Movement Disorder News and Research

Latest Movement Disorder News and Research

Medtronic first quarter global revenue increases 7% to $4.049 billion

Medtronic, Inc. today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012, which ended July 29, 2011.

From Medtronic 23 Aug 2011

Elite task force provides insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia

Neurologist Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, served on an elite international task force commissioned by the Movement Disorder Society to provide insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia, an uncommon condition that causes sustained, sometimes crippling muscle contractions.

22 Jul 2011

Deep brain stimulation benefits people with Parkinson's, essential tremor

Tom Keilen couldn't grab a glass of water without spilling it all over himself. Plagued with uncontrollable tremors at just 57 years old, the Michigan resident was fighting a battle against an aggressive case of Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2011

Researchers influence activity of nerve cells with laser light

Unlike conventional methods, with the so-called optogenetics, the researchers are able to target one cell type. "We are now going to use this method to find out exactly what goes wrong in the nerve cells in movement disorders such as ataxias", said Prof. Dr. Stefan Herlitze.

21 Jul 2011

Researchers discover how genetic mutations cause rare human diseases

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and in Michigan, North Carolina and Spain have discovered how genetic mutations cause a number of rare human diseases, which include Meckel syndrome, Joubert syndrome and several other disorders.

11 Jul 2011

MR-guided focused ultrasound effective for treating essential tremor

The last ten years have been challenging for Billy R. Williams of Fort Valley, Virginia. The former Pentagon employee, who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack, has suffered from essential tremor, a progressive and debilitating neurological disorder.

30 Jun 2011

Prevalence rate of Parkinson's is higher than previously thought

Parkinson's Disease, brought to public awareness by figures such as Michael J. Fox, is not just difficult to diagnose. It's also difficult to accurately estimate how many people actually suffer from the disease. Current statistics come from small-scale studies, usually based on information from hospital clinics, and no registries or formal databases exist to track how many people have the disease.

30 Jun 2011

GTRI develops novel iPhone application for patients with Parkinson's

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a novel iPhone application that may enable persons with Parkinson's disease and certain other neurological conditions to use the ubiquitous devices to collect data on hand and arm tremors and relay the results to medical personnel.

24 Jun 2011

U.S. Supreme Court ruling on generic drugs

According to the new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, people harmed by generic drugs may find it harder to get restitution. The court ruled on Thursday that generic drug makers cannot be sued for failing to warn consumers of their products' side effects if they copy the exact warnings on the drugs' brand-name equivalents.

23 Jun 2011

Scientists discover three susceptibility genes for development of progressive supranuclear palsy

An international research team, co-led by scientists at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, have discovered three potential susceptibility genes for development of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes symptoms similar to those of Parkinson's disease but is resistant to Parkinson's medications.

20 Jun 2011

Prior GID diagnosis impacts health outcomes of patients with Parkinson's

A new study investigating the incidence and impact of gastrointestinal disorders (GID) among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) found that patients who received both a PD diagnosis and a prior GID diagnosis appeared to have worse health outcomes compared to patients who received a diagnosis for PD with no prior GID diagnosis.

16 Jun 2011

Music and drama therapy improve physical, emotional components of Parkinson's

Twice a month a jam session takes place on the third floor of Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital. A diverse group of men and women, ranging in age and ethnicity, gather in a circle with instruments in hand and sing together. This is no ordinary jam band; all its members have Parkinson's disease.

16 Jun 2011

Abbott reports positive interim results from LCIG Phase III open-label study for advanced Parkinson's disease

Interim efficacy and safety results from a long-term, 54-week, Phase III open-label study of Abbott's investigational treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease showed that patients treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) for 12 weeks reported a decrease in "off" time and an increase in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesias.

9 Jun 2011

Impax announces results of IPX066 ADVANCE-PD and APEX-PD Phase III study against Parkinson's

Impax Pharmaceuticals, the branded products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc., today announced that IPX066 ADVANCE-PD and APEX-PD Phase III clinical study data will be presented in Poster Sessions at the 15th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Conference in Toronto, Canada, held from June 5 to June 9.

4 Jun 2011

ENS, SSIF announce prestigious award to recognize excellence in medical education

Serono Symposia International Foundation (SSIF) has announced today a public competition for an Award to recognise an expert in the field of neurology who has made a significant contribution to medical education activities through research and dedication.

30 May 2011

Omeros' PDE7 program expands addiction franchise

Omeros Corporation today announced that its phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors demonstrated robust efficacy in animal models of nicotine addiction.

6 May 2011

Scripps Research receives CIRM grant for new research in stem cell biology and disease origins

Stem cells have huge potential in medicine because they have the ability to change or differentiate into many different cell types potentially providing a source of cells to replace those that have been permanently lost by a patient.

6 May 2011

AAN, PDF honor Boston researcher with Clinician Scientist Development Award

A clinician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is receiving $240,000 to further his research into how stem cells may be used to treat Parkinson's disease through the American Academy of Neurology Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson's Disease Research.

15 Apr 2011

Teva presents new CNS products study data in RRMS, Parkinson's at AAN meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced that several new studies further support the efficacy and safety of the company's innovative central nervous system products.

12 Apr 2011

Study: DBS surgery allows 77% of patients to stop anti-tremor medication use

Deep brain stimulation, a surgical procedure to suppress faulty nerve signals, allowed 77 percent of patients to stop the medications used to treat their essential tremors within one year following the surgery, University of South Florida researchers report.

8 Apr 2011