Dopamine News and Research

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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.

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Ceregene, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that enrollment has begun in a new double-blind sham surgery-controlled Phase 2b study evaluating CERE-120 in Parkinson's disease patients. CERE-120 is a gene therapy product that delivers the neurotrophic factor neurturin to degenerating or dying dopamine neurons. Data from the first Phase 2 clinical trial of CERE-120 are being published later this year in Lancet Neurology (to appear online October 21, 2010).

20 Oct 2010

Dopamine behind mens susceptibility to alcoholism

Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, and men are up to twice as likely to develop alcoholism as women. Until now, the underlying biology contributing to this difference in vulnerability has remained unclear.

19 Oct 2010

Study suggests treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia

A study in the Oct. 15, 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence and risk of restless legs syndrome than healthy controls. The study suggests that treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia.

15 Oct 2010

Study finds TMS is an effective treatment solution for major depression

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the treatment delivers a series of electrical pulses to the part of the brain associated with depression and other mood disorders. The pulses generate an electric current in the brain that stimulates neurons to increase the release of more mood-enhancing chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

15 Oct 2010

EFNS recommends use of DaTSCAN injection with SPECT imaging for AD diagnosis

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced that DaTSCAN (ioflupane I 123 injection), a radiopharmaceutical agent intended for use with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of the brain, has been recommended in updated European Federation of the Neurological Societies (EFNS) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The guidelines appear in the October issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

14 Oct 2010

Lundbeck, Merck announce commercialization agreement for SYCREST sublingual tablets

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced a commercialization agreement for SYCREST (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5 mg, 10 mg). Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck will pay an undisclosed fee as well as product supply payments in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to SYCREST in all markets outside the United States, China and Japan. Lundbeck expects to launch SYCREST in the European Union (EU), where it is already approved, at the beginning of 2011.

12 Oct 2010

Study finds boosting mitochondria may delay onset of Parkinson's disease

In a study that sheds new light on the causes of Parkinson's disease, researchers report that brain cells in Parkinson's patients abandon their energy-producing machinery, the mitochondria. A shutdown in fuel can have devastating effects on brain cells, which consume roughly 20 percent of the body's energy despite making up only 2 percent of body weight.

8 Oct 2010

Parkinson’s disease pathology breakthrough

Researchers have found that brain cells of people with early Parkinson's disease have damaged powerhouses. In a new study they have identified 10 groups of gene sets related to the energy production problems in the brain cells of these people.

8 Oct 2010

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research announces awards totaling $10.1M

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research announced awards totaling approximately $10.1 million for five new clinical studies and 14 pre-clinical therapeutic development projects. The funding includes $2.5 million to drive four new clinical trials under the Clinical Intervention Awards, one of the Foundation's Edmond J. Safra Core Programs for PD Research.

6 Oct 2010

Fisher Wallace Laboratories launches easy-to-use medical device for depression treatment

Fisher Wallace Laboratories today announced the launch of a bold YouTube video campaign that challenges the pharmaceutical drug industry and introduces the company's easy-to-use medical device prescribed for the self-treatment of depression: the Fisher Wallace Cranial Stimulator.

6 Oct 2010

Diamond-coated electrodes for implantable devices

Diamonds adorning tiaras to anklets are treasures but these gemstones inside the body may prove priceless.

6 Oct 2010

McGill University joins two leading Swiss research institutions to enhance neuroscience research

Building on its worldwide reputation as a leader in neuroscience research, McGill University today joined with two leading Swiss research institutions - the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) - to enhance neuroscience research in a host of areas, in fields that include pain therapy, Alzheimer's disease, synapse modelling and repair, neuroimmunology and genetic mechanisms of brain diseases.

5 Oct 2010

Research on spatial memories may lead to potential treatments for addiction and obesity

A researcher from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta has discovered a mechanism underlying some forms of obesity and addictions which could lead to a treatment for both diseases.

5 Oct 2010

New SymPath kit measures DBH activity of Sympathetic Nervous System

Biotech Corporation in acquiring licenses to commercialize 12 Neuro-biomarkers has first focused on SymPath(R) and is now ready to give you the opportunity to shed some light about this Neuro-biomarker of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). Here is a peak into the research behind the Neuro-blood testing that will be available to all patients through their health system.

4 Oct 2010

Neupro improves quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients

People with Parkinson's disease who used once-daily Neupro® (rotigotine) in the RECOVER trial achieved improvements in quality of life, in addition to previously reported beneficial effects on motor and non-motor symptoms.

4 Oct 2010

Intra-Cellular Therapies demonstrates ability of ITI-002 to improve motor and non-motor behaviors in PD

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. today announced results from studies demonstrating the anti-Parkinson and other beneficial effects of ITI-002 (IC200214), the Company's novel and selective phosphodiesterase type I (PDE1) inhibitor.

1 Oct 2010

Study indicates neurotransmitters are abnormal in people with psychotic illness

There is growing evidence that two neurotransmitters - dopamine and glutamate - are abnormal in people with psychotic illness, including schizophrenia. Among many other things, these chemicals play a role in cognitive functions, such as memory, learning, and problem-solving.

1 Oct 2010

New approach to prevent psychotic symptoms

New research has linked psychosis with an abnormal relationship between two signalling chemicals in the brain. The findings, published in tomorrow's edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry, suggest a new approach to preventing psychotic symptoms, which could lead to better drugs for schizophrenia.

30 Sep 2010

Study suggests drugs targeting glutamatergic transmission may help treat psychotic illness

There is growing evidence that two neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate are abnormal in people with psychotic illness, including schizophrenia. Among many other things, these chemicals play a role in cognitive functions, such as memory, learning, and problem solving.

30 Sep 2010

Researchers explain why obesity is resistant to treatment

New research provides evidence of the vicious cycle created when an obese individual overeats to compensate for reduced pleasure from food.Obese individuals have fewer pleasure receptors and overeat to compensate, according to a study by University of Texas at Austin senior research fellow and Oregon Research Institute senior scientist Eric Stice and his colleagues published this week in The Journal of Neuroscience.

30 Sep 2010

Dopamine News and Research

Further Reading

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Dopamine behind mens susceptibility to alcoholism

Study suggests treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia

Study finds TMS is an effective treatment solution for major depression

EFNS recommends use of DaTSCAN injection with SPECT imaging for AD diagnosis

Lundbeck, Merck announce commercialization agreement for SYCREST sublingual tablets

Study finds boosting mitochondria may delay onset of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson’s disease pathology breakthrough

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research announces awards totaling $10.1M

Fisher Wallace Laboratories launches easy-to-use medical device for depression treatment

Diamond-coated electrodes for implantable devices

McGill University joins two leading Swiss research institutions to enhance neuroscience research

Research on spatial memories may lead to potential treatments for addiction and obesity

New SymPath kit measures DBH activity of Sympathetic Nervous System

Neupro improves quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients

Intra-Cellular Therapies demonstrates ability of ITI-002 to improve motor and non-motor behaviors in PD

Study indicates neurotransmitters are abnormal in people with psychotic illness

New approach to prevent psychotic symptoms

Study suggests drugs targeting glutamatergic transmission may help treat psychotic illness

Researchers explain why obesity is resistant to treatment

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

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