Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But this is definitely not true of the vagus nerve, which wanders from the stomach to the brain, passing through the heart, esophagus and lungs along the way. A new study offers fresh support for an intriguing theory about the vagus nerves role in Parkinsons disease, a neurological disorder that causes tremors, gait difficulties and sometimes dementia in roughly 1 million Americans and as many as 10 million people worldwide. This theory suggests the vagus nerve may be more than a highway for signals to travel to the brain from the many organs it touches. It may also be the conduit for transporting the protein alpha-synuclein from the stomach to the brain, where it forms telltale clumps in Parkinsons sufferers. If true, this theory would pinpoint a possible origin of the degenerative brain disorder in the gut. It would also confirm the centrality of this mysterious protein, whose precise role in Parkinsons is not well understood. And finally, it would suggest a possible way to block the progression of Parkinsons: a surgical procedure currently used to treat people with gastric ulcers that cuts the vagus nerve to sever the pathway … Continue reading →

April 26, 2017 Left- right are: Dr Aaron Pritchard, (BCUHB - Research & Development), Dr Rudi Coetzer Bangor/BCUHB Joint Appointment and Prof Charles Leek. Credit: Bangor University North Wales neuroscientists are researching the potential benefits of brain stimulating computer games in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The study is being led by researchers at Bangor University's School of Psychology with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and neurological experts at the Walton Centre in Liverpool. They are studying the effects of touch screen "spatial reasoning games" on the part of the brain used to control movement in Parkinson's patients. Early research involving 16 people with Parkinson's suggests the computer games, which require users to perform tasks like using mental imagery to rearrange shapes to fit a physical space, could help stimulate one of the impaired areas of the brain affected by Parkinson's and improve motor function. The research comes as national charity Parkinson's UK calls for new treatments, including non-drug therapies, to give patients better control of their movements. Led by Dr Charles Leek, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Bangor University's School of Psychology, the initial study showed some evidence that Parkinson's patients were able to move faster and initiate … Continue reading →

Normangee Star Scientists discover potential treatment for Parkinson's disease ... Normangee Star Today marks the 200th anniversary of when James Parkinson published the first paper identifying the disease. Although some of the symptoms of Parkinson's ... and more » View original post here: Scientists discover potential treatment for Parkinson's disease ... - Normangee Star … Continue reading →

Neurology Advisor Adjunct Medical Food Holds Benefits for Parkinson's Disease Neurology Advisor Study patients (mean age: 73 years) were receiving L-DOPA daily and other Parkinson's disease treatments were evaluated monthly over 3 consecutive months. They were then given the medical food um-PEA (marketed as Normast) 1200mg daily for 3 ... Read more from the original source: Adjunct Medical Food Holds Benefits for Parkinson's Disease - Neurology Advisor … Continue reading →

Depression is becoming more prevalent in those who have Parkinsons disease. About 30-40 percent of people will experience depression, but about 20 percent will seek out treatment, according to the National Library of Medicine. The National Parkinsons Foundation found that some variation of depression is present in at least 50 percent of people with the disease. Depression is important to manage in Parkinsons patients, as it could decrease the quality of life and cause immense stress. As this effect is independent from Parkinsons, there is no direct correlation as to why depression may coincide with the disease. It is found that certain factors may contribute to the development of depression, such as psychological, biological and environmental influences. These implications may include an adverse mindset that could make a person feel hopeless or sad due to the disease, as well as a history of depression or life predicaments. Dr. Timothy J. Collier, a professor of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine at Michigan State University said that depression seems to come along with Parkinsons. Not only because its an alarming diagnosis, but also its a part of the chemistry of the disease that people tend to get depression, said Collier. Collier studied … Continue reading →

