Dopaminergic News and Research

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Scan may rule out Parkinson’s disease

Patients with clinical symptoms of early Parkinson’s disease but no evidence of dopaminergic deficit on brain imaging are unlikely to have the condition, say the PRECEPT Study investigators.

19 May 2014

‘Lessebo’ effect implications for Parkinson’s therapies

Patients with Parkinson’s disease have a reduced objective response to treatment given in a clinical trial if they know they may be taking a placebo, research shows.

14 May 2014

Research: Stimulation of certain population of neurons within brain can alter learning process

Stimulation of a certain population of neurons within the brain can alter the learning process, according to a team of neuroscientists and neurosurgeons at the University of Pennsylvania.

14 May 2014

Retinal measurements associated with Parkinson’s disease duration

The inner retinal layers in the eyes of patients with Parkinson’s disease are thinner than those of healthy people’s eyes, except for the inner nuclear layer, which is thicker, show the results of a prospective study involving the latest optical coherence tomography methods.

1 May 2014

Dopamine replacement therapy linked with decline in depressed Parkinson patients' cognitive function

A group of scientists from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has found interesting new information in a study on depression and neuropsychological function in Parkinson's disease (PD).

19 Apr 2014

New discovery opens door to development of new treatments that stop progression of Parkinson's disease

A research led by the Research Institute Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), in which the University of Valencia participated, has shown that pathological forms of the α-synuclein protein present in deceased patients with Parkinson's disease are able to initiate and spread in mice and primates the neurodegenerative process that typifies this disease.

10 Apr 2014

Professor receives $1.7M NIH grant to explore novel treatments for chronic methamphetamine users

A Wayne State University professor recently received a nearly $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to explore whether proteasome and parkin — two components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system — are potential pharmaceutical drug targets that can be manipulated to promote survival and recovery of dopaminergic terminals after binge and chronic administration of toxic doses of methamphetamine.

8 Apr 2014

Researchers examine role of alpha-synuclein in neuronal cells

Alpha-synuclein is a principal component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, which are pathologic hall-marks of Parkinson's disease. Alpha-synuclein is generally considered to play a role in synaptic activity, although its function remains largely unknown.

13 Mar 2014

NeuroDerm enrolls patients in second ND0612 Phase II clinical trial for treatment of Parkinson's disease

NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today that enrollment of patients is ongoing in its second Phase II clinical trial of ND0612, a novel drug formulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ND0612 is a proprietary levodopa/carbidopa liquid formulation under development for continuous subcutaneous administration through a patch pump. It is designed to provide steady levodopa blood levels for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

11 Mar 2014

Circadian dysfunction blamed for sleepiness in PD patients

Patients with Parkinson’s disease, particularly those with excessive daytime sleepiness, have reduced melatonin levels and amplitude of the melatonin circadian rhythm, research shows.

6 Mar 2014

FDA-approved drug pregabalin effectively treats RLS symptoms with less side effects

A report in the Feb. 13 New England Journal of Medicine confirms previous studies suggesting that long-term treatment with the type of drugs commonly prescribed to treat restless leg syndrome (RLS) can cause a serious worsening of the condition in some patients.

14 Feb 2014

Continuing spinal cord stimulation improves symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Duke Medicine have shown that continuing spinal cord stimulation appears to produce improvements in symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and may protect critical neurons from injury or deterioration.

24 Jan 2014

Blood methylome offers clues to schizophrenia

Researchers show that a methylome-wide association study of the blood can provide a glimpse of past environmental insults that may contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

22 Jan 2014

Gene therapy edges closer for Parkinson’s disease

Lentiviral vector-based gene therapy is well tolerated and may improve motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows an open-label study published in The Lancet.

20 Jan 2014

New ways to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found a way to change alcohol drinking behavior in rodents, using the emerging technique of optogenetics, which uses light to stimulate neurons.

7 Jan 2014

Molecule produced by brain acts as natural defence mechanism against cannabis

Two INSERM research teams led by Pier Vincenzo Piazza and Giovanni Marsicano (INSERM Unit 862 "Neurocentre Magendie" in Bordeaux) recently discovered that pregnenolone, a molecule produced by the brain, acts as a natural defence mechanism against the harmful effects of cannabis in animals.

3 Jan 2014

Certain Chinese medicines can regulate neurotrophic and apoptosis-related factors

Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, which is pathologically characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. Compound preparations of Chinese medicines that can tonify the kidney have been reported to significantly improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

28 Nov 2013

Nonmotor symptoms may underlie Parkinson’s sleep complaints

In people with Parkinson’s disease, symptoms and comorbidities associated with insomnia differ from those associated with daytime sleepiness, US researchers report.

25 Nov 2013

Novel drug combats psychosis in Parkinson’s disease

The non-dopaminergic drug pimavanserin reduces psychotic symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease without worsening motor function, shows a randomized trial.

22 Nov 2013

LCSB researchers publish current knowledge about the genetic, molecular causes of PD

Parkinson's disease continues to puzzle physicians and biologists alike - even though it is well-established that symptoms like muscle tremors, rigidity, and, during the final stages, immobility can all be traced back to the death of a certain type of brain cell called a dopaminergic neuron. The underlying cause of this cellular death is a complex web of interrelated genetic molecular processes as well as external factors, most of the details of which are well-known. But how the various factors correlate and influence each other continues to elude the scientific community.

24 Oct 2013