Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

Jan. 10, 2013 Oxidative stress is a primary villain in a host of diseases that range from cancer and heart failure to Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Now, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that blocking the interaction of a critical enzyme may counteract the destruction of neurons associated with these neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting a potential new target for drug development. These findings appear in the January 11, 2013 edition of The Journal of Biological Chemistry. During periods of cellular stress, such as exposure to UV radiation, the number of highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules can increase in cells, resulting in serious damage. However, relatively little is known about the role played in this process by a number of stress-related enzymes. In the new study, the TSRI team led by Professor Philip LoGrasso focused on an enzyme known as c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK). Under stress, JNK migrates to the mitochondria, the part of the cell that generates chemical energy and is involved in cell growth and death. That migration, coupled with JNK activation, is associated with a number of serious health issues, including mitochondrial dysfunction, which has long been known to contribute … Continue reading →

Jan. 10, 2013 New research suggests that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a way to diagnose Parkinson's disease. The study was released January 10 and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013. "There is currently no diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease," said study author Charles Adler, MD, PhD, with the Mayo Clinic Arizona and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "We have previously shown in autopsies of Parkinson's patients that the abnormal proteins associated with Parkinson's are consistently found in the submandibular salivary glands, under the lower jaw, and this is the first study demonstrating the value of testing a portion of the saliva gland to diagnose a living person for Parkinson's disease. Making a diagnosis in living patients is a big step forward in our effort to understand and better treat patients." The study involved 15 people with an average age of 68 who had Parkinson's disease for an average of 12 years, responded to Parkinson's medication and did not have known salivary gland disorders. Biopsies were taken of two different salivary glands: the gland under the lower jaw … Continue reading →

Public release date: 10-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jim Mcveigh mcveigh.jim@mayo.edu 480-301-4368 Mayo Clinic PHOENIX Described as a "big step forward" for research and treatment of Parkinson's disease, new research from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Banner Sun Health Research Institute suggests that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a way to diagnose the disease. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego in March. "There is currently no diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease," says study author Charles Adler, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist with Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "We have previously shown in autopsies of Parkinson's patients that the abnormal proteins associated with Parkinson's are consistently found in the submandibular saliva glands, found under the lower jaw. This is the first study demonstrating the value of testing a portion of the saliva gland to diagnose a living person with Parkinson's disease. Making a diagnosis in living patients is a big step forward in our effort to understand and better treat patients." The study involved 15 people with an average age of 68 who had Parkinson's disease for an average of 12 … Continue reading →

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on January 9, 2013 For decades, researchers have found that some individuals with Parkinsons disease struggle with impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Now, new research determines the impulse problems come not from Parkinsons disease itself, but as a side effect of medications used to control it. The new research is published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Weve known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinsons medications, but we havent known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors, said study author Daniel Weintraub, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;Psychology / Psychiatry Article Date: 09 Jan 2013 - 12:00 PST Current ratings for: Parkinson's Impulse Disorders May Be Drug-Related The researchers, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, write about their findings in the 8 January issue of the journal Neurology. Although it does not prove it, the study adds weight to the idea that dopamine-targeting drugs cause Parkinson's patients' to experience problems with impulse control. Lead author Daniel Weintraub, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Perelman, says in a statement released on Monday: "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease." Impulse control disorders are more serious than occasionally not being able to resist that last piece of cake, or sometimes breaking a resolution not to buy any more shoes this year. The inability to control impulses becomes a disorder when the consequences cause harm to self or others. Examples include but are not limited to, addictions to gambling, sex, … Continue reading →

Jan. 8, 2013 -- Parkinsons disease itself doesnt seem to raise a persons risk for compulsive addictions to things like gambling, shopping, or sex, a new study shows. Compulsive behaviors affect about 14% of Parkinsons patients treated with drugs such asdopamine agonists to ease symptoms like tremors, stiffness, and slowness. In severe cases, the new addictions that people develop on the drugs can be devastating -- leading to ruined finances and relationships -- and theyve generated a raft of lawsuits against drug manufacturers. In November, a French man won a high-profile case against the company that sells Requip, which he said turned him into a sex and gambling addict. In 2008, a Minneapolis man won a case involving gambling addiction against the maker of Mirapex. As a result, dopamine agonists now carry warnings about compulsive behaviors on their labels. A missing piece to the story was whether just Parkinsons disease itself has any effect or plays any role on the risk of having these problems without the drugs, says researcher Daniel Weintraub, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. In the largest such study to date, Weintraub and his team set out to … Continue reading →

Steroids could be used to treat a debilitating disease that affects thousands in Wales today. Researchers at a university in Wales have highlighted the controversial substances positive side after discovering two steroid type molecules that could treat Parkinsons disease. Professor William J Griffiths and Dr Yuqin Wang at Swansea Universitys Institute of Mass Spectrometry, both experts in identifying biomolecules, believe the find could lead to some of Parkinsons effects being reversed using regenerative medicine. The cruel disease has affected boxing legend Muhammad Ali and actor Bob Hoskins, who last year announced he was ending his career because of Parkinsons. The brain condition, with symptoms including tremors, mood changes, movement difficulties, loss of smell and speech problems, affects almost 130,000 people in the UK. Later, cognitive and behavioural problems may arise as the disease takes hold, with dementia commonly occurring in its advanced stages. Parkinsons motor symptoms result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the mid-brain. The two Swansea researchers working with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, have now identified two steroid-type molecules that play an important role in the survival and production of nerve cells in the mid-brain. The discovery has been … Continue reading →

Untreated Parkinson's Disease Patients No More Likely to Have Impulse Control Disorders Penn Study Suggests Dopamine Treatments May Play Role in Increasing Impulsivity Newswise PHILADELPHIA - While approximately one in five Parkinson's disease patients experience impulse control disorder symptoms, the disease itself does not increase the risk of gambling, shopping, or other impulsivity symptoms, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A new study is the first to show in a large sample that people with untreated Parkinson's were no more likely to have an increased impulsivity than people without the disease. Published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, this study is the strongest research to date reinforcing the reported association between disease medications and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's. "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease," said lead study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Now knowing … Continue reading →

Public release date: 7-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology MINNEAPOLIS Parkinson's disease itself does not increase the risk of impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping that have been seen in people taking certain drugs for Parkinson's disease, according to new research published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "We've known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinson's medications, but we haven't known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors," said study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal directed activity, … Continue reading →

Newswise MINNEAPOLIS Parkinsons disease itself does not increase the risk of impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping that have been seen in people taking certain drugs for Parkinsons disease, according to new research published in the January 8, 2013, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Weve known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinsons medications, but we havent known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors, said study author Daniel Weintraub, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal directed activity, such as continual handling and sorting of common objects) and hobbyism (the compulsive pursuit of a hobby such … Continue reading →