Dystonia News and Research

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Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.

Scientists discover how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's

A team of scientists and clinicians at UC San Francisco has discovered how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's by implanting electrodes within the brains of people with the disease.

5 Mar 2013

Otsuka receives FDA approval for ABILIFY MAINTENA to treat schizophrenia

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ABILIFY MAINTENA (aripiprazole) for extended- release injectable suspension, an intramuscular (IM) depot formulation indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia.

1 Mar 2013

Next generation deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy to be developed by Sapiens

Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation B.V. (Sapiens), an emerging medical technology company developing brain stimulation products, today announced that it has raised €7.5 m from the Dutch investment group INKEF Capital, in a further extension of their Series A financing round. The proceeds will be used for the development of its Steering Brain Stimulation implant and procedure solutions to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) and other functional brain disorders.

25 Feb 2013

Individuals with psychogenic disease do have brains that function differently

Psychogenic diseases, formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses, can have many severe symptoms such as painful cramps or paralysis but without any physical explanation. However, new research from the University of Cambridge and UCL (University College London) suggests that individuals with psychogenic disease, that is to say physical illness that stems from emotional or mental stresses, do have brains that function differently.

25 Feb 2013

Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix launches new clinic

The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix has launched a new clinic aimed at streamlining the process for the growing number of patients who are potential candidates for Deep Brain Stimulation.

20 Feb 2013

FDA approves Allergan’s BOTOX to treat overactive bladder

Allergan, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency and frequency in adults who have had an inadequate response to or are intolerant of an anticholinergic medication.

19 Jan 2013

Children's Oakland recruits patients for deferiprone clinical trial to treat PKAN

A groundbreaking, international clinical trial of an iron chelation drug, deferiprone, to treat the rare and devastating neurodegenerative disease, pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), began last month at the trial's only North American site, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland.

17 Jan 2013

Advance Study to evaluate safety and benefit of DBS-f for patients with mild Alzheimer's

The first U.S. patient to enroll in Functional Neuromodulation's ADvance Study was successfully implanted with a deep brain stimulation (DBS) system. ADvance will evaluate the safety and potential clinical benefit of DBS of the fornix (DBS-f), a major inflow and output pathway in the brain's memory circuit, for patients with mild Alzheimer's.

7 Dec 2012

Deep-brain stimulation effects sustained in dystonia

Improvements in dystonia achieved with deep-brain stimulation are usually sustained for at least 5 years, shows follow up of a randomized trial.

15 Nov 2012

Myasthenia gravis therapies: an interview with Professor Daniel Drachman

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that produces weakness and fatiguability of muscles. It affects between 1 and 7 people per 10,000, according to the best statistics.

15 Nov 2012

Strokes affecting people at younger ages

Michelle Nimmerrichter was only 20 years old when she suffered a stroke that left her in a coma and on a ventilator.

15 Nov 2012

Study looks at rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism that has no known treatment

Fewer than 100 people in the world are known to be affected by a movement disorder called rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP), but its symptoms are life-changing. Seemingly normal young people are suddenly and dramatically unable to control movement of their arms or legs and have trouble speaking or swallowing. A normal life is nearly impossible.

27 Sep 2012

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder that usually begins in infancy, with intermittent episodes of paralysis and stiffness, first affecting one side of the body, then the other. Symptoms mysteriously appear and disappear, again and again, and affected children often experience dozens of episodes per week. As they get older, children fall progressively behind their peers in both intellectual abilities and motor skills, and more than half develop epilepsy.

31 Jul 2012

Gene for sporadic paralysis of childhood discovered

Researchers have identified de novo mutations in the ATP1A3 gene that they believe are responsible for a sporadic childhood paralysis known as alternating hemiplegia of childhood.

30 Jul 2012

Otsuka announces results from aripiprazole Phase 3 trial on schizophrenia

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S today announced results from a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of once-monthly aripiprazole intramuscular (IM) depot formulation for the maintenance treatment of adults with schizophrenia.

8 May 2012

Conference to focus on deep brain stimulation for OCD, depression

Deep brain stimulation, increasingly recognized as an effective therapy for certain cases of Parkinson's disease, dystonia and tremor, also may help patients who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression that fails to respond to other treatments.

27 Apr 2012

NIMH honors SUNY Downstate professor with MERIT award

Todd C. Sacktor, M.D., distinguished professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has received a MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for his research on memory.

7 Apr 2012

Positive results from Allergan's BOTOX Phase III trials on idiopathic overactive bladder

Allergan, Inc. today announced that two Phase III clinical trials of BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) as a potential treatment option for patients with idiopathic overactive bladder met their pre-specified primary endpoints.

29 Mar 2012

DBS allows surgeons to control tremors with brain 'pacemaker'

For nearly 30 years, Tom Rogers' left hand would shake when he tried to use it, making even simple tasks such as drinking a glass of water, writing a check, or making a sandwich challenging. The tremor eventually became so disruptive that he lost use of his dominant hand. Rogers sought care and learned that his tremor was a symptom of Parkinson's disease, yet felt he was suffering from something different.

27 Mar 2012

New method to easily identify cause of rare diseases

Sanford Health Children's Research Center researcher, Kyle Roux, PhD, has revealed a new method of research that will allow the cause of disease—particularly rare diseases—to become more easily identified.

23 Mar 2012