Dopamine News and Research

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Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition of prolactin production (involved in lactation), sleep, mood, attention, and learning. Dopaminergic neurons (i.e., neurons whose primary neurotransmitter is dopamine) are present chiefly in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain, substantia nigra pars compacta, and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Acute levodopa may worsen motor plasticity in late-stage PD

Administering acute doses of levodopa appears to worsen motor cortex plasticity as Parkinson’s disease advances, researchers report.

14 Jun 2012

Brains of anxious girls work much harder than those of boys

In a discovery that could help in the identification and treatment of anxiety disorders, Michigan State University scientists say the brains of anxious girls work much harder than those of boys.

6 Jun 2012

Parkinson’s vaccine: worldwide first clinical trial begins

The worldwide first clinical trial for the development of a Parkinson´s vaccine has now been started by AFFiRiS AG.

5 Jun 2012

Positive results from Acacia Phase II APD421 study in prevention of post-operative nausea & vomiting

Acacia Pharma announces positive results from its Phase II study of APD421, in the prevention of post-operative nausea & vomiting (PONV).

28 May 2012

Researchers develop new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells

A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants.

28 May 2012

Thioridazine drug successfully kills human cancer stem cells

A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments.

25 May 2012

Ceregene announces new data from CERE-120 clinical trial on Parkinson's

Ceregene Inc., a biotechnology company developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, will present new data demonstrating long-term, biologically-active expression of neurturin, a nervous system growth factor delivered to the degenerating dopamine nerves in patients with Parkinson's disease following treatment with CERE-120.

19 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

Colonic tissue may help predict Parkinson's disease

Two studies by neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center suggest that, in the future, colonic tissue obtained during either colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy may be used to predict who will develop Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder of aging that that leads to progressive deterioration of motor function due to loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential to executing movement.

16 May 2012

Researchers find protein that controls neurotransmission: findings may lead to new drugs to treat neurological disorders

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered that the single protein -- alpha 2 delta -- exerts a spigot-like function, controlling the volume of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that flow between the synapses of brain neurons. The study, published online in Nature, shows how brain cells talk to each other through these signals, relaying thoughts, feelings and action, and this powerful molecule plays a crucial role in regulating effective communication.

15 May 2012

CU scientist looks at reward circuits in the brain

Why does one person become anorexic and another obese? A study recently published by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher shows that reward circuits in the brain are sensitized in anorexic women and desensitized in obese women.

15 May 2012

Sunovion announces results from LATUDA open-label study for schizophrenia

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced results from an open-label study that switched clinically stable, but symptomatic adult outpatients with schizophrenia from other antipsychotic agents to LATUDA.

10 May 2012

Scientists pinpoint mechanism essential for memory formation

Now, in a study that appears in the May 10, 2012 issue of the journal Neuron, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have pinpointed a mechanism that is essential for forming memories in the first place and, as it turns out, is equally essential for eliminating them after memories have formed.

10 May 2012

Combination of Pressure Right device and antiemetics effective in reducing PONV

Pressure Point Inc. stated in a recent press release that in a peer reviewed research article appearing in the Anesthesia & Analgesia Journal last month entitled: Use of Disposable Acupressure Device, its Pressure Right acustimulation disposable (adhesive) wrist device confirmed a positive advantage when used as part of a multimodal antiemetic regimen. The clinical effects of the Pressure Right acupressure technique in a sham-controlled study comparison demonstrated a definite impact in reducing PONV.

9 May 2012

Two studies suggest long-term value of Deplin in treating MDD

Two studies presented this week at the 164th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association suggest the long-term value of Deplin (L-methylfolate 15mg) in treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and describe subsets of patients who may benefit more robustly from this medical food.

9 May 2012

Study shows how adolescent cannabis use can cause schizophrenia

New research from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) published in Nature's Neuropsychopharmacology has shown physical changes to exist in specific brain areas implicated in schizophrenia following the use of cannabis during adolescence. The research has shown how cannabis use during adolescence can interact with a gene, called the COMT gene, to cause physical changes in the brain.

9 May 2012

Researchers find talking about ourselves triggers sensation of pleasure

According to researchers, talking about ourselves - whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter - can trigger the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food, money or sex.

8 May 2012

Positive results from Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma's LATUDA trials for bipolar I depression

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. announced today results from two Phase 3 clinical trials designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LATUDA as adjunctive therapy and monotherapy, respectively, in patients with bipolar I depression (PREVAIL 1 and PREVAIL 2; PRogram to EValuate the Antidepressant Impact of Lurasidone).

7 May 2012

Therapy to halt symptoms in Parkinson's patients

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.

3 May 2012

Dopamine linked to willingness to work for a monetary reward

A new brain imaging study has shown that an individual’s willingness to work hard to earn money is strongly influenced by the chemistry in three specific areas of the brain. Researchers claim that this could have important implications for the treatment of attention-deficit disorder, depression, schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness characterized by decreased motivation.

3 May 2012