Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) may stop uncontrollable shaking in patients with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor by imposing its own rhythm on the brain, according to two studies published recently by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in the journal Movement Disorders. An article addressing brain stimulation for essential tremor was published online August 28; a related article on Parkinson's disease was released May 30. DBS uses an electrode implanted beneath the skin to deliver electrical pulses into the brain more than 100 times per second. Although this technology was approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 15 years ago, it remains unclear how it reduces tremor and other symptoms of movement disorders. With the help of electroencephalography or EEG -- electrodes placed on the scalp -- study authors used new techniques to suppress the electrical signal associated with the DBS electrode. That enabled the first clear, non-invasive EEG measurements of the underlying brain response during clinically effective, high-frequency brain stimulation in humans. The results show that nerves in the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, fire with rapid and precise timing in response to individual stimulus pulses. This suggests that DBS may … Continue reading →

FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- A sense of doom enveloped Jayne Godfrey when doctors diagnosed her in 2007 with early onset Parkinsons disease at 39. "It was depressing," said the Spanish Fort mother of two, paralegal and recreational runner. "Doctors told me, You have a progressive neurological disease for which there is no cure. I kept thinking, Could this be a wrong diagnosis? Where was the hope?" A persistent tremor and increasingly frequent falls while jogging brought Godfrey to neurologists in Fairhope and in Jacksonville, Fla. at the Mayo Clinic. "My life was unraveling and I had to do something about it," Godfrey said. The diagnosis confirmed her worst fears. "It was so absolutely devastating for both of us," Godfreys mother, Mary Robbins of Daphne, said. "You are told there is no hope. It is a death sentence." But during an Internet search for information about the chronic, progressive movement disorder, Godfrey happened upon to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research. It was a beacon in an otherwise bleak landscape, connecting Godfrey to others in the Parkinsons community and illuminating her with knowledge and hope. Established in 2001 by actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinsons, the foundations mission is … Continue reading →

By MICHELLE MERLIN Register Citizen mmerlin@registercitizen.com LITCHFIELD For two hours every month, Goshen resident Rosellen Waiveris doesnt feel the need to hide the tremor in her hands. Ms. Waiveris has Parkinson's, a disease in which the brain decreases dopamine levels, producing a tremor in the extremities. The degenerative disease progresses over time and can result in loss of mobility, speech and memory. But Ms. Waiveris, whose only symptom of the disease is a tremor in her hand, has found camaraderie in the Torrington Area Parkinsons Support Group (TAPSG). The group, which meets on the last Saturday of each month at the Sullivan Senior Center, offers Parkinsons patients and their caretakers the chance of having a comfortable network in which they can discuss their lives, the latest treatments and the difficulty of handling the disease. So many of the people with Parkinsons felt alone, said one of the groups founders, Carol Pathe. They didnt feel they had anyone who would really understand. TAPSG is hosting a fund-raising walk on Sunday, Sept. 16, at White Memorial in Litchfield. Registration begins at noon, and the 0.6 to 1.7 mile walk starts at 1 p.m. People interested in registering for the walk or donating … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2012) Scientists at the University of Houston (UH) have discovered what may possibly be a key ingredient in the fight against Parkinson's disease. Affecting more than 500,000 people in the U.S., Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system marked by a loss of certain nerve cells in the brain, causing a lack of dopamine. These dopamine-producing neurons are in a section of the midbrain that regulates body control and movement. In a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers from the UH Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling (CNRCS) demonstrated that the nuclear receptor liver X receptor beta (LXRbeta) may play a role in the prevention and treatment of this progressive neurodegenerative disease. "LXRbeta performs an important function in the development of the central nervous system, and our work indicates that the presence of LXRbeta promotes the survival of dopaminergic neurons, which are the main source of dopamine in the central nervous system," said CNRCS director and professor Jan-ke Gustafsson, whose lab discovered LXRbeta in 1995. "The receptor continues to show promise as a potential therapeutic target for this disease, as well as other neurological … Continue reading →

