Parkinson’s Disease – Page 6

“Double life” of Parkinson’s protein points way to new treatments

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Nick Lavars

A discovery around the function of a key protein in Parkinson's disease has opened up new possibilities for treatment

At the heart of much research into Parkinson’s, both its causes and new forms of treatment, is a type of brain protein called alpha-synuclein. This is known to play an important role in the movement of vesicle structures that transport materials in and around cells, but new research has found it is in fact leading a “double life,” impacting on gene expression in a way that opens up new possibilities for treatment.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Brain, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MIT, Harvard

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“Fluorescent sensor paint” lights up key markers of Parkinson’s disease

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Nick Lavars

A new study has demonstrated how dopamine secretion could be monitored with novel sensors as a way of tracking Parkinson's disease

Addressing the shortage of dopamine that characterizes Parkinson’s disease is a key objective of treatments old and new, but monitoring levels of the neurotransmitter that result from these interventions can be a tricky undertaking. Scientists have developed a promising new tool for this task described as a “fluorescent nanosensor paint,” which glows brightly in the presence of dopamine to reveal its concentrations and spread in the brain.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Ruhr University Bochum, Brain

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First-of-a-kind blood test paves way for early Parkinson’s diagnosis

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Nick Lavars

A new test that focuses on biomarkers in blood serum has shown promise as a way of detecting Parkinson's

With no way of completely curing the condition, earlier diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease can have profound impacts on treatment options and a patient’s quality of life. Scientists are making inroads when it comes to picking up the tell-tale signs of the disease’s onset, and a new first-of-a-kind study has demonstrated how these might be revealed through an inexpensive blood test that has shown a high degree of accuracy in early trials.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Kobe University, Parkinson’s Disease, Blood

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Chest-buzzing CUE1 wearable may help reduce Parkinson’s symptoms

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Ben Coxworth

Among other things, people with Parkinson’s disease suffer from a slowness of movement and a stiffness of the muscles. A new wearable device may help alleviate those symptoms, by buzzing the user in the chest.

Category: Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle

Tags: Wearable, Parkinson’s Disease, Imperial College, Queen Mary University of London, Assistive Technologies

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Link between COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease risk grows with new findings

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Rich Haridy

Animal research found a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection increased susceptibility to a chemical used to model Parkinson's disease neurodegeneration

A few years after the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic doctors around the world began to notice an increase in new Parkinson’s disease cases. This link between viral infection and increased Parkinson’s risk has been an ongoing mystery to scientists for well over a century. And the association isn’t just limited to the H1N1 influenza virus behind the 1918 pandemic. A variety of other viral infections have been linked to increased Parkinson’s risk, from Japanese encephalitis to HIV.

Category: Science

Tags: Coronavirus (COVID-19), Parkinson’s Disease, Brain, Infections, Inflammatory, Thomas Jefferson University , New Atlas Audio

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Stem cell therapy set for human trials after reversing Parkinson’s in rats

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Nick Lavars

An innovative stem cell therapy has demonstrated the potential to replace lost neurons in Parkinson's disease

Stem cell therapies are showing huge promise in a lot of areas, but one application that has scientists particularly excited is in next-generation treatments for Parkinson’s disease. A team experimenting in this area has demonstrated how implanting carefully cultivated stem cells into rats can bring about remarkable recovery from motor symptoms typical of the disease, and are now setting their sights on upcoming human trials.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Arizona State University, Stem Cells

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Signature of brain cell death in Parkinson’s points to new treatments

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Nick Lavars

Dopamine-producing neurons can be seen in green within brain tissue samples from patients who died from Parkinson's disease

Scientists probing the biological underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease have made an important discovery, shedding new light on the demise of cells that drives neurodegeneration linked to the condition. The breakthrough helps explain why some neurons are susceptible to this form of cell death, and raises some new possibilities around how it might be prevented.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Parkinson, Broad Institute, New Atlas Audio

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Bacteria engineered to produce Parkinson’s disease drug in the gut

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Rich Haridy

Researchers have engineered a harmless strain of gut bacteria to produce a key drug used to treat Parkinson's disease patients

New research presented at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics annual meeting has demonstrated the potential for genetically engineered bacteria to be an effective Parkinson’s disease treatment. The researchers created a bacteria that can synthesize a consistent source of medicine inside a patient’s gut, and animal tests have demonstrated it is safe and effective.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Gut Bacteria, Bacteria, Parkinson’s Disease, Drugs, Drug delivery, Neurological, New Atlas Audio

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Enzyme blocker could open new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Michael Irving

A molecular model of the structure of SARM1 and its inhibitor

Researchers have uncovered how a certain molecular pathway triggers the breakdown of nerve fibers in neurodegenerative diseases – and more importantly, how to potentially switch it off. The find could lead to a new class of drugs that slows the progression of these debilitating disorders.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Neuroscience, Parkinson’s Disease, Nerves, Griffith University, New Atlas Audio

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Remote indigenous Amazon tribe has lowest dementia rates in the world

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Rich Haridy

An isolated tribe in the Bolivian Amazon was previously also found to have the healthiest arteries of any population ever studied

Researchers working with remote indigenous populations in the Bolivian Amazon have found the communities experience extraordinarily low rates of dementia. The new study follows on from prior findings reporting the same groups display almost no cases of age-related heart disease.

Category: Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle

Tags: Dementia, University of Southern California, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease

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