Dopaminergic News and Research

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Heavy marijuana use may lead to lower dopamine release in the brain

In a recent study, researchers found evidence of a compromised dopamine system in heavy users of marijuana. Lower dopamine release was found in the striatum - a region of the brain that is involved in working memory, impulsive behavior, and attention. Previous studies have shown that addiction to other drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin, have similar effects on dopamine release, but such evidence for cannabis was missing until now.

16 Apr 2016

Rosacea linked to Parkinson's disease risk

Data from a nationwide study show that people with the skin condition rosacea are at an increased risk of later developing Parkinson's disease.

25 Mar 2016

Sweet foods invoke different brain circuits

Different brain circuits are invoked by the pleasure we derive from eating sweet foods and the calories they supply.

25 Mar 2016

Scientists develop new optical technique to observe neurotransmitter activity of individual synapses

Columbia University scientists have developed a new optical technique to study how information is transmitted in the brains of mice. Using this method, they found that only a small portion of synapses -- the connections between cells that control brain activity--may be active at any given time.

26 Feb 2016

Regrowing dopaminergic neurons may lead to new therapy for Parkinson's disease

While scientists are unsure of the molecular causes of Parkinson's Disease, they do know the disorder's tremors and other motor dysfunctions are linked to a loss of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra, a structure in the midbrain.

16 Feb 2016

Researchers report first-ever link between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression

The team of Bruno Giros, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and professor of psychiatry at McGill University, reports the first-ever connection between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, this breakthrough paves the way for new depression treatments that target the adrenergic system.

15 Feb 2016

Anticholinesterase offers a ‘steadying hand’ to PD patients

The dementia drug rivastigmine may reduce the risk of falls in patients with Parkinson’s disease by improving gait stability, findings from the phase II ReSponD trial show.

19 Jan 2016

UB researchers develop a way to ramp up conversion of skin cells into dopamine neurons

For decades, the elusive holy grail in Parkinson's disease research has been finding a way to repair faulty dopamine neurons and put them back into patients, where they will start producing dopamine again. Researchers have used fetal material, which is difficult to obtain and of variable quality. Embryonic stem cells represented a tremendous innovation, but making dopamine neurons from stem cells is a long process with a low yield.

8 Dec 2015

Minor hallucinations may predate Parkinson motor symptoms

About four in 10 patients with untreated Parkinson’s disease experience minor hallucinations, research shows.

8 Oct 2015

Phase III trial results show cariprazine effective in treating negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia

Results of a clinical trial seem to show the first effective treatment for the negative symptoms - withdrawal, lack of emotion, and apathy - associated with schizophrenia.

31 Aug 2015

Multiple IV administration of adipose-derived MSCs may extend healthy life and lifespan

Researchers in Korea have determined the possibility that adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may extend healthy life and lifespan by intravenous injections.

28 Aug 2015

CSF biomarkers predict dementia risk in PD patients

Early analysis of cerebrospinal fluid could help diagnose parkinsonian disorders and enhance the prediction of dementia in Parkinson’s disease patients, study results indicate.

19 Aug 2015

Putaminal serotonergic innervation flags levodopa-induced dyskinesia risk

Increased serotonergic fibre innervation relative to dopaminergic fibre availability may be a potential marker of disease progression in Parkinson’s disease patients and a possible warning of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, indicates an in vivo imaging study.

17 Aug 2015

Algorithm encompassing clinical and genetic factors predicts PD

Researchers have devised a model that distinguishes patients with Parkinson’s disease from those without the condition without relying on motor features.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers report role of two gene-regulating molecules in Parkinson's disease

As Parkinson's disease progresses in patients, a puzzling dichotomy plays out in their brains. One set of neurons degenerates, while a similar population nearby is spared the same degree of damage. Why the difference? An answer to this question could clear the way for preventions and treatments for this disease, which impairs movement.

11 Aug 2015

DBS may aid cortical plasticity in Parkinson’s patients

Deep-brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus may help to restore long-term potentiation-like plasticity in the motor cortex of patients with Parkinson’s disease, a study shows.

4 Aug 2015

Severe dyskinesias rare in community Parkinson’s cohort

Motor fluctuations and dyskinesias affect about a third of community-based patients with Parkinson’s disease, but dyskinesias are rarely severe enough to warrant a change of treatment, report researchers.

15 Jul 2015

Potential new class of drugs lessen neurodegeneration in rat model of Parkinson's disease

The first test in a mammalian model of a potential new class of drugs to treat Parkinson's disease shows abatement of neurodegeneration in the brains of test rats and no significant toxicities, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Pfizer Inc. researchers report online in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

26 Jun 2015

New 3D cell culture system could facilitate search for therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease

The progressive loss of neurons in the brain of Parkinson's patients is slow yet inexorable. So far, there are no drugs that can halt this insidious process.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers develop hPSC-based system for producing connections between neurons in the brain

Human stem cells can be differentiated to produce other cell types, such as organ cells, skin cells, or brain cells. While organ cells, for example, can function in isolation, brain cells require synapses, or connectors, between cells and between regions of the brain. In a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers report successfully growing multiple brain structures and forming connections between them in vitro, in a single culture vessel, for the first time.

16 Jun 2015