By Jason Napodano, CFA Parkinson's Disease Parkinsons disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that results from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra region of the midbrain. PD is also characterized by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein into inclusions called Lewy bodies in neurons. The cause of PD is generally idiopathic, although some atypical cases have a genetic origin. The disease is named after the English doctor James Parkinson, who published the first detailed description in An Essay on the Shaking Palsy in 1817. PD patients often exhibit marked reduction in motor control and an increase in parkinsonism (tremors, hypokinesia, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability). However, as the disease progresses, patients often exhibit non-motor symptoms that include autonomic dysfunction, neuropsychiatric problems (mood, cognition, behavior or thought alterations, psychosis), and sensory and sleep difficulties. Parkinsons disease psychosis (PDP) is common in nearly 50% of PD patients a decade after initial diagnosis. Anxiety and depression are common co-morbidities. Initial signs of PD include shaking, loss of smell, difficulty writing, trouble sleeping, constipation, and poor posture. Diagnosis of a typical case is mainly based on symptoms, with tests such as neuroimaging used for confirmation. There is no cure … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2012) People with Parkinson's disease performed markedly better on a test of working memory after a night's sleep, and sleep disorders can interfere with that benefit, researchers have shown. While the classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremors and slow movements, Parkinson's can also affect someone's memory, including "working memory." Working memory is defined as the ability to temporarily store and manipulate information, rather than simply repeat it. The use of working memory is important in planning, problem solving and independent living. The findings underline the importance of addressing sleep disorders in the care of patients with Parkinson's, and indicate that working memory capacity in patients with Parkinson's potentially can be improved with training. The results also have implications for the biology of sleep and memory. The results were published this week in the journal Brain. "It was known already that sleep is beneficial for memory, but here, we've been able to analyze what aspects of sleep are required for the improvements in working memory performance," says postdoctoral fellow Michael Scullin, who is the first author of the paper. The senior author is Donald Bliwise, professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. The performance boost … Continue reading →

TIRAT CARMEL, Israel, August 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InSightec Ltd, the global leader in MR guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS), announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the use of its ExAblate Neuro system for the treatment of patients with tremor dominant Parkinson's Disease. Thirty patients who suffer from medication-resistant tremor of Parkinson's Disease will be treated in a randomized control trial and followed up for one year. ExAblate Neuro, pioneered by InSightec, combines high intensity focused ultrasound for deep accurate lesioning of the brain, with continuous real-time MR guidance for visualizing brain anatomy, planning and monitoring treatment and outcome. The lesioning is performed through an intact skull with no incisions or ionizing radiation. The trial will be sponsored in collaboration with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation of Charlottesville, Virginia. The Foundation has established a brain program to define and help implement a comprehensive R&D roadmap for brain applications with MRgFUS. Lead investigator is Dr. Jeff Elias, MD, Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. Dr. Elias was recently the principal investigator of a Phase … Continue reading →

Philadelphia, PA The Penn Medicine Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Pennsylvania Hospital recently received a gift of one million dollars from Jeff and Anne Keefer of West Chester, PA. "The Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders Center (PD&MDC) is a leader in clinical research and the treatment of Parkinson's disease, said Mr. Keefer, a patient of the Center. I have received excellent care at the Center and both my wife Anne and I gave this gift because we want to see an acceleration of research to find disease modifying therapies and hopefully, eventually, a cure. We want to help the Center continue to make a difference in research and patients lives." The PD&MDC was established in 1982 at The Graduate Hospital (now Penn Medicine Rittenhouse at 18th and Lombard Streets) by Howard I. Hurtig, MD, chief of Neurology at Pennsylvania Hospital, co-director of the PD&MDC, and Elliott Professor of Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Matthew B. Stern, MD, director of the PD&MDC and the Parker Family Professor of Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine. Together Doctors Hurtig and Stern wanted to provide comprehensive care to patients with Parkinsons disease and … Continue reading →

>>> in health news tonight we're going to talk about the 40,000 people diagnosed with parkinson 's disease every year in this country. a growing number of them are young, under age 50. more these days are turning to surgery to help keep their disease and symptoms at bay. tonight our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has one remarkable success story. >> reporter: angela is a mother of four and a life-long runner. she used to start her days with a five- mile run , but lately her parkinson 's disease has made that and so much more impossible. >> i have little kids and they like to run around the yard. i would like to be able to keep up with them. >> reporter: angela is one of the estimated million americans living with parkinson 's disease a growing number under the age of 50. it is a degenerative disease which means it gets worse with time. >> that's me seven years ago just with one side. now it's switching over to both. >> reporter: she is off her medications because she has decided to try brain surgery to help her manage her disease and the surgery must … Continue reading →

By Janet Podolak JPodolak@News-Herald.com @jpodolakatwork Maribeth Joeright/MJoeright@News-Herald.com Patrick Chirdon of Mentor has earned a year of study in Switzerland as a Fulbright Scholar. One day Patrick Chirdon's name may be linked with a cure for Parkinson's disease, which today affects about 3 percent of the older population. The Mentor man, who recently graduated with honors from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, is off to Switzerland next month as a Fulbright Scholar to continue research he began in Northeast Ohio. Chirdon found evidence that a thyrotropin-releasing hormone, called TRH, protects brain cells in a way that could make it an effective treatment against Parkinson's disease. But it's the mice in Switzerland, not its storied scenery, that has excited Chirdon the most. The laboratory where he'll work is the Brain Mind Institute at the Ecole Polytechinque Federale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) the only one in the world to develop a laboratory rat with a gene specific to his area of study. "Their rat model is the only one to have the specific gene mutation (LRRK2) that's recognized as the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that drugs based on … Continue reading →