiffness and dementia. Though there is an increased awareness, Moller says very little advancement has been made since the 1970s. I think the reason for that is that it is a complex disease. It's hard to tackle and of course it's not something that everybody gets," says Moller. "Cancer, for instance, one in three of us will probably get cancer in our lifetime. There's a lot of research on it. There are many different types of cancer that are very well-defined. Parkinson's is a big, … Continue reading →

An Alaska Airlines passenger either has Parkinson's or is drunk. However, once an Oregon man writes a Facebook post criticizing Alaska Airlines, the airline comes under attack. It's not good when someone is moved to go onto Facebook to call you "the worst of humanity." It's most definitely not good when you are an airline and you're supposed to make humanity sit back, relax, and enjoy the cramped conditions and that slightly smelly thing known as food. Yet Alaska Airlines is this morning faced with having its name being brought into disrepute, with the evidence still a little unclear. As the Associated Press reports it, Cameron Clark, an Oregon concert promoter was so incensed by what he believes was ill treatment of a disabled passenger by Alaska Airlines personnel that he had to do something about it. So he posted on Facebook. The post began: "i witnessed today, what i consider to be the worst of humanity." The passenger -- who allegedly told Clark he had late-stage Parkinson's -- was trying to fly to Bellingham, Wash., to see his daughter. In Clark's version, the airline staff ignored him, failed to assist, and didn't let him on the plane. The airline's … Continue reading →

PARIS European researchers said they are developing a wearable monitoring system that automatically regulates the delivery of medication to Parkinson's patients. The EU-funded REMPARK (Personal Health Device for the Remote and Autonomous Management of Parkinsons Disease) project aims to develop a Personal Health System, featuring closed loop detection, with response and treatment capabilities, for the improved management of Parkinsons disease patients. The REMPARK system is composed of two elements. The first element is a bracelet equipped with a sensor for measuring tremor in patients, and an inertial system worn at the waist on a belt made of biocompatible material. The second part, the size of a mobile phone, is equipped with sensors and can process and wirelessly transmit the data collected. The next step will consist in including a central server where all the data from patients will be stored, processed and analyzed to assess how each patient is evolving. Researchers suggest it will support supervising medical teams in their decision process. Led by CETpD, the research project gathers Teknon Medical Centre, Telefnica R&D, the European Parkinsons Disease Association, research centers and companies based in Germany, Portugal, Italy, Israel, Ireland, Sweden and Belgium. The REMPARK project, which will run until … Continue reading →