Dopamine News and Research

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Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition of prolactin production (involved in lactation), sleep, mood, attention, and learning. Dopaminergic neurons (i.e., neurons whose primary neurotransmitter is dopamine) are present chiefly in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain, substantia nigra pars compacta, and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

New screening tool prevents wrong patients from receiving Parkinson's surgery

The allure of a new brain surgery technique to relieve the stiffness and shaking caused by Parkinson’s disease may lead to unnecessary operations, University of Florida researchers say, but a new screening tool they developed could prevent potentially dangerous procedures.

9 Aug 2004

Clinical trial established that two drugs, levodopa and pramipexole, are both viable initial treatments for Parkinson's disease

The four-year clinical trial established that two drugs, levodopa and pramipexole, are both viable initial treatments for Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

3 Aug 2004

Researchers have shown that an experimental vaccine can reduce the amount of neurodegeneration in a mouse model for Parkinson's disease

The finding suggests that a similar therapy might eventually be able to slow the devastating course of Parkinson's disease in humans.

29 Jul 2004

Clinical study compares treatments in early Parkinson's disease

University of Tennessee Health Science Center professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurology, Ronald F. Pfeiffer, M.D., has been an investigator with The Parkinson Study Group (PSG), which recently reported four-year results of a major long-term, multi-center clinical trial.

21 Jul 2004

Levodopa and pramipexole appear to be reasonable options as initial therapy for Parkinson disease

An article in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology reports that the drugs levodopa and pramipexole both appear to be reasonable options as initial therapy for Parkinson disease, but they are associated with different efficacy and adverse effects.

20 Jul 2004

Human ability to generate feelings through imagery could be the key to a breakthrough in the treatment of mental health problems

A leading psychologist has claimed that humans’ ability to generate feelings through imagery – as, for instance, becoming sexually aroused through fantasy - could be the key to a breakthrough in the treatment of a range of mental health problems.

10 Jul 2004

Michael J. Fox Foundation funds $2 million to solve midbrain system mysteries

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) announced today that it has awarded approximately $2.1 million to fund 11 research projects

29 Jun 2004

Treating cocaine addiction with a virus

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have designed a potentially valuable tool for treating cocaine addiction by creating a modified "phage" virus that soaks up the drug inside the brain.

24 Jun 2004

Implantable chip could serve as a prosthetic retina for people who suffer from age-related blindness

Where other types of chips use electricity to stimulate nerves, this one instead tickles cells with minute amounts of chemicals. Because nerve cells normally communicate with each other by releasing chemicals known as neurotransmitters, the new device points to a more effective way of treating very delicate tissues, such as those in the eye and in the brain.

24 Jun 2004

SPECT imaging helps attention deficit hyperactivity disorder patients

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder in children; it adversely affects performance in school and emotional development, and the symptoms can continue into adulthood.

23 Jun 2004

Embryonic cell implantation improves motor skills in patients with Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) who underwent treatment involving embryonic cell implantation had better motor functioning after their procedures than PD patients who did not receive embryonic cells

21 Jun 2004

Marijuana/Cannabis causes transient schizophrenia-like symptoms

The principal active ingredient in marijuana causes transient schizophrenia-like symptoms ranging from suspiciousness and delusions to impairments in memory and attention, according to a Yale research study.

15 Jun 2004

Drug combination reduces cocaine use

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center are the first to demonstrate that a combination of drug therapies targeting the region of the brain that controls drug abuse and addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in nonhuman primates.

15 Jun 2004

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Columbia University Medical Center in New York have discovered a new vaccine approach that successfully prevents the death of brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

15 Jun 2004

Neuroscientists have overcome a major obstacle in gene therapy research

Northwestern University neuroscientists have overcome a major obstacle in gene therapy research. They've devised a method that will safely deliver and regulate expression of therapeutic genes introduced into the central nervous system to treat Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

5 Jun 2004

Antipsychotic compound bifeprunox worth USD 1 billion per year to Solvay and Wyeth

Solvay has re-evaluated the commercial potential of bifeprunox, a Solvay compound in clinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia . Bifeprunox additionally has the potential to be developed in other disorders, i.e. bipolar disorder.

3 Jun 2004

Genes that allow nerve cells to communicate may have come from bacteria eons ago

Some of the genes that allow nerve cells and some other types of cells to send elaborate chemical messages to each other appear to have been transferred to animals or their immediate ancestors from bacteria eons ago.

2 Jun 2004

Combination drug therapies targeting brain region that controls addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in primates

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University are the first to demonstrate a combination of drug therapies targeting the region of the brain that controls drug abuse and addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in nonhuman primates.

24 May 2004

Research into placebo effect among Parkinson’s patients

Parkinson’s disease patients who thought they had received a transplant of human neurons into their brains—but who actually hadn’t—reported an improved quality of life one year later.

14 May 2004

Britannia Pharmaceuticals’ partner receives FDA approval for Parkinson’s disease treatment

Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited announced today that U.S.-based Bertek Pharmaceuticals Inc., the branded subsidiary of Mylan Laboratories Inc has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for APOKYN (apomorphine hydrochloride injection).

13 May 2004

Dopamine News and Research

Further Reading

New screening tool prevents wrong patients from receiving Parkinson's surgery

Clinical trial established that two drugs, levodopa and pramipexole, are both viable initial treatments for Parkinson's disease

Researchers have shown that an experimental vaccine can reduce the amount of neurodegeneration in a mouse model for Parkinson's disease

Clinical study compares treatments in early Parkinson's disease

Levodopa and pramipexole appear to be reasonable options as initial therapy for Parkinson disease

Human ability to generate feelings through imagery could be the key to a breakthrough in the treatment of mental health problems

Michael J. Fox Foundation funds $2 million to solve midbrain system mysteries

Treating cocaine addiction with a virus

Implantable chip could serve as a prosthetic retina for people who suffer from age-related blindness

SPECT imaging helps attention deficit hyperactivity disorder patients

Embryonic cell implantation improves motor skills in patients with Parkinson's disease

Marijuana/Cannabis causes transient schizophrenia-like symptoms

Drug combination reduces cocaine use

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Neuroscientists have overcome a major obstacle in gene therapy research

Antipsychotic compound bifeprunox worth USD 1 billion per year to Solvay and Wyeth

Genes that allow nerve cells to communicate may have come from bacteria eons ago

Combination drug therapies targeting brain region that controls addiction significantly reduces cocaine use in primates

Research into placebo effect among Parkinson’s patients

Britannia Pharmaceuticals’ partner receives FDA approval for Parkinson’s disease treatment

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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