Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD - News), a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments that address unmet medical needs in neurological and related central nervous system disorders, today announced that it will host a live webcast of its Educational Program on Parkinsons Disease Psychosis to be held with analysts and investors in New York City on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Eastern Time. The program will be hosted by ACADIA and consist of presentations by two leading clinicians in the field of Parkinsons disease psychosis. The speakers will provide a physicians perspective of Parkinsons disease psychosis and an overview of the current treatment landscape. A live webcast of the event will be accessible on the companys website, http://www.acadia-pharm.com, under the investors section, and an archived recording will be available on the website through June 5, 2012. About Parkinsons Disease Psychosis (PDP) According to the National Parkinsons Foundation, about one million people in the United States and from four to six million people worldwide suffer from Parkinsons disease. Parkinsons disease psychosis, or PDP, is a debilitating disorder that develops in up to 60 percent of patients with Parkinsons disease. Currently, there is no … Continue reading →

Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the brain, but it may be possible to diagnose it at an early stage by examining the bowel, researchers said Tuesday. As new drugs to treatParkinson's are developed, they noted, earlier diagnosis should make it possible to intervene at an earlier stage when the disorder is more susceptible to drugs, thereby prolonging quality of life and lifespan. Parkinson'sis a common neurological disorder that is associated with aging. It is characterized by tremors or shaking, and difficulties with walking, movement and coordination. There is no cure, and it ultimately proves fatal. An estimated 0.4% of people in industrialized countries have it, with the proportion rising above 1% in people over 60 and 4% in those over age 80. The disorder affects almost 5 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to double by 2030. The disorder is characterized by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein in brain cells, killing the cells. The definitive diagnosis is provided at autopsy, when the brain can be examined to search for the protein. In living patients, however, the disease is diagnosed by the appearance of symptoms, and some estimates are that as many as 20% of patients … Continue reading →

When he was 25, Roy Roden experienced the first sign: insomnia. Over the next 25 years, he displayed a range of other symptoms: difficulty holding a spoon, shaking of his hands, memory problems and an unexplained twitch. But it was only in 2009, after visiting many doctors, that Roden was finally diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. In a way it was a relief putting a label, putting a name on my disorder, said Roden, 54, who lives in North Miami Beach and works part-time as a fitness consultant. But in another way it was a shock, and I didnt know where to go from here. Roden chose to be proactive, taking medication, participating in clinical research programs and urging others to join clinical trials. I am doing what I am supposed to be doing to retard the disease and I remain optimistic, he said. I have a wonderful wife and family and wonderful doctors and a wonderful support system with friends and colleagues. Each year, about 50,000-60,000 new cases of Parkinsons are diagnosed, with an average age at diagnosis of 62, according to the National Parkinson Foundation, based in Miami since 1957. A progressive, neurodegenerative brain disorder, Parkinsons is the second … Continue reading →

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (AMBS.OB), a biotechnology company developing the MANF Program for Parkinson's Disease and other brain disorders, today released a letter from President & CEO Gerald E. Commissiong to its shareholders: OUR MISSION Healing Patients For those among us who operate in this volatile, uncertain and challenging field of development-stage biotechnology, it is critical that healing patients always remains the top priority in each challenge we face. From the moment I took the helm as Chief Executive of Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. ("Amarantus", "Company", "we", or "us"), healing patients with Parkinson's disease has been front and center of my mission. In order to successfully translate the remarkable scientific advances our researchers and collaborators are making in the lab into F.D.A approved products improving lives throughout the world, we must also take into consideration another key stakeholder that supports the development and commercialization of new products in the healthcare system - the shareholder. Over the course of the last fifteen years, the many different companies that have brought revolutionary life-saving treatments to market for oncology patients worldwide, together, have definitively established that improvements in the understanding of molecular biology in the lab can lead … Continue reading →

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 3, 2012 Parkinsons disease is an insidious disorder affecting movement and cognition for over one million Americans. New research has identified a method that stops and even prevents the progression of Parkinsons in mice and holds out hope for a preventative therapy. Parkinsons is defined by a gradual loss of nerve cells of neurons that produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is essential for normal function of muscles and other body organs. Researchers have learned that changes in a gene known as DJ-1 also leads to an accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and results in the onset of Parkinsons symptoms at a young age. Although people naturally lose dopamine-producing neurons as part of the aging process, Parkinsons patients experience a rapid loss of these neurons from the onset of the disease, leading to much more drastic deficiencies in dopamine than the average person. The ability to modify the activity of DJ-1 could change the progress of the disease, said Dr. Nirit Lev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University. Working in collaboration with Profs. Dani Offen and Eldad Melamed, she has now developed a peptide which … Continue reading →

