Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

First published in News by Alex Regan, Reporter covering Headington and Marston. Call me on (01865) 425429 SCIENTISTS hope a potential cure for Parkinsons Disease could be developed in Oxford by 2020 after a research centre won 6m of extra funding. The Oxford Parkinsons Disease Centre (OPDC) has been given the money by national research charity Parkinsons UK. The cash will go towards research using brain cells to find new drugs to stunt the development of the disease, or even develop a cure for it in the next five years. Chief executive of Parkinsons UK Steve Ford said: This new research grant comes at the 50th anniversary of Levadopa, the main drug used to treat the symptoms of Parkinsons. For people who have Parkinsons, its quite frustrating that the main course of treatment is 50 years old. Our top stories The team at the OPDC are looking at new treatments and doing groundbreaking research to help patients and Oxford should be proud to have a world-leading research facility. The OPDC, based in South Parks Road, was set up in 2010 with a 5m grant from Parkinsons UK. Scientists have collected skin tissue from people, using stem cell technology to then … Continue reading →

Parkinson's disease affects the way you move. It happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. Normally, these nerve cells make an important chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the part of your brain that controls movement. It lets your muscles move smoothly and do what you want them to do. When you have Parkinson's, these nerve cells break down. Then you no longer have enough dopamine, and you have trouble moving the way you want to. Parkinson's is progressive, which means it gets worse over time. But usually this happens slowly, over many years. And there are good treatments that can help you live a full life. No one knows for sure what makes these nerve cells break down. But scientists are doing a lot of research to look for the answer. They are studying many possible causes, including aging and poisons in the environment. Abnormal genes seem to lead to Parkinson's disease in some people. But so far, there is not enough proof to show that it is always inherited. The four main symptoms of Parkinson's are: Tremor may be the first symptom you notice. It's one of the most common signs … Continue reading →

08:32 05 March 2015 by Rebecca Day Carol Freeman, Sue Filby, Ian Maitland and David Powell inside the chamber Archant A Letchworth-based charity is offering oxygen therapy treatment to injured soldiers after being inspired by how the treatment helped a former paratrooper who lost both legs and suffered brain damage after fighting in Afghanistan. Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. The Hertfordshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre wants anyone who has sustained injuries while serving in the armed forces to come forward, to see if the treatment can help change their lives like it did for soldier Ben Parkinson. Ben who lost both legs and was in a coma for four months from a bomb explosion can now walk using crutches, and has improved speech after he underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in which pure oxygen is breathed through a mask in a special chamber. Charity chief executive Mark Boscher, pictured above right, said: We were so inspired by Bens story and thought: wouldnt it be brilliant if we could make contact with injured people living locally, and help them just like Ben was helped? Read this article: Letchworth charity … Continue reading →

March 5, 2015 Credit: Thinkstock Brett Smith for redOrbit.com @ParkstBrett Researchers at Northwestern University have announced a cancer-treatment breakthrough based on three decades of work. According to a report published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the use of added oxygenation suppresses accumulation of adenosine in the tumor microenvironment and weakens immunosuppression. The oxygenation treatment could enhance cancer immunotherapy and reduce tumors by releasing anti-tumor T lymphocytes and normal killer cells. [STORY: Death from cancer is best, doctor says] This discovery shifts the paradigm of decades-long drug development, a process with a low success rate, said Michail Sitkovsky, a professor of immunophysiology and pharmaceutical biotechnology at Northeastern University. Indeed, it is promising that our method could be implemented relatively quickly by testing in clinical trials the effects of oxygenation in combination with different types of already existing immunotherapies of cancer. The findings build upon Sitkovskys three decades of study, which has been supported by both Northeastern and the National Institutes of Health. 40-60% oxygen Around ten years ago, Sitkovsky made an critical cancer-related discovery in immunology, a receptor on the outside of immune cells, called the A2A adenosine receptor, is accountable for stopping T cells from penetrating tumors and for … Continue reading →

Although levodopa remains the gold standard to effectively control motor deficits in the treatment of early stage Parkinsons disease (PD), it loses effectiveness as the disease progresses. After four to six years of treatment with oral medications for Parkinsons disease, about 40% of patients experience lack of muscle control (dyskinesias), end-of-dose wearing off, and fluctuations in On/Off states. By nine years of treatment, about 90% will suffer these effects. Continuous dosing via a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG, now carbidopa and levodopa enteral suspension in the U.S) directly into the small intestine may be the key to reducing the motor complications associated with long-term levodopa use. In the current issue of the Journal of Parkinsons Disease, researchers report on the safety and efficacy of LCIG therapy over a one-year period. This study demonstrated continued safety and tolerability as well as improvement in on time without troublesome dyskinesia in patients with advanced PD, explained lead investigator John T. Slevin, MD, MBA, Professor of Neurology and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky. Patients on long-term, open-label LCIG treatment sustain the efficacy and quality-of-life improvement achieved during the first 12 weeks of treatment. The safety profile of the LCIG system … Continue reading →

