Degenerative Disease News and Research

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An occupational therapist-led approach gets people with osteoarthritis moving

Physical activity is the cornerstone of any healthy lifestyle - and especially for people with osteoarthritis as exercise helps maintain good joint health, manage their symptoms, and prevent functional decline. Osteoarthritis, however, often makes physical activity, such as exercise, and even performing daily activities, a challenge.

29 Sep 2008

Breakthrough in crippling childhood disease Friedreich's ataxia

University of Sydney scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for the crippling childhood disease Friedreich's ataxia.

28 Jul 2008

Retina transplants show promise in patients with retinal degeneration

Preliminary research shows encouraging results with transplantation of retinal cells in patients with blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a report in the August issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.

10 Jul 2008

Discovery of toxic key to Alzheimer’s disease memory loss

Using new scientific techniques, scientists have unlocked the cascade of molecular events that lead to Alzheimer's disease.

26 Jun 2008

Significant dementia risk attributable to small blood vessel damage

Autopsy data of 221 men and women found that the brains of one-third of individuals who had dementia before death showed evidence of small, cumulative blood vessel damage that can arise from hypertension or diabetes.

7 Apr 2008

New genetic clue to Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University have discovered a gene that could hold the key to developing new treatments for Parkinson's disease – a progressive and often debilitating movement disorder that affects as many as one million Americans.

24 Mar 2008

Zebrafish enables cell regeneration studies to help understand, treat human disease

One aquarium fish's uncanny ability to regenerate essentially any cell type has given scientists a way to mimic cell loss that occurs in diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes then watch how the fish make more of them.

18 Mar 2008

Avoiding overuse, misuse, and underuse of medications

Adverse drug events are more common in older adults because they are prescribed more drugs and are effected differently by these drugs than their younger counterparts.

3 Jan 2008

Combining medications often best strategy to battle rheumatoid arthritis

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, combining one well-known, lower cost synthetic drug with one of six biologic medications often works best to reduce joint swelling or tenderness, according to a new report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

18 Dec 2007

Combining medications often best strategy to battle rheumatoid arthritis

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, combining one well-known, lower-cost synthetic drug with one of six biologic medications often works best to reduce joint swelling or tenderness, according to a new report by researchers at the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

19 Nov 2007

Research finds novel mechanism for synovial inflammation in degenerative arthritis

The most common degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is marked by the breakdown of articular cartilage, which is the type of cartilage that lines the ends of most limb bones.

29 Oct 2007

PAZAR - virtual bazaar of gene regulation data

An international team has opened a virtual bazaar, called PAZAR, which allows biologists to share information about gene regulation through individually managed 'boutiques' (data collections).

4 Oct 2007

Cervical disc to treat degenerative disease gets FDA green light

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has given approval for a cervical disc implant to treat patients with degenerative disc disease.

28 Aug 2007

Scientists identify two brain networks in Parkinson's

The disease that causes tremors, rigidity and slowed movements in a million Americans also targets another brain network that regulates cognitive thought and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.

10 Jul 2007

Focus on motor neurone disease

Motor neurone disease (MND), also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a degenerative disease of unknown cause which causes patients to lose basic motor functions and has a devastating effect on them and their families.

17 Jun 2007

Lipoic acid appears to slow down the process of aging

Researchers have identified the mechanism of action of lipoic acid, a remarkable compound that in animal experiments appears to slow down the process of aging, improve blood flow, enhance immune function and perform many other functions.

18 May 2007

Exercise shows beneficial effects in patients with Parkinson's disease

A new study from researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) shows that treadmill exercises may benefit patients with Parkinson's Disease and those with similar movement disorders.

16 May 2007

Stem cell therapy shows promise for degenerative diseases of the eye

For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue.

3 Apr 2007

Stem cells delay neurodegeneration in the brain

Sufferers from devastating neurodegenerative diseases have been given some hope by the results of recent research.

12 Mar 2007

Multivitamin/mineral supplements and chronic disease prevention

Some one hundred years after the first vitamin was named, what is known about them has not translated into beneficial, standardized recommendations for public health, says Irwin Rosenberg, MD, University Professor, and director of the Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University.

6 Feb 2007