Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

NSF awards WSU researcher CAREER grant to develop neural implants

Neural implants have the potential to treat disorders and diseases that typically require long-term treatment, such as blindness, deafness, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, implantable devices have been problematic in clinical applications because of bodily reactions that limit device functioning time.

4 Aug 2011

Vitamin C helps identify more aggressive or treatment resistant tumours

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have developed a new imaging technique that uses vitamin C to detect cancers likely to be more aggressive or resistant to treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society today.

4 Aug 2011

Accurate, non-invasive and inexpensive test can detect Alzheimer's

Scientists from Durin Technologies, Inc., and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Osteopathic Medicine have developed a blood test that uses human protein microarrays to detect the presence of specific antibodies in the blood that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease with unprecedented accuracy.

4 Aug 2011

Study finds HIV epidemics emerging in the Middle East and North Africa among gays

HIV epidemics are emerging in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa among men who have sex with men, a term that encompasses gay, non-gay identified homosexual men, and transgendered and bisexual men.

3 Aug 2011

Role of molecular imaging in diagnosis and clinical trials

Two new studies published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) provide insight into the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) to differentiate between types of dementia and to identify pharmaceuticals to slow the progress of dementia. With proposed National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer's Association guidelines for detecting Alzheimer's-related brain changes expected in September, these articles give a preview of what may be to come.

3 Aug 2011

Nursing homes to face Medicare pay cut

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized an 11 percent drop in nursing home payments, which will kick in next year.

2 Aug 2011

Smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes in middle age linked to brain damage

A new study suggests smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight in middle age may cause brain shrinkage and lead to cognitive problems up to a decade later.

2 Aug 2011

Nicotine protects against Parkinson's disease

If you've ever wondered if smoking offered society any benefit, a new research report published in The FASEB Journal offers a surprising answer. Nicotine protects us from Parkinson's disease, and the discovery of how nicotine does this may lead to entirely new types of treatments for the disease.

2 Aug 2011

Statins may help protect young people from future strokes

New research indicates cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins may help prevent future strokes among young people who have already had a stroke.

2 Aug 2011

Baxter institutes Baxter Ventures to invest $200M in promising early-stage therapies

Baxter International Inc. announced today that it has established Baxter Ventures to invest up to $200 million in equity in promising early-stage companies developing therapies that complement Baxter's existing portfolio.

From Baxter International Inc. 30 Jul 2011

New fluorescent tool can track mysterious workings of cellular RNAs

The ability to tag proteins with a green fluorescent light to watch how they behave inside cells so revolutionized the understanding of protein biology that it earned the scientific teams who developed the technique Nobel Prizes in 2008.

30 Jul 2011

Scientists examine relationship between REM sleep behaviour disorders, Parkinson's disease

Patients suffering REM sleep behaviour disorders dream nightmares in which they are attacked and pursued, with the particularity that they express them by screaming, crying, punching and kicking while sleeping.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers examine drug that has potential to stop Parkinson's progression

Researchers from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, Van Andel Research Institute and the Translational Genomics Research Institute are investigating a drug that has the potential to not only alleviate Parkinson's symptoms but also halt the disease's progression.

30 Jul 2011

Scientist discovers novel way to convert human skin cells into neurons

A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has discovered a novel way to convert human skin cells into brain cells, advancing medicine and human health by offering new hope for regenerative medicine and personalized drug discovery and development.

29 Jul 2011

Mitochondrial genome undergoes random reorganisation during reprogramming

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material.

28 Jul 2011

Researchers identify gene linked to Lesch-Nyhan disease

In humans, inherited mutations in a gene called HPRT1 lead to very specific self-destructive behavior. Boys with Lesch-Nyhan disease experience uncontrollable urges to bite their fingers, slam their arms into doorways and otherwise harm themselves.

28 Jul 2011

Cognitive behavioral therapy and self-help may improve unexplained symptoms of pain, fatigue

A new type of therapy may help people with symptoms such as pain, weakness, or dizziness that can't be explained by an underlying disease, according to a study published in the July 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jul 2011

U.S. Judge approves federal funding for embryonic research

Federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is now legal in the United States. Chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia Royce Lamberth has ruled on the case Sherley et al. v. Sebelius, in favor of hESC research. This overturns an existing law that prohibits the government from funding research that destroys the embryo.

27 Jul 2011

Safeguard Scientifics reports consolidated net income of $121.8M for second quarter 2011

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced results of operations for the second quarter of 2011.

27 Jul 2011

All football players do not get chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Preliminary results from the first four brains donated to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, TorontoWesternHospital, reveal that two of the four former Canadian Football League (CFL) players suffered from a brain disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), while two did not show signs of CTE.

27 Jul 2011