Dopaminergic News and Research

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Link between silent stroke and Parkinson's disease

Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinson's disease.

19 Dec 2012

LCSB, AxoGlia receive Michael J. Fox Foundation grant for Parkinson's project

AxoGlia Therapeutics SA, a biopharmaceutical company which drives the development of innovative neural stem/progenitor cell differentiation and neuroprotective therapeutics, today announced that it has been awarded a Rapid Response Innovative Award from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, for a project that is performed in collaboration with the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB).

15 Dec 2012

American Association of Anatomist announces winners of Young Investigator Awards

The American Association of Anatomist's (AAA) Young Investigator Awards combine three long-standing AAA awards-Bensley, Herrick, and Mossman-with the Morphological Sciences Award, all recognizing investigators in the early stages of their careers who have made important contributions to biomedical science through their research in cell/molecular biology, developmental biology, comparative neuroanatomy, or the morphological sciences.

12 Dec 2012

Researchers derive dopaminergic neurons from bone marrow stem cells in monkeys

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty walking. It is caused by loss of the neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine (known as dopaminergic neurons). One of the primary goals in Parkinson's disease research is to develop a replacement for dopaminergic neurons.

4 Dec 2012

Lewy pathology out of favor as Parkinson’s culprit

Neurodegeneration and cellular dysfunction may precede the appearance of Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra, shows research that challenges the role of Lewy pathology in Parkinson’s disease.

30 Nov 2012

Amarantus demonstrates excellent diffusion profile of MANF in the striatum of rat brains

Amarantus BioSciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing new disease-modifying treatments and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injury centered on its proprietary anti-apoptosis therapeutic protein MANF, today announced that the Company has successfully completed experiments demonstrating that MANF has an excellent diffusion profile in the striatum of rat brains.

27 Nov 2012

IL-13 receptor system could play a major role in Parkinson's

Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed a key factor controlling damage to brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

20 Nov 2012

Nonmotor symptoms common in early-stage PD

Nonmotor symptoms occur in nearly all individuals with Parkinson’s disease, Italian study results suggest.

17 Oct 2012

Dopaminergic treatment has ‘minor impact’ on autonomic symptoms in Parkinson’s

Norwegian researchers say that dopaminergic treatment should be considered for patients with early Parkinson’s disease after finding that dopaminergic medication only has a minor impact on autonomic symptoms after 1 year.

17 Oct 2012

Rapamycin may delay onset of Parkinson's or AD

Rapamycin, a drug used to prevent rejection in transplants, could delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

16 Oct 2012

Investigators provide overview of role of dopamine in modulating the immune system

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. In the current issue of Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, investigators provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders.

11 Oct 2012

LXRbeta may play a role in prevention and treatment of Parkinson's

Scientists at the University of Houston (UH) have discovered what may possibly be a key ingredient in the fight against Parkinson's disease.

24 Aug 2012

Three-step risk-screening method devised for Parkinson’s disease

Researchers have proposed a three-step screening battery to identify people at risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, using a combination of age, family history, hyposmia, and substantia nigra enlargement.

20 Aug 2012

Age, drugs, and disease alter sleep in Parkinson’s disease

Sleep patterns in patients with Parkinson’s disease are affected by age, disease severity, and dopamine agonists, German research indicates.

17 Aug 2012

Synthetic triterpenoids block development of Parkinson's disease

A new and powerful class of antioxidants could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinson's disease, researchers report.

23 Jul 2012

Micrographia prevalent in Parkinson’s

Around half of patients with Parkinson’s disease display symptoms of micrographia, a case–control study shows.

19 Jul 2012

Genetic risk for schizophrenia linked to brain volume alterations

Patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first-degree relatives show altered gray and white matter volumes in specific brain regions compared with mentally healthy individuals, researchers report.

26 Jun 2012

Sleep benefits some Parkinson's patients

Some Parkinson's patients report that their motor function is better upon awakening in the morning, which is contrary to what would be expected after a night without medication. This phenomenon, known as sleep benefit, has been studied but no consistent variables have been found and in the last decade there has been little new research.

22 Jun 2012

Some patients with Parkinson's experience sleep benefit

21 Jun 2012

Targeting noradrenergic system combats gait freezing in Parkinson’s patients

Methylphenidate may be a useful treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease receiving subthalamic nucleus stimulation who experience gait hypokinesia and freezing, show findings from a randomized trial.

14 Jun 2012