Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latrepirdine appears effective in treating Alzheimer's disease in animals

An international team of scientists led by researchers at Mount Sinai School Medicine have discovered that a drug that had previously yielded conflicting results in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease effectively stopped the progression of memory deterioration and brain pathology in mouse models of early stage Alzheimer's disease.

31 Jul 2012

Parkinson’s disease treatment: an interview with Ted Dawson

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder which usually affects people in their 60’s and older. It is caused by the loss of dopamine neurons in the brain leading to rigidity, slowness of movement, tremor, problems with balance and so forth.

31 Jul 2012

Scientists identify new gene responsible for genetic form of blindness in newborns

One of the mysteries of blindness has been solved. A team of international scientists in collaboration with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) identified a new gene responsible for Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a devastating genetic form of blindness in newborns.

30 Jul 2012

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

Insomnia is a very common disorder. In medical terms it can affect a third of people. It affects elderly as well as non-elderly people, and is more common in women.

26 Jul 2012

Raising dopamine levels in frontal cortex reduces impulsivity in healthy adults

Raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain significantly decreased impulsivity in healthy adults, in a study conducted by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

26 Jul 2012

Watching YouTube videos may help treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Watching videos on YouTube may be a new way to show the treatment for a common cause of vertigo, which often goes untreated by physicians, according to a study published in the July 24, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Jul 2012

XenoPort initiates XP23829 Phase 1 study in healthy adults

XenoPort, Inc. announced today that the first subjects have been dosed in a Phase 1, randomized, double-blind, two-period crossover, food effect comparison study of XP23829 in healthy adults. The trial is designed to assess the pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of a single dose of XP23829 administered in both fasted and fed conditions.

24 Jul 2012

Synthetic triterpenoids block development of Parkinson's disease

A new and powerful class of antioxidants could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinson's disease, researchers report.

23 Jul 2012

Protein associated with Huntington’s and other neurodegenerative diseases has several brain-specific forms

A protein essential for metabolism and recently associated with neurodegenerative diseases also occurs in several brain-specific forms. This discovery emerged in the course of a research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the findings of which have now been published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

23 Jul 2012

Exposure to high-intensity vibrations increases risk of Parkinson's

Severe influenza doubles the odds that a person will develop Parkinson's disease later in life, according to University of British Columbia researchers.

21 Jul 2012

New antibody can be used as early diagnostic tool for Parkinson's

Conditions such as Parkinson's disease are a result of pathogenic changes to proteins. In the neurodegenerative condition of Parkinson's disease, which is currently incurable, the alpha-synuclein protein changes and becomes pathological. Until now, there have not been any antibodies that could help to demonstrate the change in alpha-synuclein associated with the disease. An international team of experts led by Gabor G. Kovacs from the Clinical Institute of Neurology at the MedUni Vienna has now discovered a new antibody that actually possesses this ability.

21 Jul 2012

uniQure receives positive recommendation from EMA CHMP for Glybera

uniQure announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion that recommends marketing authorization of Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) as a treatment for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) under exceptional circumstances.

21 Jul 2012

Teva contributes $2.5M to The Franklin Institute for development of neuroscience exhibit

The Franklin Institute has received a $2.5 million contribution from leading global pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceuticals to develop a signature innovative exhibit at the museum exploring neuroscience and the human brain, entitled Your Brain. This contribution brings The Franklin Institute's Inspire Science fundraising campaign total to $65 million.

20 Jul 2012

Impaired frontostriatal circuitry linked to cognitive defects in PD

Reduced activation of the frontostriatal circuits may underlie the mild cognitive impairment often seen in patients with early Parkinson’s disease, say researchers.

19 Jul 2012

Non-motor Parkinson’s disease symptoms show variable course

The non-motor symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease show a variable evolution that does not follow motor deterioration and is symptom specific, results of a 2-year follow-up study show.

19 Jul 2012

Micrographia prevalent in Parkinson’s

Around half of patients with Parkinson’s disease display symptoms of micrographia, a case–control study shows.

19 Jul 2012

Carotid stenosis, ECG anomalies foreshadow Parkinson’s disease

Individuals aged 65 years and over who have carotid stenosis or electrocardiography abnormalities face an elevated risk for subsequently being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, results of a 14-year longitudinal study show.

19 Jul 2012

DBS achieves stable motor improvements in Parkinson’s

Deep brain stimulation for patients with Parkinson’s disease achieves improvements in motor symptoms that are sustained over 3 years, report researchers.

19 Jul 2012

New AAN guideline recommends several treatments for people with Huntington's chorea

A new guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology recommends several treatments for people with Huntington's disease who experience chorea—jerky, random, uncontrollable movements that can make everyday activities challenging.

19 Jul 2012

Researchers verify role of alpha-synuclein aggregates in vivo

Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become "leaky," but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.

19 Jul 2012