Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

New Delhi, Dec. 8 -- Once considered as a very effective remedy to beat stress and manage painful joint pains, acupuncture has today found wide acceptance as a treatment to manage chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and joint pains caused by arthritis and sinusitis. It is also used to manage the side effects of cancer therapy and Parkinson's disease, improve impaired vision, and even bring people out of paralysis and coma. "It is being increasingly used as an analgesic for painless childbirth and to smooth out wrinkles in place of Botox, where it is proving to be a safe option with efficient results," said Delhi-based practitioner Raman Kapur, who heads the department of acupuncture, Ganga Ram Hospital. It has also shown results in children suffering from attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and other learning disabilities. "It is completely safe provided it is conducted by an experienced practitioner," said Kapur, who organised a two-day international conference and workshop to showcase new treatment trends in acupuncture to doctors, acupuncturists and physicians from across India. Inserting needles into the body sounds painful, but Kapur assures there is a painless procedure as well. "For people who are apprehensive of needles, we have laser … Continue reading →

Linus Bike promotes the findings of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute after a study using cycling as treatment showed neurological improvement in victims of Parkinsons Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) December 06, 2012 According to Medical News Today, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute had announced at the Radiological Society of North America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago their findings on the study. Jay L. Alberts, co-researcher Chintan Shah, and other colleagues from the Cleveland Clinic, according to Medical News Today, used functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) to investigate the effect of exercise on 26 patients aged from 30 to 75 with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease. They found increases in task-related connectivity between the primary motor cortex and the posterior region of the brain's thalamus, and conclude that faster pedaling rate was the key factor in these improvements, which were still present at follow-up. Some of the results were similar to patterns of activation during deep brain stimulation of Parkinson's patients, which is a costly and invasive treatment for late stage disease, reported Medical News Today. China Reevers, representative of Linus Bike, offered support for the study and hopes that further research will lead to a … Continue reading →

TEL AVIV, Israel, December 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Elbit Imaging Ltd. ("EI" or the "Company") (TASE, NASDAQ: EMITF) announced today that on December 3, 2012, Elbit Medical Technologies Ltd. ("Elbit Medical") (TASE:EMTC-M) (in which the Company holds approximately 90%), announced that InSightec Ltd. ("InSightec") (in which Elbit Medical holds approximately 64%, and 52.15% on a fully diluted basis) has been awarded the European CE mark for its transcranial focused ultrasound system, ExAblate Neuro, with respect to the treatment of neurological disorders in the brain, including essential tremor, Parkinson's disease and neuropathic pain. Treatment options for patients suffering from neurological disorders, who do not respond to drug treatments include deep brain stimulation, radiofrequency ablation and radiosurgery, which are invasive or involve ionizing radiation and are associated with recognized radiation risks and high risk of complications and side effects. As opposed to the above, InSightec elaborated, ExAblate Neuro offers a non-invasive treatment with no ionizing radiation by treating tissue deep in the brain through an intact skull. MR guided Focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) combines therapeutic acoustic ultrasound waves with continuous MRI guidance. The MRI enables physicians to visualize, plan, guide, monitor and control the treatment, while the ultrasound acoustic energy destroys the targeted … Continue reading →

ExAblate treatment is indicated for use for essential tremor, tremor dominant Parkinson's disease and neuropathic pain TIRAT CARMEL, Israel, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InSightec Ltd. announced that its transcranial focused ultrasound system, ExAblate Neuro, has been awarded the European CE mark for the treatment of neurological disorders in the brain including essential tremor, Parkinson's disease and neuropathic pain. Millions of people suffer from neurological disorders which cause significant disability and negatively affect their quality of life and that of their caretakers. Treatment options for patients who do not respond to drug treatments include deep brain stimulation, radiofrequency ablation and radiosurgery which are invasive or involve ionizing radiation and are associated with recognized risks: high doses of ionizing radiation or high risk of complications and side effects including infection, bleeding and collateral brain tissue damage. Visit: http://www.insightec.com/ExAblate-Neuro-CE.html "ExAblate offers great potential for treating brain disorders. Because of its targeting accuracy, real time treatment monitoring and ability to provide non- invasive brain treatment, there is hope that many people who suffer from neurological diseases can benefit from this treatment." said Dr. Kobi Vortman, President of InSightec. "Results from the clinical studies showed that patients, many of whom who suffered for years … Continue reading →

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on December 3, 2012 For those suffering from Parkinsons disease, depression can bemore of a burden than the physical symptoms of the disease, according to early findings of the largest study conducted on the illness. Its not because theyre sad they have the disease, which they may very well be, but this depression is related to underlying changes in the brain, and for many, it will occur before diagnosis of Parkinsons, said Dr. Laura Marsh, director of mental health services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston. The more aggressively it is treated, the better the outcome, she said. Theres a real problem with under- recognition and under-treatment. The disease affects about 1 million people in the USA and 5 million worldwide, and is characterized by tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement and speech difficulties. There is no cure. Nearly everyone thinks of the disease as a mobility disorder, but the number one problem turns out to be depression, said Joyce Oberdorf, president of the National Parkinson Foundation, an advocacy group. For the study, which began three years ago, researchers set out to determine which treatments allow some … Continue reading →

NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As Rainbow Coral Corp. (RBCC) nears a new joint venture agreement to commercialize advances made by Amarantus BioSciences (AMBS), the companys latest target continues to seek out additional investment capital from high-profile investors. Amarantus Chief Science Officer John W. Commissiong recently presented his organizations brilliant MANF therapeutic protein for Parkinsons disease at the Scientific Session of CNS Summit 2012 in Boca Raton. The CNS Summit brings together researchers, developers and investors to collaborate in bringing new treatments to patients suffering from brain disorders. The high-profile event put Amarantus proprietary, anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein in the spotlight in front of researchers and investors from around the world. We continue to be very impressed with Amarantus outreach efforts toward potential investors and clients alike, said RBCC CEO Patrick Brown. We look forward to wrapping up our joint venture agreement shortly, and then our first priority will be moving their groundbreaking therapeutics forward toward full commercialization. Both companies forswear realizing revenues from the impending commercialization of Amarantus NuroPro, a sophisticated test developed to more accurately and easily diagnose Parkinsons disease. By cutting the typical timeline from years to only one year, RBCC and its shareholders believe they will see larger profits … Continue reading →

Parkinson's, Dementia & Mental Health Promising Drug Slows Down Advance of Parkinson's Disease and Improves Symptoms GM1 ganglioside slowed progression of disease in patients over at least a 2-year period; once the participants went off drug, their disease worsened Nov. 30, 2012 - Treating Parkinson's disease patients with the experimental drug GM1 ganglioside improved symptoms and slowed their progression during a two and a half-year trial, Thomas Jefferson University researchers report in a new study published online November 28 in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences. Although the precise mechanisms of action of this drug are still unclear, the drug may protect patients' dopamine-producing neurons from dying and at least partially restore their function, thereby increasing levels of dopamine, the key neurochemical missing in the brain of Parkinson's patients. The research team, led by senior author Jay S. Schneider, Ph.D., Director of the Parkinson's Disease Research Unit and Professor in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Department of Neurology at Jefferson, found that administration of GM1 ganglioside, a substance naturally enriched in the brain that may be diminished in Parkinson's disease brains, acted as a "neuroprotective" and a "neurorestorative" agent to improve symptoms and over an … Continue reading →

By Kathleen Doheny WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Nov. 28, 2012 -- For many people with Parkinson's disease, depression affects quality of life more than the symptoms such as shaking, according to new research. "At least 50% of people with Parkinson's have depression," says Michael S. Okun, MD, national medical director of the National Parkinson Foundation and professor of neurology at the Center for Movement Disorders at the University of Florida, Gainesville. That was a main finding of the Parkinson's Outcomes Project, a report released today by the National Parkinson Foundation. "The big news is how large of a role depression plays in Parkinson's disease, how under-diagnosed and under-treated it is," says Joyce Oberdorf, CEO and president of the foundation. The impact of depression on the health of people with Parkinson's is nearly twice that of movement problems, the researchers found. About 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 4 million worldwide have the disease. It is marked by tremors and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Beginning in 2009, the researchers evaluated the care of more than 5,500 patients, ages 25 to 95. They went to 20 Centers of Excellence in the U.S., Canada, … Continue reading →

Time for discussion on role of "purpose-driven" spiritual depression treatments alongside physiological ones, says faith-based website, followme.org. (PRWEB) November 29, 2012 That statement came today as the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF) released new findings that depression appears in over 60 percent of Parkinson's patients, according to a USA Today report from Wednesday. "Nearly everyone thinks of the disease as a mobility disorder but the No. 1 problem turns out to be depression," Joyce Oberdorf, the president of the NPF, told USA Today. Parkinson's affects 1 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide. Its primary indicators are tremors, slow movement, difficulties speaking, and stiffness. The ongoing NPF study, the Parkinson's Outcome Project, is the largest ever undertaken on Parkinson's, according to USA Today. The project involves 20 research centers in four countries and considers the results of over 5,500 patients, ranging from ages 25 to 95. The results are based on annual health surveys that Parkinson's patients completed, according to a WebMD report from Wednesday. According to the NPF, 61 percent of Parkinson's patients reported suffering from depression, with 18 percent of patients wrestling from major disorders, USA Today reported. Why is depression so common among Parkinson's patients? "It's not because … Continue reading →

Featured Article Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness;MRI / PET / Ultrasound Article Date: 27 Nov 2012 - 0:00 PST Current ratings for: Fast Cycling Benefits Parkinson's Patients 1 (2 votes) 2.5 (2 votes) Results of the study were revealed on Monday at the Radiological Society of North America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago. Most cases occur after the age of 50, and as the disease progresses, cognitive and behavioral problems such as dementia, may also develop. In a statement, in which he describes the finding as "serendipitous", Alberts recalls: "I was pedaling faster than her, which forced her to pedal faster. She had improvements in her upper extremity function, so we started to look at the possible mechanism behind this improved function." fcMRI measures changes in blood oxygen in the brain, which enables researchers to look at how active different brain regions are and how well they connect with each other, explains Shah. The researchers randomly assigned the patients to one of two groups. One group (13 patients) cycled at their own voluntary pace, while the other group cycled at a forced rate. Originally posted here: Fast Cycling Benefits Parkinson's Patients … Continue reading →