Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

Xadago (safinamide) is now available in the U.S. as an add-on treatment for patients with Parkinsons disease currently taking levodopa/carbidopa to control their off episodes, according to an announcement from Newron PharmaceuticalsandUS WordMeds. Xadago is the first medication approved in more than 10 years by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manage motor deficits in Parkinsons patients. Off periods are marked by an increase in disease symptoms, such as tremor and difficulties in walking, when a drugs effects are wearing off or arent working well. The approval of Xadagooffers an important new treatment option for the Parkinsons community, Stuart Isaacson, MD, director of the Boca Raton Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, said in a news release. Xadago is the first New Chemical Entity approved for the treatment of [Parkinsons disease]-related motor fluctuations in the U.S. in over a decade. In clinical trials, patients on once-daily Xadago demonstrated significant improvement in on time without troublesome dyskinesia. The approval of Xadago was supported by positive results obtained in clinical trials with more than 1,100 patients. These studies demonstrated that patients on levodopa treated with Xadago experienced significant increases in on time (when the drug works properly and symptoms are reduced) without … Continue reading →

Every week, they gather together. Some move through their exercises with relative ease, while others struggle with each movement. Regardless of their capabilities, each person offers the others encouragement, applauding success and commiserating the challenges as they face the diagnosis that unites them all Parkinson's Disease. This weekly gathering is the Moving Big & Loud class just one of the treatment options available at the Outpatient Neurological Rehab Center of Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital for those living with Parkinson's. Sometimes the class has a handful of participants, sometimes there are nearly two dozen. But they always meet with the same goal: To ease their journey with Parkinson's through physical activity and emotional support. "The feeling of being in a group of people who understand what you are going through and support you unconditionally is invaluable," explained class instructor and SNMH physical therapist Maggie Edwards. "Parkinson's can be an isolating and lonely condition. This group is one step toward counteracting that." Parkinson's is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning symptoms continue and worsen over time. While symptoms can vary from person to person, common effects of the disease include tremors of the hands, arm, legs, jaws and face, … Continue reading →

According to recent study, advancements in materials from this study could potentially help patients requiring stem cell therapies for spinal cord injuries, stroke, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, arthritic joints or any other condition requiring tissue regeneration. Earlier research revolved around the role of autoimmunity in terms of a treatment. Its important in the context of cell therapies for people to cure these diseases or regenerate tissues that are no longer functional, shared Samuel I. Stupp, director of Northwesterns Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology and Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. Cells in our bodies are constantly being signalled with many types of instructions coming from proteins and other molecules present in the matrices that surround them. For example, these can be cues for cells to express specific genes so they can proliferate or differentiate into several types of cells leading to growth or regeneration of tissues. One of the marvels of this signalling machinery is the built-in capacity in living organisms to make signals stop and restart as needed, or to switch off one signal and activate a different one to orchestrate very complex processes. The new technology manipulates cells by converting … Continue reading →

Study will evaluate first-in class treatment in six European countries Prexton Therapeutics (Prexton), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic compounds for the treatment of Central Nervous System (CNS) conditions, recently announces the launch of phase II clinical testing of its investigational drug candidate, Foliglurax, in Parkinsons disease (PD). The clinical study will evaluate 165 patients in sites across six European countries (UK, Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Italy), starting in July 2017. The study is double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled parallel-arm phase II in subjects who are experiencing the two major issues associated with PD, namely the wearing-off of Levodopa and Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia (LID). The trial will assess the safety and tolerability of Foliglurax and the change from baseline to end of treatment period in the daily awake off-time. Current PD treatments primarily aim to replace dopamine or to mimic its effects. This approach only provides initial symptomatic relief, but loses efficacy as the disease progresses. Foliglurax works by stimulating a novel compensatory neuronal system that activates a specific glutamatergic system target (mGluR4) that is unaffected by PD. The aim is to treat the motor symptoms of PD, such as resting tremor, muscle rigidity ('off-time') and uncontrolled movements ('Dyskinesia'). A phase I … Continue reading →

You may not have heard of it but R.E.M. sleep disorder is most common in men who also have Parkinsons disease, or Lewy body dementia. When most of us sleep, our bodies enter a state of muscle paralysis. People with R.E.M. sleep behavior disorder lose that, and are capable of acting out physical activity in their dreams, which can be violent. Orvis Rig Rigsby and his wife Karen loved theater and travel. Karen Rigsby He was a theater professor and I was a theater person, so for me it was reallythere was an immediate connection and we had a similar sense of humor and it was just a lot of fun," says Karen Rigsby. But just a few years ago, Rig started showing signs of dementia. He had an incident where he got very disoriented and lost in our backyard and thats when we started looking for help from a neurologist, says Karen. At first, Doctor Ira Goodman thought Rig had Alzheimers disease. And actually, I initially referred him for a clinical trial for Alzheimers disease but right before he entered I changed my mind, explains Dr. Goodman, who specializes in neurology. Instead, Doctor Goodman diagnosed Rig with Lewy body … Continue reading →