Public release date: 2-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University Parkinson's disease, a disorder which affects movement and cognition, affects over a million Americans, including actor Michael J. Fox, who first brought it to the attention of many TV-watching Americans. It's characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age. The ability to modify the activity of DJ-1 could change the progress of the disease, says Dr. Nirit Lev, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and a movement disorders specialist at Rabin Medical Center. Working in collaboration with Profs. Dani Offen and Eldad Melamed, Dr. Lev has now developed a peptide which mimics DJ-1's normal function, thereby protecting dopamine- producing neurons. What's more, the peptide can be easily delivered by daily injections or absorbed into the skin through an adhesive patch. Based on a short protein derived from DJ-1 itself, the peptide has been shown to freeze neurodegeneration in its tracks, reducing problems with mobility and leading to … Continue reading →

NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rainbow BioSciences, LLC, the biotech subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (OTCBB: RBCC.OB - News), announced today that its current joint venture target, Amarantus BioSciences, Inc., has achieved positive results in a pre-clinical experiment demonstrating the potential of its new Parkinsons disease therapy currently in development. Amarantus is the developer of MANF, a first-in-class, disease-modifying therapeutic protein that addresses an underlying form of cell death known as apoptosis. The experiments conducted last year were funded by a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the results showed that MANF significantly reduces the behavioral deficits caused by the neurotoxin 6-OHDA in a standard animal model of Parkinsons disease. These results are even more significant because they showed that MANF compares favorably with a competing disease-modifying treatment called GDNF; a protein Amgen previously spent over $200M developing now entering Phase 2 clinical trials at Medgenesis Therapeutix. MANF has a mechanism of action that could have an impact on a larger population of Parkinsons patients than GDNF. Moreover, the amount of money that will be required for MANFs development will be significantly less than has been spent on GDNF to date. This is primarily because Amarantus has been able to … Continue reading →

Parkinson's is a degenerative, neurological disorder that predominately affects movement. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, between 50,000 and 60,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's every year. Parkinson's, also known as PD, is named after English doctor James Parkinson, who published the first description of the brain disease in an essay in 1817. Causes The exact cause of the disease is unknown and PD is a very heterogeneous disease. "Although symptoms may be similar in different individuals, there may be important differences in the underlying cause of the disorder," said neurologist and Ohio State professor Sandra Kostyk. Parkinson's can be caused by genetics, outside factors (such as head injury or pesticide exposure) and, most often, a mixture of both. Men have a greater chance of contracting the disease than women. Parkinson's is the result of cell loss in a few areas of the brain, especially the substantia nigra, which is responsible for the production of dopamine, which transmits signals within the brain that coordinate movement. Dopamine loss causes neurons to fire haphazardly, decreasing the control one has over his or her movements. Symptoms The cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's are the most evident to an observer. They include resting tremor (when … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Article Date: 28 Apr 2012 - 6:00 PDT email to a friend printer friendly opinions Current Article Ratings: In the EU, Neupro (rotigotine) is approved for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of early-stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease as a monotherapy, i.e. without levodopa, or in combination with levodopa over the course of the disease until the late stages, when the effect of levodopa wears off or becomes inconsistent and fluctuations of the therapeutic effect occur (end of dose or on-off fluctuations). It is also approved in the EU for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe idiopathic Restless Legs Syndrome in adults. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, chronic neurodegenerative disease that affects about 1 in every 500 people. In the UK, 127,000 people suffer from PD, which is mainly characterized by problems with 'motor symptoms', of which the most predominant one is body tremor. Over 90% of people with Parkinson's disease suffer from NMS or non-motor symptoms like sleep disturbance, mood disorders, pain and gastro-intestinal problems, which are a major cause of disability, but because they are either embarrassed or unaware that the symptoms are associated with Parkinsons, they often fail to … Continue reading →

22-04-2012 15:49 This piece first broadcast on 13 Apr 2012. Televised on UK's satellite television Sky News. Read the original: New treatment for Parkinson's - Video … Continue reading →