UK scientists have developed a peptide that sticks to the protein that causes Parkinson's disease, stopping it from killing brain cells. The research highlights a potential new route for slowing the progress of this incurable disease. Parkinson's affects around 1 in 500 people in the UK. It's a progressive neurological condition where brain cells die causing a lack of the chemical dopamine, which acts as a messenger that coordinates movement. Parkinson's causes symptoms of tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement. In Parkinson's, a protein called -synuclein becomes misshapen and stacks together to form long toxic fibrils that kill the brain cells. A team of scientists led by the University of Bath, with funding from Parkinson's UK, has designed a peptide that binds to the faulty -synuclein and stops fibrils from forming. Their research is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The researchers showed that the peptide halts the formation of fibrils in cells in vitro and stops them dying. The team anticipates that if developed into a treatment, the peptide could help slow the progression of this degenerative disease. Dr Jody Mason, from the University of Bath's Department of Biology & Biochemistry, explained: "In Parkinson's, the protein called -synuclein … Continue reading →

Report in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease presents data from one-year trial on long-term safety, efficacy, and quality of life in advanced PD patients using levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel Amsterdam, NL, February 26, 2015 - Although levodopa remains the "gold standard" to effectively control motor deficits in the treatment of early stage Parkinson's disease (PD), it loses effectiveness as the disease progresses. After four to six years of treatment with oral medications for Parkinson's disease, about 40% of patients experience lack of muscle control (dyskinesias), end-of-dose wearing off, and fluctuations in "On/Off" states. By nine years of treatment, about 90% will suffer these effects. Continuous dosing via a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG, now carbidopa and levodopa enteral suspension in the U.S) directly into the small intestine may be the key to reducing the motor complications associated with long-term levodopa use. In the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, researchers report on the safety and efficacy of LCIG therapy over a one-year period. "This study demonstrated continued safety and tolerability as well as improvement in on time without troublesome dyskinesia in patients with advanced PD," explained lead investigator John T. Slevin, MD, MBA, Professor of Neurology and Vice Chair of … Continue reading →

Tracey Romero, Sports Medicine Editor, Philly.com Posted: Thursday, February 26, 2015, 5:30 AM Parkinsons disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system, affects your movement, causing stiffness in your muscles and tremors in your hands. According to the Mayo Clinic, Over time, Parkinsons disease may reduce your ability to move and slow your movement, making simple tasks difficult and time-consuming. Your steps may become shorter when you walk, or you may find it difficult to get out of a chair. Also, you may drag your feet as you try to walk, making it more difficult to move. With this disease, even small movements become a challenge. At Conshohocken Physical Therapy in Conshohocken, however, Parkinson patients are encouraged to think big. Physical therapy has been proven as a great way for these patients to gain more functional independence. Dr. Jory Davis, who is a LSVT-certified specialist, leads her patients struggling with Parkinsons symptoms on a journey to relearn how to create normal movements. She becomes a partner with her patients and their families to help them combat and manage the symptoms of Parkinsons disease. As a patients condition changes, their treatment program will be adjusted to help them be as independent … Continue reading →

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often have difficulties with visual acuity in low-contrast images. Because they may have normal high-contrast vision, this is often overlooked during routine eye exams. In the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, researchers report that PD patients had significantly worse vision for low-contrast images at close (40 cm) and far (2 m) distances. Even for high-contrast images, PD patients' vision was deficient at far distances. In addition, the degree of low-contrast visual deficiency correlated with PD severity, suggesting that such visual testing may provide insights for the physician in the diagnosis and treatment of PD. To provide an easy-to-use screening tool for physicians, the investigators have developed an iPad-based application that can replace the traditional paper charts used in normal eye testing. Thirty-two patients with PD and 71 control subjects were studied. All subjects received a neurological examination, which included the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and vision testing using the Variable Contrast Acuity Chart displayed on an Apple iPad 2. Usual corrective lenses were worn by subjects that required them. Testing was done at high contrast (black letters on a white background) and at 2.5% contrast (grey on white) at distances … Continue reading →

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects around seven million people globally, and one million in the United States alone, usually afflicting people older than 50. The disease strikes 2 percent of those over age 65, and 5-10 percent of cases occur in people under 50. The cause remains unknown, preventing us from arresting the diseases development though environmental and occupational factors loom large in recent research. Chinese and Indian texts from 1,000 BC appear to describe a similar affliction. But James Parkinson was the first to describe the disease in detail, in 1817. Those developing Parkinsons suffer slow movement, tremors, stiffness, difficulty walking, and gait instability. As the disease progresses, it may affect thinking and can also cause behavioral and psychological problems, including dementia, sleep disturbances, and depression, as well as low blood pressure. Though many of these symptoms can be ameliorated, therapeutic efficacy often wanes over time. The symptoms result from the loss of brain cells generating the neurotransmitter dopamine. Many studies demonstrate that these cells degeneration is preceded by cell loss in other brain regions, and even nerve cells in the gastrointestinal system. This occurs decades before symptoms of motor impairment develop. Ultimately, people with … Continue reading →