Parkinson’s Disease – Page 9

Diabetes drug found to slow, or in some cases prevent, Parkinson’s

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Rich Haridy

The diabetes drug exenatide is currently being investigated as a Parkinson's treatment in Phase 3 human trials

A large population-based cohort study, led by researchers from University College London, is suggesting some drugs used to treat diabetes may also prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Along with prior research, these new findings help validate an upcoming Phase 3 human clinical trial set to test one particular diabetes drug in Parkinson’s patients.

Category: Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle

Tags: Diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, Glucose, Drugs, Neurological, University College London

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Skin test for Parkinson’s shows high accuracy in early trial

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Nick Lavars

Researchers have demonstrated a method for diagnosing Parkinson's disease using skin samples

Diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease isn’t a straightforward undertaking, with physicians leaning on a combination of symptoms, clinical signs and examinations to reach their verdict. We are seeing some exciting research advances that could help reveal the condition in its earlier stages, perhaps even decades before symptoms appear, and scientists have now produced another by demonstrating how a skin biopsy can be used to identify the disease with a high degree of accuracy.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Iowa State University, Skin

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Real-time tracking of serotonin, dopamine opens new window to the brain

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Nick Lavars

A new way to track the activity of key chemicals in the brain has opened up exciting possibilities for the treatment of many neurological disorders

Dopamine and serotonin are brain chemicals implicated in a range of neurological disorders including Parkinson’s and depression, so understanding how they work could be key to the development of more effective treatments for these conditions. A new tool is offering an unprecedented look at these neurotransmitters in action, enabling scientists to monitor their real-time activity for the first time.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Brain, Parkinson’s Disease, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Depression, New Atlas Audio

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Promising “molecular tweezer” Parkinson’s therapy looks to human trials

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Rich Haridy

A novel therapy using molecular tweezers has proven safe and effective in animal models and researchers are now looking ahead to human trials

New research published in the journal Nature Communications reveals a novel drug, designed to break up the aggregations of toxic proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease, can effectively slow the disease in mouse models. The researchers are now looking at moving toward human trials.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Neuroscience, Brain, Dementia, University of Oxford, Protein, New Atlas Audio

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Transplants of stem-cell-grown neurons repair Parkinson’s damage in mice

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Michael Irving

Transplants of neurons grown from stem cells could help treat Parkinson's disease

Stem cells are a promising experimental treatment for a variety of diseases. Now researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that transplanting neurons grown from stem cells into the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease repaired the damaged brain circuits, improving the animals’ motor skills.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Neuroscience, Neurological, Stem Cells, UWM, Brain

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Spinal cord stimulation relieves chronic pain and symptoms of Parkinson’s

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Nick Lavars

Stimulation of the spinal cord offers a potential new pathway in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Using implants to electrically stimulate the spinal cord is a clinically approved way to treat chronic pain, and recently scientists have been exploring what these devices could mean for Parkinson’s patients. The authors of a new study have found that the technique can not only reduce pain in these subjects where other treatments have failed, but it also improved motor symptoms in almost three quarters of the patients tested.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, University of California, Spinal

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Experts warn COVID-19 may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Rich Haridy

The team of neuroscientists suggest there is evidence catching COVID-19 could increase one's risk of developing Parkinson's disease

A new article from a team of neuroscientists at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health is warning a future ‘silent wave’ of neurodegenerative disease may be spawned by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers suggest the SARS-CoV-2 virus can increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Category: Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Virus, Neurological, Disease, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

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NexStride uses laser light to help Parkinson’s patients walk

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Ben Coxworth

The NexStride system (mounted on left walking pole) provides users with a visual target to step over

In the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease, some people develop a condition known as “gait freeze,” in which they temporarily lose the ability to step forward while walking. The NexStride device is designed to help, though, by giving them a laser target for their feet.

Category: Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle

Tags: Walk, Parkinson’s Disease, Laser, Mobility Aid, New Atlas Audio

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Landmark study finds deep brain stimulation slows Parkinson’s progression

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Rich Haridy

If validated in larger studies, deep brain stimulation will become the first clinically proven therapy to slow Parkinson's disease progression

New data chronicling the long-term effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients has found the treatment significantly slows its progression. Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center suggest, if the results are validated in a large Phase 3 trial currently underway, DBS will become the first therapy clinically proven to slow the progression of this neurodegenerative disease.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Parkinson’s Disease, Neuroscience, Brain, Brain stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation, Vanderbilt University, New Atlas Audio

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Newly discovered type of dementia may account for 20 percent of cases

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Rich Haridy

Quadruple misfolded proteins, or QMP, refers to the presence of four separate kinds of toxic protein accumulations

A new study from the University of Kentucky has described a novel form of dementia characterized by the toxic accumulation of four different proteins in the brain. The research suggests many patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease may be suffering from this different, and more complex, neurodegenerative condition.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Neuroscience, Brain, Parkinson’s Disease, Protein, University of Kentucky, New Atlas Audio

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