Dopaminergic News and Research

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Nanoscale coordination polymers show promise for efficient dopamine delivery in Parkinson's treatment

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in a part of the brain (known as substantia nigra pars compacta), which leads to a deficit of dopamine (DA), one of the main neurotransmitters active in the central nervous system.

1 Jun 2021

A look at how coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affects Parkinson's

Earlier, herpes simplex virus (HSV), influenza virus A, measles virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and mumps virus have all been associated with after-effects of the virus that includes Parkinson's disease (PD). This list may now include SARS-CoV-2.

14 May 2021

Altered neural functioning in Parkinson's patients changes the way art is perceived and valued

Art appreciation is considered essential to human experience. While taste in art varies depending on the individual, cognitive neuroscience can provide clues about how viewing art affects our neural systems, and evaluate how these systems inform our valuation of art.

23 Apr 2021

Researchers uncover the mysteries of sleep disorders in multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease with multiple debilitating symptoms. One of them is sleep disorders; however, owing to limited research, little is known about why only some patients are affected, how sleep disorders influence MSA severity, or even how sleep disorders vary across different MSA subtypes.

9 Apr 2021

Study reveals link between changes of neuronal activities and dyskinesia

Many people with Parkinson's disease develop abnormal movements called L-DOPA induced dyskinesia, a major side effect of long-term medication. The mechanism underlying this side effect has been unknown. In this study, researchers have revealed relation between changes of neuronal activities and dyskinesia.

9 Apr 2021

Study shows how leptin suppresses appetite

Since the discovery of leptin in the 1990s, researchers have wondered, how does leptin, a hormone made by body fat, suppress appetite? Despite tremendous gains in the intervening three decades, many questions still remain.

7 Apr 2021

Different neural circuitries linked to distinct Parkinsonian behavioral deficits

Parkinson's disease (PD) is well known as a debilitating disease that gradually worsens over time. Although the disease's progression has been largely tied to the loss of motor functions, non-motor symptoms, including the loss of cognitive abilities, often emerge early in the disease.

5 Apr 2021

Specific neurons release dopamine to regulate pain differently in male and female mice

Males and females, generally speaking, experience and respond to pain differently, but scientists have yet to understand all the brain circuits involved in these differences.

19 Mar 2021

Study uncovers how the brain learns from subconscious stimuli

Researchers uncovered for the first time what happens in animals' brains when they learn from subconscious, visual stimuli. In time, this knowledge can lead to new treatments for a number of conditions.

15 Mar 2021

Parkinson’s UK, University of Sheffield to develop new Parkinson’s drug

Parkinson's UK, the largest charitable funder of Parkinson's research in Europe, is investing up to £1.2 million into a pioneering one-year project in partnership with the University of Sheffield.

9 Mar 2021

Study reveals information about risk genes in schizophrenia

Dr. Felix-Martin Werner, working at the Euro Academy Pößneck in Germany and Prof. Rafael Coveñas, working at the Institute of Neurosciences of Castilla and León, Salamanca in Spain, have been working on neurological and psychiatric disease for over ten years.

26 Feb 2021

Study explains why antipsychotic medications lead to weight gain, promote metabolic syndrome

Why do patients who receive antipsychotic medications to manage schizophrenia and bipolar disorder quickly gain weight and develop prediabetes and hyperinsulemia?

15 Feb 2021

Study shows how the brain quickly adjusts to group opinions

Scientists at HSE University have learned that disagreeing with the opinion of other people leaves a 'trace' in brain activity, which allows the brain to later adjust its opinion in favor of the majority-held point of view.

8 Feb 2021

Imaging technique can differentiate Alzheimer's disease from dementia with Lewy bodies

Scientists in Portugal and the United Kingdom were able to confirm that an imaging technique that traces neuronal dopaminergic deficiency in the brain is able to differentiate, in vivo, Alzheimer's disease from lesser-known dementia with Lewy bodies.

5 Feb 2021

Spontaneous eye blink rate could help understand the link between fitness and cognitive function

Although exercise is known to enhance cognitive function and improve mental health, the neurological mechanisms of this link are unknown. Now, researchers from Japan have found evidence of the missing link between aerobic fitness and cognitive function.

4 Feb 2021

Magnetic nanoparticles guide neurite growth in dopaminergic cells

Magnetic nanoparticles raise hopes of treatments for Parkinson’s.

19 Jan 2021

Researchers find potential biomarkers of Parkinson's disease

A research team led by Nagoya University in Japan has found that blood pressure, the hematocrit (the percentage of red blood cells in blood), and serum cholesterol levels change in patients with Parkinson's disease long before the onset of motor symptoms.

18 Jan 2021

Anti-diabetic drug could be repurposed for treating Parkinson's disease

A hallmark of Parkinson's disease is the degeneration of a group of dopaminergic neurons in the brain, which play key roles in movement initiation and co-ordination.

24 Nov 2020

Dopamine-release mechanisms in the brain may play a major role in SARS-CoV-2 infection

The study, which appeared in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, shows that the SARS-CoV-2 may behave akin to the CNS pathogenic mechanism of JEV and HIV during the early stages of infection.

15 Nov 2020

Machine-learning based analysis of mitochondria interaction networks to advance PD diagnosis

In a new study led by the Immune Systems Biology research group of the LIH Department of Infection and Immunity, researchers adopted a holistic machine-learning approach to elucidate how the interactions between neuronal mitochondria can serve as a powerful tool to distinguish nerve cells from Parkinson’s patients from those belonging to healthy subjects, thereby providing new insights in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of this neurodegenerative disorder.

12 Nov 2020