Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

First UK study to look at dance effects on people with Parkinson's

A study that will look at the types of dance that may alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease will be carried out by University of Hertfordshire researchers next month and needs volunteers.

10 May 2011

biocrea and Pfizer jointly presented details on novel PDE10 inhibitors

biocrea, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), today reported details on the design and synthesis of novel, brain-penetrating phosphodiesterase-10 (PDE10) inhibitors developed in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). The data were featured in joint presentations1 with Pfizer at the recent 241st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, an event organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

10 May 2011

Teen drinkers spend more time on computers frequenting social networking sites

Teenagers who drink alcohol spend more time on their computers for recreational use, including social networking and downloading and listening to music, compared with their peers who don't drink.

10 May 2011

Teen alcohol consumption associated with computer use

Teenagers who drink alcohol spend more time on their computers for recreational use, including social networking and downloading and listening to music, compared with their peers who don't drink.

9 May 2011

Heptares, Shire sign deal to develop novel A2A antagonist for CNS disease treatment

Heptares Therapeutics today announced it has signed an exclusive option agreement with Shire Pharmaceuticals for a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares and currently in preclinical development.

9 May 2011

New international project to create more mutant genes, address shortage of Cre resources

Local scientists are now part of an International team compiling an enormous bank of resources for research into the functions of all known genes. The development of these biological resources will eventually allow scientists to know how the human genome behaves in health and disease.

9 May 2011

Novel neurotransmitter could fight against neurological diseases

A team of scientists has discovered that D-aspartic acid is a novel neurotransmitter that could potentially be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

6 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

UCSF scientists elected as members of National Academy of Sciences for excellence in biomedical research

Alexander D. Johnson, PhD, and Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, have been elected as members of the National Academy of Sciences for their excellence in original scientific research. It is one of the highest honors bestowed on a scientist or engineer in the United States.

5 May 2011

Invention of optogenetics sheds light on how brain works

Commenting on Edward Boyden's article, Ben Barres, Head of the Neuronal & Glial Cell Biology Section of Faculty of 1000 and Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine said: "There will probably be a Nobel prize for optogenetics someday as it has revolutionized our attempts to understand how the brain works. This article provides a fascinating insight into the birth of optogenetics and the roles of the major players."

4 May 2011

Obesity during middle age may increase risk of developing dementia

According to a new study, being overweight or obese during middle age may increase the risk of certain dementias.

3 May 2011

Scientists identify biochemical abnormality behind Machado-Joseph disease

Scientists in Portugal have identified a biochemical abnormality behind the potentially fatal neurodegenerative Machado-Joseph disease and using several models of the disease were able to reverse the problem in what can be a crucial step towards a cure for humans .

2 May 2011

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to present research studies at 2011 ATC

Available for expert commentary on the latest research findings presented at the 2011 American Transplant Congress in Philadelphia, April 30 to May 4, is Dr. Sandip Kapur, chief of transplant surgery and director of kidney and pancreas transplant programs at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a leading authority on transplantation.

30 Apr 2011

Expert to present latest transplant research findings at ATC 2011

30 Apr 2011

ETP makes investment to support development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology

Epilepsy Therapy Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate new therapies for people living with epilepsy and seizures, and ICVrx, LLC, a pharmacy product research and development company focused on novel therapies for central nervous system disorders, announced today that ETP has made an investment in ICVrx to support the development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology for patients whose seizures are not controlled by current therapies.

30 Apr 2011

New PET imaging clinical trial to improve early esophageal, lung cancer detection

Can a simple imaging test help predict the success of cancer treatment, even before the treatment is complete? To begin to answer this question, a new National Cancer Institute-funded clinical trial is using a novel PET imaging technique that could improve the early detection of tumor growth during treatment for esophageal and lung cancer.

29 Apr 2011

Simple blood test can diagnose early Parkinson's disease

In Parkinson's disease, the human body generates antibodies to combat the amyloid-producing protein alpha synuclein early in the course of the disease. A simple blood test that measures these antibodies can facilitate early diagnosis of the disorder, writes Ludmilla Morozova-Roche and her associates at Umeå University in Sweden in the latest issue of the journal PLoS One.

28 Apr 2011

Cotinine can reduce plaques linked with dementia and prevent memory loss

Cotinine, a compound derived from tobacco, reduced plaques associated with dementia and prevented memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, a study led by researchers at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and the University of South Florida found.

28 Apr 2011

Proteostasis acquires Harvard University's two novel protein target licenses

Proteostasis Therapeutics announced today that it has acquired two exclusive licenses from Harvard University to technologies for enhancing the activity of a key cellular protein clearance mechanism, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

27 Apr 2011

Biologists determine molecular structure of GluN2D receptor subunit

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells.

27 Apr 2011