Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

Doctors are trialling using a delivery port to transport protein to the brain This could reduce symptoms and slow down the disease's progression Hope the protein will restore the dying neurones that cause symptoms The doctors have already carried out a small safety study and are now looking for 36 people to take part in the next phase of trials By Emma Innes PUBLISHED: 08:33 EST, 9 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:32 EST, 9 October 2013 A pioneering procedure to halt the onset of Parkinson's disease using a sci-fi style 'brain port' has been developed by doctors. Image shows a brain with Parkinson's A pioneering procedure to halt the onset of Parkinson's disease using a sci-fi style 'brain port' has been developed by doctors. The innovative process sees a small, specially-designed, delivery port containing catheters and tubes placed into a specific part of brain. Protein is then regularly injected into the delivery system in an attempt to improve symptoms - such as stiffness, slowness of movement and tremor - and slow down the progression of the disease. The procedure, carried out at Frenchay Hospital, in Bristol, is currently in its research phase but doctors hope it could soon offer a … Continue reading →

IT looks like something from a sci-fi movie but the process of using a port in the brain to inject treatments is already a reality for some Parkinson's disease patients in Bristol. The pioneering procedure being carried out at Frenchay Hospital is currently in its research phase but doctors hope it could offer a reliable treatment for people with the disease. Now the team behind the trial is looking for 36 people with Parkinson's to take part in the next phase to see just what an impact it can have on reducing the symptoms and potentially halting the disease. Parkinson's develops when a lack of the chemical dopamine causes nerve cells within the brain to die. Previous research including work carried out at Frenchay suggests that a protein called glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), delivered directly into the brain using a port behind the ear, could actually halt or slow down the progression of Parkinson's and improve the symptoms, which include stiffness, slowness of movement and tremor. Patients who sign up to the trial will have surgery to install the delivery system and the port in the brain, through which either the protein infusion or a placebo will be … Continue reading →

In the 15 years since Tom Heil was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the list of things he couldn't do anymore seemed to get longer every day. Some were big, like give a speech at work or sing with a choir. Others were smaller, more everyday tasks, like put on a shirt, send an email, dial a cellphone or finish a meal without spilling something on his tie. "It was hard to speak and put sentences together," Heil says. "If I had to write anything, forget about it." Heil's worsening symptoms began to threaten every corner of his life, from his sales and marketing career to family travels and his involvement in community theater. In July, Heil, 53, tried a different treatment tactic, a surgical procedure called deep brain stimulation. The dramatic results have Heil, of Lancaster city, making another, far more positive list. This one includes all the things he can do again, and it's growing every day. "It's been miraculous," says Heil, whose hand tremors have stopped. "Anyone will tell you I used to shake like a leaf." The search for answers and relief Heil was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease at age 38. In hindsight, Heil, who then … Continue reading →

IT looks like something from a sci-fi movie but the process of using a port in the brain to inject treatments is already a reality for some Parkinson's disease patients in Bristol. The pioneering procedure being carried out at Frenchay Hospital is currently in its research phase but doctors hope it could offer a reliable treatment for people with the disease. Now the team behind the trial is looking for 36 people with Parkinson's to take part in the next phase to see just what an impact it can have on reducing the symptoms and potentially halting the disease. Parkinson's develops when a lack of the chemical dopamine causes nerve cells within the brain to die. Previous research including work carried out at Frenchay suggests that a protein called glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), delivered directly into the brain using a port behind the ear, could actually halt or slow down the progression of Parkinson's and improve the symptoms, which include stiffness, slowness of movement and tremor. Patients who sign up to the trial will have surgery to install the delivery system and the port in the brain, through which either the protein infusion or a placebo will be … Continue reading →

IT looks like something from a sci-fi movie but the process of using a port in the brain to inject treatments is already a reality for some Parkinson's disease patients in Bristol. The pioneering procedure being carried out at Frenchay Hospital is currently in its research phase but doctors hope it could offer a reliable treatment for people with the disease. Now the team behind the trial is looking for 36 people with Parkinson's to take part in the next phase to see just what an impact it can have on reducing the symptoms and potentially halting the disease. Parkinson's develops when a lack of the chemical dopamine causes nerve cells within the brain to die. Previous research including work carried out at Frenchay suggests that a protein called glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), delivered directly into the brain using a port behind the ear, could actually halt or slow down the progression of Parkinson's and improve the symptoms, which include stiffness, slowness of movement and tremor. Patients who sign up to the trial will have surgery to install the delivery system and the port in the brain, through which either the protein infusion or a placebo will be … Continue reading →

By Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Depressed people -- particularly those 65 or older or with hard-to-treat depression -- are more than three times as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as their peers without depression, a new study indicates. The new findings don't imply that depression causes Parkinson's disease. Instead, they suggest that depression may precede Parkinson's in some cases, said study author Dr. Albert Yang, an attending psychiatrist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, in Taiwan. The researchers looked at information from a national Taiwan health insurance database. During a decade of follow-up, 1.43 percent of about 4,600 people with depression were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. By contrast, only 0.52 percent of more than 18,500 people with no history of depression were diagnosed with Parkinson's. After accounting for age and sex, people with depression were 3.24 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease, according to the study published in the Oct. 2 online issue of Neurology. "Depression is an important risk for Parkinson's disease, but mainly for [the] elderly and those with long-term and difficult-to-treat depression," said Yang, who is also a visiting assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Our study does not implicate all … Continue reading →

CottageCountryNow.ca TORONTO - Canadian researchers are taking a novel approach in trying to find an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease and it involves taking advantage of small holes drilled in the skull for another therapeutic procedure. During surgery to implant electrodes into the brains of Parkinson's patients an increasingly common procedure known as deep brain stimulation, or DBS doctors at Western University have been removing a tiny scoop of brain cells from selected patients, then growing them in the lab. The hope is that regenerative cells contained in the biopsied tissue could one day be reprogrammed as therapeutic agents and reimplanted into a patient's own brain to treat Parkinson's or other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. "With further advances, it's possible that these cells could be transformed in the laboratory to yield specific cell types needed for a particular disease, for example, dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease," said neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew Hebb. In Parkinson's disease, brain cells that secrete the chemical dopamine are progressively destroyed, leading to tremors and other movement-related symptoms. In a recently published study of 19 Parkinson's patients who had brain biopsies during DBS surgery, the researchers say they were able to grow millions of … Continue reading →

Depression is known to raise the risk of a host of diseases including cancer and stroke, but although it is known to be more common among Parkinson's patients than the general population, it remains unclear whether it is a cause or a symptom. Researchers from Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan examined the medical records of 4,634 people who suffered from clinically diagnosed depression, and 18,544 who did not, over a ten-year period. They found that 66 people with depression, or 1.42 per cent, went on to be diagnosed with Parkinson's during the next decade compared with 97 of those without depression, or 0.52 per cent. After other factors such as age were taken into account, patients with depression were found to be 3.24 times more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's than those without. Even when researchers excluded the records of patients who were diagnosed with Parkinson's shortly after their depression diagnosis, the link was still apparent suggesting that depression raises the risk of Parkinson's over the long term. Greater age and having a form of depression which does not respond well to treatment both independently raised the risk of a Parkinson's diagnosis, the scientists added. Dr Albert Yang, … Continue reading →

TORONTO - Canadian researchers are taking a novel approach in trying to find an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease and it involves taking advantage of small holes drilled in the skull for another therapeutic procedure. During surgery to implant electrodes into the brains of Parkinson's patients an increasingly common procedure known as deep brain stimulation, or DBS doctors at Western University have been removing a tiny scoop of brain cells from selected patients, then growing them in the lab. The hope is that regenerative cells contained in the biopsied tissue could one day be reprogrammed as therapeutic agents and reimplanted into a patient's own brain to treat Parkinson's or other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. "With further advances, it's possible that these cells could be transformed in the laboratory to yield specific cell types needed for a particular disease, for example, dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease," said neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew Hebb. In Parkinson's disease, brain cells that secrete the chemical dopamine are progressively destroyed, leading to tremors and other movement-related symptoms. In a recently published study of 19 Parkinson's patients who had brain biopsies during DBS surgery, the researchers say they were able to grow millions of patient-specific … Continue reading →

The debilitating disorder Parkinson's disease may be more likely to occur in depressed individuals. Researchers in Taiwan tracked more than 22,000 adults for 10 years, and found those who had depression were more than three times more likely to develop Parkinson's than those who were not depressed. "Depression is linked in other studies to illnesses such as cancer and stroke," Dr. Albert C. Yang, a psychiatrist with the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, said in a statement. "Our study suggests that depression may also be an independent risk factor for Parkinson's disease." Parkinson's disease is caused by the loss of a brain chemical called dopamine, which is responsible for muscle and motor control and other essential functions. Symptoms of the disease include tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement, posture problems and troubles with balance and coordination. The disease is degenerative, meaning it gets worse over time. Tremors may eventually interfere with daily activities like walking, talking or eating, leading to permanent disability. Risk factors for Parkinson's include older age, heredity, and being exposed to toxins like pesticides, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is more common in men than in women. Depression and Parkinson's disease have well-established links. Up … Continue reading →