PrextonTherapeutics has launched a Phase II trial to test whether its drug foliglurax can treat the motor complications of standard levodopa therapy. The Phase II trial will enroll 165 patients across the UK, Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Italy to monitor the effects of Prextonsfoliglurax. The company is looking for patients that have been treated with standard levodopa therapy and are experiencing loss of efficacy and dyskinesia, i.e. uncontrolled movements. The trial, funded through Prextons 29M Series B this February, will compare the amount oftime during the day when the medication wears off and symptoms get worse. Traditional approaches like the administration of levodopa target dopaminergic neurons, whose activity is affected by Parkinsons. However, as the disease progresses the treatment wears off and motor complications appear. In order to circumvent these issues, Prextons foliglurax activates mGluR4 receptors in the glutamatergic neuronal system, which is not affected by PD and can compensate for the loss of function of the dopaminergic system. If successful, PrextonTherapeutics will have to compete in the Parkinsons market with Newron, whose drug Xadago wasapprovedearlier this year as the first drug for Parkinsonsin 11 years; as well as the Promethera and Roche team, which announced last week a … Continue reading →

ADS-5102 (amantadine) is a Parkinsons disease treatment developed byAdamas Pharmaceuticals. The company created the drug to reduce the dyskinesia, or involuntary movements, caused by another Parkinsons treatment,levodopa. ADS-5102 is also aimed at reducing the time during the day when Parkinsons symptoms return between doses of medication. U.S. regulators have yet to approve the therapy, which is in the clinical-trial stage. The active component in ADS-5102 is amantadine hydrochloride. Amantadine is a glutamate antagonist, or molecule that inhibits the action of the neurotransmitter glutamate. Neurotransmitters send signals between brain cells. One of the biological processes that glutamate plays a role in is movement. It passes signals from the brain to muscles by interacting with NMDA receptors on the outside of cells. Continuous use of levodopa over a long period can lead to an increase in glutamate signaling,disrupting motor control messages. The result is a Parkinsons patient experiencing involuntary movements. ADS-5102 blocks glutamates access to the NMDA receptors. This reduces the level of signaling and therefore the level of involuntary movement. Adamas formulated the drug for extended release, which means that its levels in the blood increase over time. By administering the treatment before bedtime, the levels gradually increase to their highest … Continue reading →

July 6, 2017 by Dov Smith Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in humans, after Alzheimer's disease. It is typically characterized by changes in motor control such as tremors and shaking, but can also include non-motor symptoms, from the cognitive to the behavioral. An estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease, with medication costing approximately $2,500 a year, and therapeutic surgery costing up to $100,000 dollars, per patient. Making an accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's, particularly in early stages and mild cases, is difficult, and there are currently no standard diagnostic tests other than clinical information provided by the patient and the findings of a neurological exam. One of the best hopes for improving diagnosis is to develop a reliable test for identifying a biomarker, i.e. a substance whose presence would indicate the presence of the disease. Now, Suaad Abd-Elhadi, a PhD student at the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC) in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Medicine, has developed the lipid ELISA. This novel diagnostic tool could lead to earlier … Continue reading →

As a nurse manager at a local nursing facility and a Millersville University nursing student, I want to express the importance of the introduction of medical marijuana as a treatment option for people suffering with Parkinsons disease. With the recent granting of 12 medical marijuana permits in Pennsylvania, the possibility of using this alternative therapy may be approaching. A handful of states already approved medical marijuana as a complimentary therapy in the treatment of Parkinsons. Parkinsons disease is a disorder of the brain that causes tremors and stiffness in muscles. This is a progressive disease for which there is no cure. Many of my patients have Parkinsons and suffer with tremors, pain and contracted muscles. They are unable to care for themselves or communicate. For my patients, there are very few treatment options, and much of my time is spent managing their symptoms. Many medications now approved for the treatment of Parkinsons only help to improve some of the symptoms and do not slow progression of the disease at all. A study done in Colorado in 2014 concluded that more than 70 percent of participants using medical marijuana to treat Parkinsons disease reported an improvement in their symptoms. There are … Continue reading →

Im excited to offer this speech therapy to our patients, Davis said. LSVT LOUD helps individuals with Parkinsons disease speak with better volume and more clarity. It also helps improve facial expression and swallowing. Lake Regional Speech-Language Pathologist Laura Davis, CCC-SLP, has received certification from LSVT LOUD, a speech treatment for people with Parkinsons disease and other neurological conditions. In addition to exercises, the treatment includes sensory awareness training to help individuals with Parkinsons disease recognize that their voice is too soft. Im excited to offer this speech therapy to our patients, Davis said. LSVT LOUD helps individuals with Parkinsons disease speak with better volume and more clarity. It also helps improve facial expression and swallowing. LSVT LOUD improves vocal loudness by exercising the muscles involved in speech, including those of the voice box (larynx). Focused on a single goal Speak LOUD! the treatment improves respiratory, voice box and articulatory function to maximize speech clarity. The treatment does not train people for shouting or yelling. Rather, LSVT LOUD uses loudness training to bring the voice to an improved, healthy vocal loudness with no strain. An important part of treatment is convincing patients that the louder volume is within normal limits, … Continue reading →