Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine Article Date: 20 Sep 2012 - 11:00 PDT Current ratings for: Acupuncture May Benefit Parkinson's Patients The scientists explained that several studies had shown that acupuncture treatment relieved symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease in human and animal subjects. Some studies using fMRI had found that neural responses in extensive brain regions were much lower among Parkinson's patients compared to healthy individuals. Brain areas particularly affected by Parkinson's include the thalamus, putamen, and the supplementary motor area. Scientists have been carrying out more and more studies on the possible therapeutic benefits of acupuncture. An article published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) in September 2012 found that acupuncture may help in the treatment of chronic pain. Yeo, S., Lim and team used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure what the specific effects of needling acupuncture point GB34 (Yanglinqquan) were on parts of the brain that are affected by Parkinson's Disease. Certain brain centers become too inactive in people with Parkinson's disease. The authors explained that acupuncture seems to reactivate them. The authors divided the participants into two groups: Acupuncture reactivated neural … Continue reading →

SAN FRANCISCO & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Third Rock Ventures, LLC today announced the formation of MyoKardia, Inc. with a $38 million Series A financing of the company. MyoKardia is developing a pipeline of novel small molecule therapeutics that address key clinical needs for patients with genetic heart disease. The companys first programs include hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy, which together afflict approximately 1 million people in the United States, and for which no novel therapeutics have been brought to market in over a decade. MyoKardias proprietary drug discovery platform brings together advances from the fields of cardiovascular genomics and heart muscle biology to enable its scientists to target certain heart disease at its source. This genetically targeted approach has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of cardiomyopathies, and ultimately a broader spectrum of cardiovascular disease, including heart failure. The company is founded by world leaders in the fields of muscle biology and cardiovascular genetics: James Spudich, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Christine Seidman, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Center at Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Jonathan Seidman, Ph.D., … Continue reading →

Public release date: 20-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Emmanouil Dermitzakis emmanouil.dermitzakis@unige.ch 41-223-795-483 Universit de Genve We are not all the same when it comes to illness. In fact, the risk of developing a disease such as diabetes or heart disease varies from one individual to another. A study led by Emmanouil Dermitzakis, Louis-Jeantet Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) reveals that the genetic predisposition to develop certain diseases may differ from one individual to another depending on their sex. Together with his collaborators, the professor has shown that genetic variants have a different impact on the level of gene expression between men and women. The results of this research have been published in the scientific journal Genome Research. For decades geneticists have been interested in genetic variants that affect the level of gene expression. These variants spark the interest of researchers because they play a role in the predisposition to certain diseases. Professor Dermitzakis' team from UNIGE, in collaboration with Oxford University, focused on the fundamental differences in the genetics of gene expression between men and women. After analyzing the impact of genetic variants on the level of gene expression in … Continue reading →

Dr. Zannos Grekos is back in the stem cell business in his Bonita Springs office even though state health-care regulators suspended his license in February. Grekos, a cardiologist, is chief medical officer of a new company, Intercellular Sciences, which "follows in the footsteps" of his earlier practice called Regenocyte Therapeutics, according to Intercellular's website. Intercellular operates at 9500 Bonita Beach Road where Regenocyte is located. The new company website says all stem cell treatment is done in the Dominican Republic, which follows how Grekos was doing the therapy before he faced state sanctions for performing it in his Bonita Springs practice. Staff at Intercellular Sciences could not be reached for comment. The state health department is aware of Grekos involvement with Intercellular but cannot say whether serving as chief medical officer means he is actively practicing medicine against the suspension, health department spokeswoman Ashley Carr said. Incorporation papers were submitted and filed May 15 for Intercellular with the state Division of Corporations, but Grekos is not listed as an agent or manager, the documents show. The registered agent, Mike Calcaterra, of North Fort Myers, serves as president and chief operating officer of Intercellular. He could not be reached for comment. … Continue reading →

LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New developments in regenerative medicine are bringing about exciting, novel approaches to create therapies for hard to treat diseases. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a hard to treat disorder that progressively blocks airflow in the lungs making it increasingly difficult for an individual to breathe, and is one of the leading illnesses in the US. Yet, current treatments for COPD can only try to limit the extent of damage to the lungs, and to bring some relief from symptoms. Novel treatments for COPD are urgently needed, and new applications with the use of adult stem cells may have much benefit. This is because adult stem cells have an ability to differentiate into many different types of cells, such as those required for healthy, functioning lung tissue. Also, adult stem cells can be isolated with ease from an individual's own fat tissue, and so adult stem cell therapy is not subject to the ethical or religious issues that trouble some other methods. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120920/LA78252) StemGenex, a US based company, is finding new avenues and methods for using adipose derived adult stem cells to help in diseases with limited treatment options. StemGenex has … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BIND Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of highly selective targeted and programmable therapeutics called AccurinsTM, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has recently issued five U.S. patents to the company. The patents cover BIND-014,the companys lead Accurin product candidate for solid cancer tumors, and its Medicinal NanoengineeringTM platform which enables the design, engineering and manufacturing of Accurins with unprecedented control over drug properties to maximize trafficking to disease sites. The newly-issued patents include: The issuance of these five patents acknowledges the innovative nature of our platform and products, as well as the proprietary methods we use to produce them. We expect additional patent issuances over the coming months continuing to further bolster this broad and growing patent estate, said Scott Minick, CEO of BIND. We are highly encouraged by the real world impact of our innovative technology embodied in BIND-014, our lead Accurin product candidate which is showing promising clinical results for solid tumors. About BIND Biosciences BIND Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of highly selective targeted and programmable therapeutics called AccurinsTM. BINDs Medicinal NanoengineeringTM platform enables the design, engineering and manufacturing of Accurins … Continue reading →