Degenerative Disease News and Research

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Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

The Spanish Federation of Ataxia (FEDAES)—in representation of the GENEFA Platform for a Friedreich's Ataxia cure—, the Babel Family association for biomedical research into Friedreich's Ataxia, the "Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa" (CMBSO), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have signed an agreement through which these patients' associations will fund, by means of donations, a 3-year research project addressing Friedreich's Ataxia.

16 Nov 2013

Retinitis pigmentosa test identifies mutation found in Ashkenazi Jewish population

You might not think to look to a urine test to diagnose an eye disease. But a new Duke University study says it can link what is in a patient's urine to gene mutations that cause retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, an inherited, degenerative disease that results in severe vision impairment and often blindness. The findings appear online in the Journal of Lipid Research.

9 Oct 2013

Decompression surgery: An effective procedure for cervical spondylotic myelopathy

In a world-first, decompression surgery has been shown to be an effective procedure to treat cervical spondylotic myelopathy - a common progressive, degenerative disease of the spine that can lead to paralysis - according to the results of a multi-centre clinical trial published today.

19 Sep 2013

Scientists shed new light on molecular causes of age related degenerative disease

An international collaboration jointly led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin has shed new light on the origins and molecular causes of age related degenerative conditions including Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The new perspective provided by this work may lead the way to new treatments and early diagnoses.

16 Aug 2013

Kinetin stops the effects of Parkinson's disease on brain cells, say scientists

The active ingredient in an over-the-counter skin cream might do more than prevent wrinkles. Scientists have discovered that the drug, called kinetin, also slows or stops the effects of Parkinson's disease on brain cells.

16 Aug 2013

Vanderbilt offers first FDA-approved bionic eye for treatment of retinitis pigmentosa

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been chosen as one of 12 sites in the United States to offer the first FDA-approved bionic eye for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

30 Jul 2013

Joints of children with chronic inflammatory arthritis contain premature aging of immune cells

The joints of children with the most common form of chronic inflammatory arthritis contain immune cells that resemble those of 90-year-olds, according to a new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

30 Jul 2013

NeuRA study demonstrate that FTD patients lose emotional content/colour of memories

A study by researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia is the first to demonstrate that patients with frontotemporal dementia lose the emotional content/colour of their memories. These findings explain why FTD patients may not vividly remember an emotionally charged event like a wedding or funeral.

15 Jul 2013

Penn researchers find ALS disease progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern

The motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern which can be classified into four distinct stages, report pathologists with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the Annals of Neurology.

20 Jun 2013

NJIT professor emphasizes how point of care healthcare can reduce illness, improve quality of life

NJIT Distinguished Professor and electrical engineer Atam Dhawan hits the lecture trail again this summer as a distinguished speaker for an IEEE life sciences lecture series.

3 Jun 2013

Joint replacement surgery might be avoidable in the future, suggest scientists

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have turned their view of osteoarthritis inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, they now have evidence that the bone underneath the cartilage is also a key player and exacerbates the damage.

20 May 2013

FDA approval paves way for U-M to conduct Phase II trial of stem cell injections in ALS patients

For nearly two years, University of Michigan neurologist Eva Feldman , M.D., Ph.D. has led the nation's first clinical trial of stem cell injections in patients with the deadly degenerative disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often called ALS or Lou Gehrig 's disease.

19 Apr 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists identify role of central nervous system cell in development of ALS

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal degenerative disease.

1 Apr 2013

Iron imbalance caused by prion proteins leads to cell death in CJD, researchers find

An iron imbalance caused by prion proteins collecting in the brain is a likely cause of cell death in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found.

14 Mar 2013

New computer-based process helps diagnose conditions that lead to concussion-related injuries

Concussions can occur in sports and in combat, but health experts do not know precisely which jolts, collisions and awkward head movements during these activities pose the greatest risks to the brain. To find out, Johns Hopkins engineers have developed a powerful new computer-based process that helps identify the dangerous conditions that lead to concussion-related brain injuries.

13 Mar 2013

Researchers develop new genetically altered mice that model earliest stages of Alzheimer's

Researchers at the University of Florida and The Johns Hopkins University have developed a line of genetically altered mice that model the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. This model may help scientists identify new therapies to provide relief to patients who are beginning to experience symptoms.

1 Mar 2013

Study looks at natural history of cervical spondylolisthesis

Follow-up data on patients with degenerative disease of the upper (cervical) spinal vertebrae show little or no evidence of worsening degeneration over time, according to a study in the February 15 issue of Spine.

21 Feb 2013

Dompé initiates enrollment in rhNGF phase I/II REPARO study for neurotrophic keratitis

The first patient has been enrolled in the phase I/II REPARO study, the first international clinical trial evaluating the ophthalmological use of a topical solution of recombinant human Nerve Growth Factor (rhNGF) for the treatment of moderate to severe neurotrophic keratitis (NK).

15 Feb 2013

Studies to identify molecular causes and preventive and therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's

On the fourth floor of Wichita State University's McKinley Hall, biochemistry professor Kandatege Wimalasena and his group of doctoral and undergraduate students are hard at work researching Parkinson's disease (PD) - the second-most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1 to 2 percent of people older than 60.

7 Feb 2013

Orphan, St George's sign licensing agreement to develop new therapies for metabolic disorders

St George's, University of London has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with rare-disease research-and-development firm Orphan Technologies Ltd to develop new therapies for deadly metabolic disorders.

5 Feb 2013