Neurodegenerative Disorder News and Research

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PD MED trial: Levodopa drug better for long-term treatment of newly diagnosed PD

For long-term treatment of newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease (PD), the old drug levodopa provides better mobility and a higher quality of life than the two main alternatives, dopamine agonists (DA) and monoamine oxidase type B inhibitors (MAOBI), according to the largest-ever trial of PD treatment (PD MED), published in The Lancet.

13 Jun 2014

SGC and CHDI Foundation collaborate to discover new drug targets for Huntington's disease

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and CHDI Foundation have entered into a unique open-access research collaboration to discover and characterize new drug targets for Huntington's disease (HD) using structural and chemical biology In this first partnership of its kind, SGC and CHDI have explicitly agreed not to file for patents on any of the collaborative research and to make all reagents and knowledge available without restriction to the wider research community, including pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic research groups.

6 Jun 2014

New gene involved in Parkinson's disease, find researchers

A team of UCLA researchers has identified a new gene involved in Parkinson's disease, a finding that may one day provide a target for a new drug to prevent and potentially even cure the debilitating neurological disorder.

5 Jun 2014

Study: RNAi silencing strategy blocks production of mutant huntingtin protein

A targeted gene silencing strategy blocks production of the dysfunctional huntingtin (Htt) protein, the cause of Huntington's disease, a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder.

22 May 2014

KineMed extends collaboration with CHDI Foundation to track pathogenesis of Huntington's disease

KineMed, Inc. and CHDI Foundation, Inc. announced today an extension of their collaboration that uses KineMed's translational biomarker platform to characterize and track the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD) and evaluate potentially therapeutic interventions.

19 May 2014

New potential treatment for paraplegic patients

People with severe injuries to their spinal cord currently have no prospect of recovery and remain confined to their wheelchairs. Now, all that could change with a new treatment that stimulates the spinal cord using electric impulses.

16 May 2014

Civitas reports positive results from CVT-301 Phase 2b trial for treatment of Parkinson's disease

Civitas Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing transformative therapeutics using its proprietary ARCUSTM technology, today announced positive results from a Phase 2b clinical trial of CVT-301, an inhaled formulation of levodopa (L-dopa).

29 Apr 2014

Studies report new genetic disorder associated with degeneration of central/peripheral nervous systems

A newly identified genetic disorder associated with degeneration of the central and peripheral nervous systems in humans, along with the genetic cause, is reported in the April 24, 2014 issue of Cell.

25 Apr 2014

Harvard stem cell scientists discover potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Harvard stem cell scientists have discovered that a recently approved medication for epilepsy may possibly be a meaningful treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-Lou Gehrig's disease, a uniformly fatal neurodegenerative disorder. The researchers are now collaborating with Massachusetts General Hospital to design an initial clinical trial testing the safety of the treatment in ALS patients.

4 Apr 2014

UCSF/Daiichi Sankyo establish drug-discovery collaboration focused on neurodegenerative diseases

Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (hereafter, Daiichi Sankyo) and UC San Francisco (UCSF) announced today that they have established a drug-discovery collaboration focused on developing novel therapeutics and molecular diagnostics for multiple neurodegenerative diseases.

4 Apr 2014

Parkinson disease patients with higher CSF experience faster cognitive decline

Counterintuitive Findings Offer New Insights into Parkinson Disease Pathology, According to New Research Published in The American Journal of Pathology

12 Mar 2014

High-carbohydrate, high-calorie diet could delay progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

A high-carbohydrate, high-calorie diet could delay the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to a phase 2 study published in The Lancet.

3 Mar 2014

Omeros doses first patient in second Phase 2 clinical trial of OMS824

Omeros Corporation today announced dosing of the first patient in a second Phase 2 clinical trial of OMS824, the company's phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) inhibitor being developed for the treatment of schizophrenia, Huntington's disease (HD) and other cognitive disorders. The Phase 2 trial will evaluate the tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics and performance on a battery of tests in patients with symptomatic HD.

19 Feb 2014

Omeros announces additional positive data from OMS824 Phase 1 program

Omeros Corporation today announced additional positive data from its Phase 1 program for OMS824, the lead compound in Omeros' phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) program. This clinical trial evaluated the extent to which OMS824 binds to PDE10, an enzyme expressed in the region of the brain that has been linked to a wide range of diseases that affect cognition. In the latest cohort enrolled in this trial, OMS824 achieved a high of approximately 70‑percent engagement at PDE10 without evidence of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS).

11 Feb 2014

Study offers new avenue to pursue in quest for desperately needed treatments for ALS

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led a study showing that mutations in a gene responsible for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupt the RNA transport system in nerve cells.

6 Feb 2014

UC San Diego researchers uncover causes for hereditary spastic paraplegia

In a study published in the January 31, 2014 issue of Science, an international team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report doubling the number of known causes for the neurodegenerative disorder known as hereditary spastic paraplegia. HSP is characterized by progressive stiffness and contraction of the lower limbs and is associated with epilepsy, cognitive impairment, blindness and other neurological features.

31 Jan 2014

Omeros announces positive results from Phase 2a trial of OMS824 in patients with schizophrenia

Omeros Corporation today announced positive results from a Phase 2a clinical trial of OMS824, the company's phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) inhibitor, in which the drug was well tolerated and demonstrated comparable systemic pharmacokinetics when administered alone and concomitantly with approved antipsychotic agents in patients with schizophrenia. OMS824 selectively inhibits PDE10, an enzyme expressed in areas of the brain linked to a wide range of diseases that affect cognition, including schizophrenia and Huntington's disease.

29 Jan 2014

Study links discrete area of brain to cognitive deficit in people at early stage of PD

Research by a team of investigators in Finland suggests that the free recall memory deficits common even in early stages Parkinson's disease (PD) are related to structural changes in the brain, specifically parietal cortical gray matter volume.

17 Jan 2014

Higher vitamin D levels linked with better cognition and less depression in PD patients

A new study exploring vitamin D levels in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) opens up the possibility of a new avenue of early intervention that may delay or prevent the onset of cognitive impairment and depression. The findings are published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease.

16 Jan 2014

Study links a discrete area of the brain to cognitive deficit in people at early stage of PD

Research by a team of investigators in Finland suggests that the free recall memory deficits common even in early stages Parkinson's disease are related to structural changes in the brain, specifically parietal cortical gray matter volume. Their findings are published in the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease.