Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

March 23, 2017 06:31 ET | Source: Herantis Pharma Oyj multilang-release Herantis Pharma's clinical study with CDNF in Parkinson's disease authorized in Sweden Herantis Pharma Plc Company release 23 March 2017 at 12:30 pm The Medicines Agency of Sweden, MPA, has authorized Herantis Pharma Plc's ("Herantis") first-in-human clinical study of the company's investigational product CDNF for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Patient recruitment in the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1-2 clinical study is planned to begin in Sweden in the first half of 2017. "CDNF is a novel neurotrophic and neuroprotective factor, which affects several mechanisms relevant to Parkinson's disease", explainsSigrid Booms, Herantis' Director, Clinical Development. "Based on preclinical data CDNF holds a great promise for a significant improvement over currently available treatments. We are really excited to proceed to this first clinical study." "Parkinson's disease is a tremendous financial burden to societies in addition to the human suffering", saysPekka Simula, CEO of Herantis. "Known drugs only alleviate motor symptoms until further disease progression. Our ambition is to slow down, stop, hopefully even reverse the progression of the disease. CDNF is a promising novel drug candidate, which works via several relevant biological mechanisms that also clearly differentiate it from conventional neurotrophic … Continue reading →

Researchers help map future of precision medicine in Parkinson's ... Science Daily A new transformative approach to defining, studying and treating Parkinson's disease has been revealed by investigators. Rather than approaching Parkinson's ... and more » Excerpt from: Researchers help map future of precision medicine in Parkinson's ... - Science Daily … Continue reading →

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given a green light to a new drug, Xadago (safinamide), as a supplemental treatment of Parkinson's disease. The agency says the drug may be prescribed for patients who are now taking the drug levodopa/carbidopa and experiencing "off" episodes. An "off" episode is a case where a patient's medication is not working well, meaning the patient is more likely to suffer Parkinson's symptoms, such as tremor and difficulty walking. Parkinson's is a progressive disorder affecting the nervous system, which means it reduces a patient's ability to control movement. According to the Mayo Clinic, it develops gradually, often starting with a barely noticeable tremor. It can also cause stiffness and slowed movement. Early stages of the disease may affect facial expressions and result in slurred speech. Because it's a progressive disease, symptoms will worsen over time. "Parkinson's is a relentless disease without a cure," said Dr. Eric Bastings, deputy director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "We are committed to helping make additional treatments for Parkinson's disease available to patients." The FDA says Xadago was shown to be effective in treating Parkinson's in a clinical trial … Continue reading →

On to the Next Level A drug that has already been approved to treat leukemia is now closer to being approved for use against the debilitating brain diseases, parkinsons and alzheimers. There are more than 5 million people currently living with Alzheimers disease in the US and another million living with parkinsons. This drug has the potential to change the lives of not just these millions of sufferers, but also their countless friends and family who suffer along with them. Currently, there are no approved drugs to slow or halt the progression of the diseases. These patients typically take medications and treatments to address the specific symptoms of their disease, which have their own deleterious side-effects. However, in a previous study, the drug known as nilotinib, significantly increased brain dopamine (the chemical lost as a result of neuronal destruction) and reduced toxic proteins linked to disease progression. It was such a small trial, there was no placebo control and it really wasnt designed to assess efficacy, says J. Paul Taylor, chair of the cell and molecular biology department at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. But, researchers are remaining prudent. To further test and prove the efficacy of this drug, twin … Continue reading →

With literally hundreds of biotech and pharmaceutical stocks to choose from, most investors either buy the well-known names (Johnson & Johnson, Gilead, Merck) or an index (IBB, VHT). However, for the investor willing to go the extra mile, a little bit of digging often results in the discovery of diamonds in the rough. Two such potential gems in today's market are small cap biotech firms Adamas Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ADMS) and Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FOLD) Adamas Pharmaceuticals is a small-cap pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics targeting disorders of the central nervous system. Their lead product in development is ADS-5102, a product being studied for Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia (LID) associated with Parkinson's disease. In December 2015 and April 2016, Adamas released positive data from two separate phase 3 studies of ADS-5102 for thetreatment of LID. Image source: Getty Images. Parkinson's disease is a life-threatening neurodegenerative illness characterized by a progressive decrease in patient motor functions. The disease impacts an estimated 1 million Americans. While the combination treatment of oral levodopa (LD) and carbidopa (CD) is considered the "gold-standard" in Parkinson's treatment, there are several shortcomings with this current method of care.Due to the nature of its oral administration, oral LD/CD … Continue reading →

