Category Archives: Parkinson’s Treatment

Hunterdon Healthcares Physical and Occupational Therapy is now offering Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Big (LSVT Big) therapy to help patients with Parkinson Disease and other with neurological disorders. Parkinson disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects a persons movement. People with Parkinsons disease move more slowly, they tend to take tiny steps, write smaller and may stand up and freeze in place. The goal of LSVT Big is to retrain a patients brain with a repetitive exercise program that helps the patient make their movements larger. A patient may do thousands of exercises to help improve trunk rotation and balance, increase speed, and have a better quality of life, explained Amerigo Abonitalla, Senior Physical Therapist at Hunterdon Healthcares Physical Therapy located at the Hunterdon Health and Wellness Center in Whitehouse Station. Abonitalla added, The Physical Therapist will tailor the program to the individual. If we have a patient that wants to get back to their game of golf, we will work on breaking down the steps to help them get back in the game or the patient may need help with basic life skills such as brushing their teeth so the patient can maintain his or … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 15-Jul-2014 Contact: Meng Zhao eic@nrren.org 86-138-049-98773 Neural Regeneration Research There is an increasing interest in Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment by increasing dopamine content and reducing dopaminergic metabolites in the brain. Xuming Yang, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China and his team detected dopamine content and dopaminergic metabolites in the midbrain of PD rats, which were treated by neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation and Zhichan decoction administration, using high-performance liquid chromatography, and determined global optimization of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid levels using genetic algorithm. Results showed that NSC transplantation and Zhichan decoction administration increased dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels up to 10-fold, while NSC transplantation alone resulted in a 3-fold increment. Homovanillic acid levels showed no apparent change. These findings indicate that after NSC transplantation in PD rats, Zhichan decoction can promote differentiation of NSCs into dopaminergic neurons. Related results were published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 9, 2014). ### Article: " Zhichan decoction induces differentiation of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease rats after neural stem cell transplantation," by Huifen Shi1, Jie Song2, Xuming Yang3 (1 Department of Neurology, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2 Department of Encephalopathy, Liu'an Hospital of … Continue reading →

People taking dopamine for Parkinson's disease sometimes begin to generate a lot of artwork. New research differentiates their expressiveness from obsessive or impulsive tendencies. Neurologist Rivka Inzelberg recently noticed that her patients with Parkinsons disease seemed to be authoring more novels than older people tend to author. Looking closer, poems and paintings also seemed to be pouring out of afflicted patients, in a relative sensespecifically those treated with a synthetic dopamine-precursor pill, levodopa (L-DOPA). So Inzelberg, a professor at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, asked around. She wasnt the only one in her field to have noticed as much. She examined the correlation in a comprehensive 2013 review study, which found creative thinking in medicated Parkinsons patients to be higher than in their unaffected peers. This week she published new research that breaks down the relationship in the journalAnnals of Neurology, and whether the observed creativitywhich she defines as a combination of originality, flexibility, and inclination to combine novel and practical ideasmight be due to obsessive tendencies. Because the medication can cause a loss of impulse controllet's say, obsessive painting, obsessive hobby-ismwe wanted to check if there was a correlation between creativity measures and impulsivity and compulsivity measures, … Continue reading →

Liam Butler interviews Ann Andrews QSM author of Positively Parkinsons 15 July 2014 Positively Parkinson's Symptoms & Diagnosis, Research & Treatment, Advice & Support $35 plus $5 postage and handling pp 176 http://www.calicopublishing.co.nz/book/positively-parkinsons Question one. Ann you live with Parkinson's and have written an insightful guide written in a confident and warm manner. How do you suggest people learn the most from their visits to their Doctors? If you have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's you have probably been to see a neurologist. From this time on you will have two doctors in your life, the neurologist and your GP. Your GP will be the one you mostly see, you will only see your neurologist once or twice a year. Regardless of which doctor you visit about your Parkinson's I suggest you go well prepared. Take a friend or partner if that helps, their job is to take notes for you. Prior to the visit write down the questions you need answering, all the things that worry you, no matter how trivial they might sound. This written copy of the visit means you can be certain you've asked everything you wanted to. Should you be introduced to a drug programme … Continue reading →

Ian Thorpe reportedly reveals he is gay I'm not straight. And so Ian Thorpe came out to Australia on prime time TV - telling us something we thought we knew anyway, even if his own mother hadn't before he told her. But the whole point of the Sunday night interview with the iconic Michael Parkinson wasn't so much just for Thorpey to say a simple yes or no. It was for one of the nation's greatest ever athletes, most successful Olympic gold medallist and most gossiped-over public figures to tell, on his terms, why now, why so long, and why it matters. That first hurdle cleared - or first lap done - Thorpe was more relaxed and finding his stride. I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man and I don't want young people to feel the same way that I did, he told his interviewer, Parkinson. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay. Earlier this year, Thorpe was admitted to a rehab facility to allow him to receive treatment for his depression. He broke 22 world records in his whirlwind swimming career, winning five gold, three silver and one bronze medal at the Olympic … Continue reading →