The medicine, apomorphine, reduces periods of immobility in sufferers by 2 hours a day A DRUG first produced in 1865 may provide relief for people with advanced Parkinsons, tests show. The medicine, apomorphine, reduces periods of immobility in sufferers by 2 hours a day when other drugs do not work. Getty Images Some 71 per cent felt better on it compared to 18 per cent on a placebo. Apomorphine also cut involuntary movements often seen with levodopa, the drug most often prescribed for Parkinsons. Doctors at Danube Hospital in Vienna said their study was the first to show the effectiveness of apomorphine, which has been overtaken by later Parkinsons drugs. Getty Images The drug, first produced in 1865, was originally used to treat advanced Parkinsons in the United States in 1950. Its use grew in the 1990s when European doctors starting usingit to treat fluctuations in mobility that could not be controlled by the pills. In the new study, researchers recruited 107 people with advanced Parkinsons disease from 23 centres in seven countries. The study found that those who were given apomorphine had a significantly greater reduction of off time than those who were given the placebo infusion, with, on … Continue reading →

April 19, 2017 Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia New research provides evidence that an old drug may provide relief for people with advanced Parkinson's, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 69th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 22 to 28, 2017. When it comes to the treatment of Parkinson's disease, the oral drug levodopa has long been considered the gold standard, improving quality of life and longevity. But as the disease progresses, the effects of the medication can partially wear off more quickly after each dose, leaving people to experience "off" time, which are periods of immobility related to temporary unresponsiveness to medication. Parkinson's symptoms, such as slowness and muscle rigidity, often make movement difficult. "If a person with Parkinson's disease can reduce their 'off' times, that can have a great impact on their everyday life," said study author Regina Katzenschlager, MD, of Danube Hospital, affiliated with the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. "In some patients in the trial, the insecurity of unpredictable periods of incapacity was completely alleviated." The drug apomorphine, first produced in 1865, … Continue reading →

April 18, 2017 12:07 ET | Source: Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADMS) today announced details regarding upcoming oral platform and poster presentations highlighting pooled data from the Phase 3 EASE LID and EASE LID 3 clinical trials of ADS-5102 (amantadine) extended-release capsules for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in people with Parkinsons disease. The oral platform and poster presentations will be presented at the 69th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts, April 22-28, 2017. Abstracts can be viewed on the AAN 2017 Annual Meeting website located at https://www.aan.com/conferences/2017-annual-meeting/. About ADS-5102ADS-5102 is a high dose amantadine, taken once daily at bedtime, in development for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in people with Parkinson's disease. A New Drug Application (NDA) supporting ADS-5102 for the treatment of LID in people with Parkinson's disease is under review by the FDA, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of August 24, 2017. If approved, ADS-5102 will be the first and only FDA-approved medicine indicated for the treatment of LID in people with Parkinson's disease. Adamas is also investigating ADS-5102 for the treatment of walking impairment in … Continue reading →

This year's Parkinsons Awareness Week is a special one. It is 200 years since James Parkinson wrote his famous essay on the Shaking Palsy, the first formal description of what we now call Parkinsons disease. And it is also 20 years since Dr Roger Barker and his team set up the Barker Lab in Cambridge. Tucked away in the intriguingly named John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, one of their main missions is to find better treatments for Parkinsons disease (PD), with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of people with the condition. Dr Barker said he was very excited when he received an invitation for a dinner in London to celebrate the 200th anniversary of James Parkinsons achievement. I got an email asking if I would like to have dinner at James Parkinsons house in Hoxton Square. I thought, great! So I turn up and its a Bills restaurant. "You can have a meal there any day of the week, any time, he said. I was talking to a man there who is a great expert on James Parkinson. I was saying how great it was to at least be in his house and he said Well, … Continue reading →

For the past five decades pharmaceutical drugs like levodopa have been the gold standard for treating Parkinsons disease. These medications alleviate motor symptoms of the disease, but none of them can cure it. Now a study from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows it is possible to coax the brains own astrocytescells that typically support and nurture neuronsinto producing a new generation of dopamine neurons. The reprogrammed cellscould alter the course of Parkinsons, according to the researchers. You can directly reprogram a cell that is already inside the brain and change the function in such a way that you can improve neurological symptoms, says senior author Ernest Arenas, a professor of medical biochemistry at Karolinska. Directly converting astrocytes already present in patients brains could eliminate the need to search for donor cells[and the treatment may] be less likely to cause side effects compared with current drugs. This is like stem cell 2.0. Its the next-generation approach to stem cell treatments and regenerative medicine, says James Beck, vice president and chief scientific officer, for the nonprofit Parkinsons Disease Foundation. [Read the original study] The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, … Continue reading →