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.

Study: Rash adolescent behaviors tied to biological motivations

There are biological motivations behind the stereotypically poor decisions and risky behavior associated with adolescence, new research from a University of Texas at Austin psychologist reveals.

4 Jun 2010

Study of methylphenidate for cancer-related fatigue benefits patients with stage III/IV disease

Cancer-related fatigue is often a major problem for cancer patients, beginning at diagnosis, during treatment and after completing therapy. Researchers at Mayo Clinic and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) recently completed a study testing methylphenidate in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue and found that, while it did not improve fatigue for a broad group of patients, the data did not rule out a benefit for those with stage III/IV cancer.

4 Jun 2010

Medtronic DBS Therapy improves motor function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease: Study

In the largest, randomized, controlled study of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease, Medtronic DBS Therapy was shown to improve motor function for up to two years in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, showing equally strong efficacy for the two most common surgical targets used for the therapy.

3 Jun 2010

Biovail: BLS, Kyowa Hakko Kirin sign license agreement

Biovail Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, Biovail Laboratories International SRL, has entered into a license agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. BLS has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to commercialize products containing istradefylline - a new chemical entity targeted for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

3 Jun 2010

NCCTG study testing methylphenidate in treatment of cancer-related fatigue completed

Cancer-related fatigue is often a major problem for cancer patients, beginning at diagnosis, during treatment and after completing therapy. Researchers at Mayo Clinic and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group recently completed a study testing methylphenidate in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue and found that, while it did not improve fatigue for a broad group of patients, the data did not rule out a benefit for those with stage III/IV cancer.

3 Jun 2010

BioTime offers 5 new human stem cell lines developed using ACTCellerate technology for research use

BioTime, Inc. announced today that on June 1, 2010 the Company will be offering for sale five new human stem cell lines for research use only. These cell lines were developed using BioTime's ACTCellerate™ technology. These highly purified, novel, and scalable cell lines are embryonic progenitors, meaning that they are intermediate between human embryonic stem cells and fully developed cells.

31 May 2010

Combination therapy improves patients with depression symptoms: Study

New data presented today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting suggests a benefit to combining L-methylfolate, a prescription medical food called Deplin, with an antidepressant at the start of treatment. This retrospective analysis showed a significantly greater improvement in depression symptoms in a shorter period of time, when patients with Major Depressive Disorder were started on combination therapy.

25 May 2010

Researchers test NicVAX vaccine to help people quit smoking, avoid relapses

In a unique twist to a decades-old health crisis, Michigan State University researchers are testing a new vaccine to help people quit smoking and avoid relapses.

21 May 2010

Role of neurotransmitter acetylcholine may suggest new treatment for Parkinson's disease: Researchers

Chicago and Montreal researchers studying the lowly lamprey eel have identified an overlooked nervous system pathway running parallel to known brainstem locomotor command circuitry in vertebrates such as birds, fishes and mammals.

20 May 2010

Research findings help explain diverse genetic susceptibility for alcohol use disorders

A genetic variant of a receptor in the brain's reward circuitry plays an important role in determining whether the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in the brain following alcohol intake, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health. Dopamine is involved in transmitting the euphoria and other positive subjective effects produced by alcohol.

19 May 2010

Unhealthy coping behaviors lead to higher rates of physical health problems, earlier mortality

When people are under chronic stress, they tend to smoke, drink, use drugs and overeat to help cope with stress. These behaviors trigger a biological cascade that helps prevent depression, but they also contribute to a host of physical problems that eventually contribute to early death.

19 May 2010

New research shows link between mental health and creativity

New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia.

18 May 2010

152 research and training grants awarded to researchers at 93 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 152 new national research and training grants totaling $50,717,000 in the first of two grants cycles for 2010. The grants, primarily to early career researchers, cover a broad range of investigator-initiated ideas at 93 institutions nationwide, from whether cadmium exposure increases the risk of endometrial cancer, to studies of plant and bacterial-bourne compounds, to a study on a protein called survivin that could lead to novel drugs targeting prostate cancer.

18 May 2010

Experts address fundamental questions related to renal failure in ICU

Despite the fact that recent medical advances have allowed healthcare professionals to stabilize patients who would have otherwise died, many stabilized patients later develop organ system failure. In fact, acute renal failure is one of the biggest threats to critically ill patients: forty percent of patients with this condition die.

14 May 2010

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals announces Phase IIb clinical trial of Zoraxel for ED

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that it will initiate a Phase IIb clinical trial for ZoraxelTM in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED).

13 May 2010

Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind smoking cessation effect

The tobacco addiction epidemic is a major public health problem worldwide. Professor Zhao Baolu and his group from the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences set out to tackle this problem. After 20 years of innovative research, they have developed a novel tea filter to treat cigarette addiction and have discovered the molecular mechanism behind the smoking cessation effect.

12 May 2010

Study highlights benefits of using endometrial stem cells to restore functioning of brain cells

Stem cells derived from the endometrium (uterine lining) and transplanted into the brains of laboratory mice with Parkinson's disease appear to restore functioning of brain cells damaged by the disease, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

7 May 2010

Mouse study may lead to new therapies for Parkinson's disease

Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease.

7 May 2010

Research makes progress in ending guesswork involved in prescribing effective ADHD medications

Children with ADHD who carry a specific type of dopamine receptor gene respond better to the drug methylphenidate than those without the genotype, according to new research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

4 May 2010

UGA, Emory researchers awarded $1.9M grant to study role of regular exercise in attenuating drug abuse

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia and Emory University will receive $1.9 million over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health to study the neurobiological mechanisms for how regular aerobic exercise may prevent drug abuse relapse.

30 Apr 2010

Dopamine News and Research

Further Reading

Study: Rash adolescent behaviors tied to biological motivations

Study of methylphenidate for cancer-related fatigue benefits patients with stage III/IV disease

Medtronic DBS Therapy improves motor function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease: Study

Biovail: BLS, Kyowa Hakko Kirin sign license agreement

NCCTG study testing methylphenidate in treatment of cancer-related fatigue completed

BioTime offers 5 new human stem cell lines developed using ACTCellerate technology for research use

Combination therapy improves patients with depression symptoms: Study

Researchers test NicVAX vaccine to help people quit smoking, avoid relapses

Role of neurotransmitter acetylcholine may suggest new treatment for Parkinson's disease: Researchers

Research findings help explain diverse genetic susceptibility for alcohol use disorders

Unhealthy coping behaviors lead to higher rates of physical health problems, earlier mortality

New research shows link between mental health and creativity

152 research and training grants awarded to researchers at 93 institutions nationwide

Experts address fundamental questions related to renal failure in ICU

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals announces Phase IIb clinical trial of Zoraxel for ED

Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind smoking cessation effect

Study highlights benefits of using endometrial stem cells to restore functioning of brain cells

Mouse study may lead to new therapies for Parkinson's disease

Research makes progress in ending guesswork involved in prescribing effective ADHD medications

UGA, Emory researchers awarded $1.9M grant to study role of regular exercise in attenuating drug abuse

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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