Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Transcranial direct current stimulation proves effective for binge-eating disorder

Transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, has proved effective for binge-eating disorder for the first time, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

10 May 2016

Implantable brain device shows promising results in animal study

An implantable brain device that literally melts away at a pre-determined rate minimizes injury to tissue normally associated with standard electrode implantation, according to research led by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

6 May 2016

Oral administration of Jakinibs reduces Parkinson's disease pathogenesis in rat model

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers report the first documentation that suppressing a key cell-signaling pathway in a rat model of Parkinson's disease reduces pathogenesis. Oral administration of AZD1480 — one of the JAK/STAT pathway inhibitors generally known as Jakinibs — lessened the destructive inflammation and nerve cell degradation in the area of the brain affected by Parkinson's.

4 May 2016

Lund study shows transplanted nerve cells can survive for many years in diseased human brain

In the late 1980s and over the 1990s, researchers at Lund University in Sweden pioneered the transplantation of new nerve cells into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease. The outcomes proved for the first time that transplanted nerve cells can survive and function in the diseased human brain. Some patients showed marked improvement after the transplantation while others showed moderate or no relief of symptoms.

4 May 2016

Scientists discover genetic switches linked to increased lifespan in mammals

Newly discovered genetic switches that increase lifespan and boost fitness in worms are also linked to increased lifespan in mammals, offering hope that drugs to flip these switches could improve human metabolic function and increase longevity.

3 May 2016

Snapshots of NMDA receptor activation may help in novel drug design

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Janelia Research Campus/HHMI, have obtained snapshots of the activation of an important type of brain-cell receptor. Dysfunction of the receptor has been implicated in a range of neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, seizure, schizophrenia, autism, and injuries related to stroke.

3 May 2016

Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets approved to treat hallucinations and delusions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets, the first drug approved to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with psychosis experienced by some people with Parkinson's disease.

30 Apr 2016

Researchers explore changes in Parkinson's-affected cells at different stages of the disease

It's an unsettling thought: You could be walking around for 20 years developing Parkinson's disease and not even know it.

29 Apr 2016

Dopamine neuron transplants controlled by designer drug may fight Parkinson's disease in mice

A University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist has inserted a genetic switch into nerve cells so a patient can alter their activity by taking designer drugs that would not affect any other cell. The cells in question are neurons and make the neurotransmitter dopamine, whose deficiency is the culprit in the widespread movement disorder Parkinson's disease.

29 Apr 2016

Study examines benefits of exercise, behavioral therapy in MS patients

Groundhog Day 1994 is one Linda Friedrich will never forget. That's the day a neurologist told her, "You have multiple sclerosis and there's nothing we can do."

28 Apr 2016

People with TBI may have long-term sleep disturbances

People who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have sleep problems a year and a half after being injured, according to a study published in the April 27, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In addition, people with TBI may also be unaware of just how much their sleep is disturbed.

28 Apr 2016

New study reveals increased risk of dementia in patients with rosacea

A new study has uncovered an increased risk of dementia--in particular Alzheimer's disease--in patients with rosacea. Importantly, the risk was highest in older patients and in patients where rosacea was diagnosed by a hospital dermatologist. The findings are published in the Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

28 Apr 2016

Two London students make innovative medical devices to improve lives of people with Parkinson’s disease

Two London students, who have invented separate pieces of medical technology that could help revolutionise the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease, could soon see their innovative devices available to millions of sufferers after they were shortlisted for a prestigious award.

27 Apr 2016

Scientists unravel mystery of disrupted communication between brain cells in Parkinson's patients

A possible cause has been found for the disrupted communication between brain cells exhibited by Parkinson's patients. Bettina Schwab, a researcher at the University of Twente in The Netherlands, discovered that this group of patients have increased concentrations of a certain type of protein. Ms Schwab defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday 22 April.

27 Apr 2016

Researchers test potential positive effects of micro-injury in mice modeled with AD

Researchers testing the potential positive effects of "micro-injury" by brief insertion of a small needle into the hippocampal region of mice modeled with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have found that the procedure not only stimulated the hippocampus into regenerative activity, but also reduced β-amyloid plaques, a hallmark of AD.

27 Apr 2016

Innovative strategy can reverse symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are the two most common neurodegenerative disorders worldwide and cause untold suffering to millions of patients and their families. Treatments for these diseases are limited, and no cures exist. Now, a new study describes an innovative strategy that reverses symptoms in these neurodegenerative diseases - at least in fruit flies which had been genetically altered to model the diseases.

26 Apr 2016

Brain chemical dopamine plays key role in representing or encoding movement

Princeton University researchers have found that dopamine - a brain chemical involved in learning, motivation and many other functions - also has a direct role in representing or encoding movement. The finding could help researchers better understand dopamine's role in movement-related disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

26 Apr 2016

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on health crisis posed by Zika virus in fetal brains

Studying a new type of pinhead-size, lab-grown brain made with technology first suggested by three high school students, Johns Hopkins researchers have confirmed a key way in which Zika virus causes microcephaly and other damage in fetal brains: by infecting specialized stem cells that build its outer layer, the cortex.

25 Apr 2016

Fructose common in western diet can damage brain genes

A range of diseases -- from diabetes to cardiovascular disease, and from Alzheimer's disease to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- are linked to changes to genes in the brain. A new study by UCLA life scientists has found that hundreds of those genes can be damaged by fructose, a sugar that's common in the Western diet, in a way that could lead to those diseases.

25 Apr 2016

Wellderly study finds link between cognitive decline genes and healthy aging

An eight-year-long accrual and analysis of the whole genome sequences of healthy elderly people, or "Wellderly," has revealed a higher-than-normal presence of genetic variants offering protection from cognitive decline, researchers from the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) reported today in the journal Cell.

22 Apr 2016

Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Transcranial direct current stimulation proves effective for binge-eating disorder

Implantable brain device shows promising results in animal study

Oral administration of Jakinibs reduces Parkinson's disease pathogenesis in rat model

Lund study shows transplanted nerve cells can survive for many years in diseased human brain

Scientists discover genetic switches linked to increased lifespan in mammals

Snapshots of NMDA receptor activation may help in novel drug design

Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets approved to treat hallucinations and delusions

Researchers explore changes in Parkinson's-affected cells at different stages of the disease

Dopamine neuron transplants controlled by designer drug may fight Parkinson's disease in mice

Study examines benefits of exercise, behavioral therapy in MS patients

People with TBI may have long-term sleep disturbances

New study reveals increased risk of dementia in patients with rosacea

Two London students make innovative medical devices to improve lives of people with Parkinson’s disease

Scientists unravel mystery of disrupted communication between brain cells in Parkinson's patients

Researchers test potential positive effects of micro-injury in mice modeled with AD

Innovative strategy can reverse symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases

Brain chemical dopamine plays key role in representing or encoding movement

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on health crisis posed by Zika virus in fetal brains

Fructose common in western diet can damage brain genes

Wellderly study finds link between cognitive decline genes and healthy aging

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Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

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Microphysiological systems in drug discovery

Considerations for taking ASO discovery programs into animal models

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