Sleep disturbance is one of the lesser-known but one of the most common symptoms in Parkinsons disease. Using light therapy shows promise in alleviating this, without the accompanying side-effects that medications bring. Most of us are aware of the obvious manifestations of Parkinsons disease (PD); we readily identify and associate the tremors or the slurring of speech as symptoms of Parkinsons. However, what is less known is that up to ninety percent of people who live with Parkinsons also suffer from sleep disorders. Patients with Parkinsons have no trouble going to sleep; however, something triggers them to awaken, or that keeps waking them up, disrupting their sleep cycle. Among the identified causes are the involuntary movements that continue even while sleeping which then jerk them awake; other patients on dopamine medication (the standard drug for PD) report experiencing recurring vivid nightmares that understandably makes patients uncomfortable about sleeping. Like those suffering from sleep disturbances, this leads to daytime somnolence or sleepiness in the morning and afternoons. We all know how bothersomeand potentially dangerouslack of sleep can be; impaired awareness and function increases the possibility of accidents when driving vehicles, or operating heavy machinery. When a person is afflicted with Parkinsons, … Continue reading →

A colored magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain of a 76-year-old patient with dementia shows the brain has atrophied and the dark brown fluid-filled spaces have become enlarged. Zephyr/Science Source hide caption A colored magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain of a 76-year-old patient with dementia shows the brain has atrophied and the dark brown fluid-filled spaces have become enlarged. Scientists are hoping that a single drug can treat two devastating brain diseases: Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The drug is nilotinib, which is approved to treat a form of leukemia. In late 2015, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center found that small doses of the drug appeared to help a handful of people with Parkinson's disease and a related form of dementia. They'd tried the unlikely treatment because they knew nilotinib triggered cells to get rid of faulty components including the ones associated with several brain diseases. Results of that preliminary study generated a lot of excitement because there is currently no treatment that can slow or halt the brain damage caused by either Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. "Our phones were basically (ringing) off the hook," says Fernando Pagan, medical director of the translational neurotherapeutics program at Georgetown. … Continue reading →

Bowel cancer medication could help combat early-onset Parkinson's disease Science Daily People with certain forms of early-onset Parkinson's disease could potentially benefit from taking a medication used to treat certain forms of cancer, according to new research by University of Leicester scientists and funded by the Medical Research ... View post: Bowel cancer medication could help combat early-onset Parkinson's disease - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Inhibikase Therapeutics said today it has been awarded a $433,000 research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research (MJFF) toward pre-IND studies of the companys novel Abelson tyrosine kinase (c-Abl) inhibitors as a potential Parkinsons disease (PD) treatment. Inhibikase has discovered and developed a series of c-Abl inhibitors using its proprietary Re-engineering Approach with Metabolism Preserved (RAMP) technology engine, and said it has validated their activity in preclinical animal models for multiple therapeutic indications in the brain. The company evaluated its RAMP molecules in preclinical animal models of PD. Results from those models showed that the molecules are capable of blocking the progressive death of dopamine-producing neurons that drives the disease, according to Inhibikase. The grant will support studies of the activity and pharmacology of the RAMP molecules in a newly defined mouse model designed to recapitulate many of the hallmarks of the progressive disease process in humans. The company said RAMP molecules that pass these tests will be positioned to advance into clinical testing. The research will supplement two recently launched clinical proof-of-principle studies designed to evaluate commercial anticancer c-Abl inhibitors as potential bridging therapies in PD until the companys RAMP molecules reach clinical testing in … Continue reading →

Idaho Statesman Research shows that cannabis has therapeutic value Idaho Statesman Parkinson's Disease. NA found there is insufficient evidence that cannabis is effective in treatment of Parkinson's. However, Babayeva et al in the journal Parkinson Disease found that compounds in cannabis may yet prove effective . Dementia/Alzheimer's. and more » See the rest here: Research shows that cannabis has therapeutic value - Idaho Statesman … Continue reading →