Dopamine News and Research

RSS

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter occurring in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five types of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is also a neurohormone released by the hypothalamus. Its main function as a hormone is to inhibit the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition of prolactin production (involved in lactation), sleep, mood, attention, and learning. Dopaminergic neurons (i.e., neurons whose primary neurotransmitter is dopamine) are present chiefly in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain, substantia nigra pars compacta, and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Scripps Research receives $2.2M NIH grant to develop novel therapeutics for substance abuse

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of addiction to multiple substances in a national effort with the University of Kansas.

10 Jun 2011

Abbott reports positive interim results from LCIG Phase III open-label study for advanced Parkinson's disease

Interim efficacy and safety results from a long-term, 54-week, Phase III open-label study of Abbott's investigational treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease showed that patients treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) for 12 weeks reported a decrease in "off" time and an increase in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesias.

9 Jun 2011

Lund researchers create nerve cells from human skin

A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating three genes in the skin cells; genes which are already known to be active in the formation of brain cells at the foetal stage.

9 Jun 2011

Neurologix reports new results from NLX-P101 Phase 2 trial against Parkinson's disease

Neurologix, Inc. announced today several new results from the Company's successful Phase 2 clinical trial for its novel, investigational gene therapy NLX-P101 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) as part of a comprehensive presentation of study findings to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.

9 Jun 2011

Exposure to pesticides near any workplace increases risk of Parkinson's disease

In April 2009, researchers at UCLA announced they had discovered a link between Parkinson's disease and two chemicals commonly sprayed on crops to fight pests.

27 May 2011

Neurologix presents NLX-P101 Phase 2 trial in Parkinson's disease at 10th INS World Congress

Neurologix, Inc. announced the presentation today of efficacy results through one year of follow-up in patients treated as part of the Company's successful Phase 2 clinical trial for its novel, investigational gene therapy NLX-P101 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

27 May 2011

Scientists discover protein involved in nerve cell motor-cargo mechanism

With every bodily movement-from the blink of an eye to running a marathon-nerve cells transmit signals to muscle cells. To do that, nerve cells rely on tiny molecular motors to transport chemical messengers that excite muscles cells into action. It's a complex process, which scientists are still trying to understand. A new study by Syracuse University researchers has uncovered an important piece of the puzzle.

26 May 2011

Taking prenatal vitamins early during pregnancy can reduce risk of having children with autism

Women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder as women who did take the supplements - and the associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with a high-risk genetic make-up, a study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

26 May 2011

New data from ProSavin Phase I/II trial in Parkinson's presented at ASGCT annual meeting

Oxford BioMedica, a leading gene therapy company, announces that new data from the on-going Phase I/II trial of ProSavin for the treatment of Parkinson's disease were presented at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy 14th Annual Meeting held in Seattle, USA by Professor Stephane Palfi, Principal Investigator at the Henri Mondor Hospital in Paris, on Saturday 21 May 2011.

23 May 2011

H. pylori infection could play a role in Parkinson's disease development

The stomach bacteria responsible for ulcers could also play a role in the development of Parkinson's disease according to research presented today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

23 May 2011

Study shows why individuals with anorexia nervosa have paradoxical response to food

Perhaps the most puzzling symptom of anorexia nervosa - a disorder that tends to occur in young women - is the refusal to eat, resulting in extreme weight loss. While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation.

21 May 2011

Otsuka Pharmaceutical reports OPC-34712 Phase 2 trial results in major depressive disorder

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (OPC) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (OPDC) today announced results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of OPC-34712, a novel D2 dopamine partial agonist investigational product.

16 May 2011

Study offers hints to why Parkinson's so selectively harms dopamine-producing cells

New data offer hints to why Parkinson's disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

13 May 2011

TSA, Psyadon Pharmaceuticals partner for ecopipam clinical trial in Tourette Syndrome

The national Tourette Syndrome Association and Psyadon Pharmaceuticals Inc. are pleased to announce their collaboration on a clinical trial to determine the potential efficacy of a novel drug, ecopipam, for managing the symptoms of the neurological disorder Tourette Syndrome.

11 May 2011

biocrea and Pfizer jointly presented details on novel PDE10 inhibitors

biocrea, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), today reported details on the design and synthesis of novel, brain-penetrating phosphodiesterase-10 (PDE10) inhibitors developed in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). The data were featured in joint presentations1 with Pfizer at the recent 241st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, an event organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

10 May 2011

Researchers use virtual computer model to understand schizophrenic brains

Computer networks that can't forget fast enough can show symptoms of a kind of virtual schizophrenia, giving researchers further clues to the inner workings of schizophrenic brains, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Yale University have found.

6 May 2011

Cocaine and nicotine employ similar mechanisms to induce synaptic plasticity in brain

The effects of nicotine upon brain regions involved in addiction mirror those of cocaine, according to new neuroscience research.

4 May 2011

Brain function variations may increase person's risk of drug abuse

One can look at drug addiction as a moral issue, a social ill, or a criminal problem. But Lynn Oswald's experience studying the neuroscience of addiction tells her that it is something else entirely: a disease of the brain.

30 Apr 2011

Lilly and Medtronic’s joint venture in Parkinson’s disease therapy

Lilly has already developed a protein called GDNF (glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor) known to preserve the function of neurons and Medtronic will provide a system that carries the medicine to a key area of the brain.

From Medtronic 26 Apr 2011

Research sheds light on molecular movements of neural transporters

A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.

25 Apr 2011

Dopamine News and Research

Further Reading

Scripps Research receives $2.2M NIH grant to develop novel therapeutics for substance abuse

Abbott reports positive interim results from LCIG Phase III open-label study for advanced Parkinson's disease

Lund researchers create nerve cells from human skin

Neurologix reports new results from NLX-P101 Phase 2 trial against Parkinson's disease

Exposure to pesticides near any workplace increases risk of Parkinson's disease

Neurologix presents NLX-P101 Phase 2 trial in Parkinson's disease at 10th INS World Congress

Scientists discover protein involved in nerve cell motor-cargo mechanism

Taking prenatal vitamins early during pregnancy can reduce risk of having children with autism

New data from ProSavin Phase I/II trial in Parkinson's presented at ASGCT annual meeting

H. pylori infection could play a role in Parkinson's disease development

Study shows why individuals with anorexia nervosa have paradoxical response to food

Otsuka Pharmaceutical reports OPC-34712 Phase 2 trial results in major depressive disorder

Study offers hints to why Parkinson's so selectively harms dopamine-producing cells

TSA, Psyadon Pharmaceuticals partner for ecopipam clinical trial in Tourette Syndrome

biocrea and Pfizer jointly presented details on novel PDE10 inhibitors

Researchers use virtual computer model to understand schizophrenic brains

Cocaine and nicotine employ similar mechanisms to induce synaptic plasticity in brain

Brain function variations may increase person's risk of drug abuse

Lilly and Medtronic’s joint venture in Parkinson’s disease therapy

Research sheds light on molecular movements of neural transporters

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News