July 12, 2014, 11:47 p.m. After years of dismissing speculation about his sexuality, Ian Thorpe has revealed he is gay. Thorpe made the admission in a tell-all interview with Sir Michael Parkinson, News Corp reports. The interview, which will air on Sunday night on Channel Ten, has been described by Sir Michael as one he had wanted to do for a long time. Ian Thorpe has always been near the top of my list to interview. The reasons are obvious. Not many athletes can claim to be the best of all time. Ian can." Earlier this year, Thorpe was admitted to a rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for his ongoing battle with depression. Before he retired for the first time at the age of 24, Thorpe broke 22 world records and won five gold and three silver medals and one bronze medal at the Olympic Games. But despite his success in the pool, Thorpe's career has been plagued with persistent rumours about his sexuality. Sir Michael Parkinson and Ian Thorpe shooting the tell-all interview. Photo: Supplied In his 2012 autobiography,This is Me, Thorpe revealed confronted the speculation head-on: ''For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences … Continue reading →

The tools to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease might one day come from the kitchen cabinet instead of the medicine cabinet, according to a new study. Long lauded for its antimicrobial properties, cinnamon might soon be called into service to help Parkinson's patients. Michael Franco/CNET Parkinson's disease, a neurological condition that causes body tremors and mobility troubles, affects an estimated 7-10 million people worldwide. While there is much research being done to create drugs that combat the illness, researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center might have found a much simpler way to combat it. Cinnamon. In a recent paper released in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, the scientists reported that when they gave the spice to lab mice, it was metabolized into sodium benzoate. The study found that this compound, which is often used as a food preservative, then enters the brains of the rodents and "stops the loss of Parkin and DJ-1, protects neurons, normalizes neurotransmitter levels, and improves motor functions in mice with PD," according to a statement about the work. Both Parkin and DJ-1 are proteins that have been found to be deficient in the brains of Parkinson's patients, so it is believed that stopping … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Jul-2014 Contact: Daphne Watrin d.watrin@iospress.nl 31-206-883-355 IOS Press Amsterdam, NL, 10 July 2014 Up to 70% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients experience sleep problems that negatively impact their quality of life. Some patients have disturbed sleep/wake patterns such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, while other patients may be subject to sudden and involuntary daytime sleep "attacks." In the extreme, PD patients may exhibit REM-sleep behavior disorder (RBD), characterized by vivid, violent dreams or dream re-enactment, even before motor symptoms appear. A review in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease discusses the underlying causes of sleep problems in PD, as well as medications, disease pathology, and comorbidities, and describes the most appropriate diagnostic tools and treatment options. Sleep problems in PD patients can have wide-ranging adverse effects and can worsen in later stages of the disease. Sleepiness socially isolates patients and excessive sleepiness can put patients at risk of falls or injury, and can mean patients must give up driving. Sleepiness can impair cognition and concentration, exacerbate depression, and interfere with employment. Wakefulness at night impairs daytime wakefulness and may also cause mood instabilities and can exhaust caregivers. "Diagnosis and effective treatment and management of these problems … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 8-Jul-2014 Contact: Deb Song deb_song@rush.edu 312-942-0588 Rush University Medical Center (CHICAGO) Neurological scientists at Rush University Medical Center have found that using cinnamon, a common food spice and flavoring material, can reverse the biomechanical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinson's disease (PD). The results of the study were recently published in the June 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. "Cinnamon has been used widely as a spice throughout the world for centuries," said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, study lead researcher and the Floyd A. Davis professor of neurology at Rush. "This could potentially be one of the safest approaches to halt disease progression in Parkinson's patients." "Cinnamon is metabolized in the liver to sodium benzoate, which is an FDA-approved drug used in the treatment for hepatic metabolic defects associated with hyperammonemia," said Pahan. It is also widely used as a food preservative due to its microbiocidal effect. Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamonum cassia) and original Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamonum verum) are two major types of cinnamon that are available in the US. "Although both types of cinnamon are metabolized into sodium benzoate, by mass spectrometric analysis, we have seen that Ceylon cinnamon … Continue reading →

STANFORD, Calif. At Stanford University Medical Center a stunning innovation is just beginning. Parkinson's disease patient Martha Gardner, 56, of San Jose strode confidently out the hospital front doors. "(It's) revolutionary, I mean this has made a huge difference in my life, I'm walking well and not falling," she said. An implanted electronic stimulator in her chest wired to her brain controls tremors she said she's struggled with for years. But deep brain stimulation is only the first part of the 'revolution.' In a third floor laboratory in the Movement Disorders Clinic, Parkinson's patient David Haygood, demonstrating turning his stimulator off. "Did you notice your tremors coming back a little on your chin?" asked neuroscientist Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart, as she pointed to slight twitching of his lower jaw. "No," Haygood answered. Suddenly, Haygood's right hand began shaking uncontrollably, spilling water from a small cup. Haygood, 66, is one of six volunteers taking the next step in a clinical trial of an advanced type of brain stimulator. "I've only turned this off a few times, always in this lab," said Haygood, who believes his tremors are caused by exposure to Agent Orange when he served as a combat photographer in Vietnam. … Continue reading →