ScienceDaily (Sep. 3, 2012) A study that used a Utahgenealogic database and a statewide cancer registry to examine the relationship between Parkinson disease (PD) and cancer suggests an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma in patients with PD and their relatives, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. Neurodegenerative diseases, in particular PD, may share common pathogenic mechanisms with some cancers, according to the study background. "Identifying a genetic relationship between PD and cancer is critical to understanding underlying pathophysiologic changes in both diseases. Understanding this relationship could allow clinicians to provide proper assessment of cancer risk in patients with PD and might also have implications for the counseling of relatives of patients," the authors note in the study background. Seth A. Kareus, M.D., and colleagues from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, estimated relative risks (RRs) for cancer in individuals with PD listed on their death certificate, and in their relatives. The study identified 2,998 patients with PD listed as their cause of death from 1904 to 2008 and also included information from the Utah Cancer Registry on 100,817 patients diagnosed with cancer. To validate their observed associations, researchers … Continue reading →

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -09/05/12)- This weekend, 14,000 Canadians from coast-to-coast will be walking in the 22nd annual Parkinson SuperWalk to raise money to support valuable education, resources, support services and research funded each year by Parkinson Society Canada. Dr. Isabelle Boileau is just one of many researchers across Canada who has received funding from Parkinson Society Canada to support her work. Dr. Boileau is working with a team at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to use state-of-the-art medical imaging technology to examine dopamine receptors in people with Parkinson's disease. "Our goal is to ultimately determine if and how current treatments for Parkinson's affect the dopamine receptors in the brain," says Dr. Boileau. "Our thought is that over time, and in specific people, these medications could in fact be changing the receptors, which could be why some people with Parkinson's develop involuntary movements known as dyskinesia." The team is hoping that this research will one day enable doctors to predict who might be at risk of developing dyskinesia as a result of their Parkinson's disease medications and customize treatment accordingly. Since Parkinson Society Canada's research program began, it has provided funding for over 400 awards, fellowships and grants to … Continue reading →

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. Produced by NewsOK.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. EDMOND Jerry Gill understands he has Parkinson's disease. And he is working hard to stay out of a rocker or from behind a walker. Jerry Gill works on his balance with Integris Health Edmond physical therapist Samantha Klepper. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN It may be a life sentence, but not a death sentence, said Gill, 2011 distinguished alumni in the Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame. Gill, 67, decided two years ago when he diagnosed with the disease that sitting around wasn't for him. At first, I felt sorry for myself, said Gill, a three-year starter for the Cowboy's football team in the 1960s. I started reading literature and seeing what I could do. He has been exercising three times a week, at times yelling orange power, as part of Integris Health Edmond Jim Thorpe outpatient clinic's PWR! Up program. Samantha Klepper, Edmond's Jim Thorp lead physical therapist, said PWR! Up and Speak Out, a voice therapy program, are new programs for Parkinson's patients. Klepper is one of the few Oklahoma therapists affiliated with PWR! Up and … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments that address unmet medical needs in neurological and related central nervous system disorders, today announced the completion of enrollment in its ongoing pivotal Phase III trial with pimavanserin in patients with Parkinsons disease psychosis (PDP). Top-line results from this trial are expected to be announced by the end of November 2012. The Phase III trial, referred to as the -020 Study, is a multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability and safety of pimavanserin as a treatment for patients with PDP. The -020 Study incorporates several design enhancements that were guided by previous data in ACADIAs PDP program. A total of 198 patients have been enrolled in the study and were randomized on a one-to-one basis to receive either 40 mg of pimavanserin or placebo once-daily for six weeks. The primary endpoint of the -020 Study is antipsychotic efficacy as measured using nine items from the hallucinations and delusions domains of the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, or SAPS. An independent group of centralized raters is used to assess the primary endpoint in the study. Motoric tolerability is a key secondary … Continue reading →