Progressive Supranuclear Palsy News and Research

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Simple blood test may be accurate in differentiating between Parkinson's disease and APDs

A simple blood test may be as accurate as a spinal fluid test when trying to determine whether symptoms are caused by Parkinson's disease or another atypical parkinsonism disorder, according to a new study published in the February 8, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Feb 2017

Designer compound may be effective tool for tackling tau-related disorders

In a study of mice and monkeys, National Institutes of Health funded researchers showed that they could prevent and reverse some of the brain injury caused by the toxic form of a protein called tau.

8 Feb 2017

PERK protein could be target for development of new drugs for progressive supranuclear palsy

The brain disease "progressive supranuclear palsy" (PSP) is currently incurable and its symptoms can only be eased to a very limited degree. PSP impairs eye movements, locomotion, balance control, and speech.

6 Feb 2017

Synthetic molecule appears to reverse Alzheimer's-related neurological damage

Under ordinary circumstances, the protein tau contributes to the normal, healthy functioning of brain neurons. In some people, though, it collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells.

25 Jan 2017

Tau PET imaging in Alzheimer's disease increases opportunities for developing effective drugs

Tau PET is a new and promising imaging method for Alzheimer's disease. A case study from Lund University in Sweden now confirms that tau PET images correspond to a higher degree to actual changes in the brain. According to the researchers behind the study, this increases opportunities for developing effective drugs.

28 Sep 2016

Scientists examine how neural responses change over time in patients with Parkinson's disease

Neuroscientists peered into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and two similar conditions to see how their neural responses changed over time.

16 Aug 2016

New, non-invasive way to monitor progression of Parkinson's disease may help improve treatment

A new, non-invasive way to track the progression of Parkinson's disease could help evaluate experimental treatments to slow or stop the disease's progression.

16 Aug 2016

Biopsy of submandibular gland can help identify pathology of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies

Accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and the related disease "dementia with Lewy bodies," can be difficult in the early stages of both conditions. While brain biopsies can be more accurate, the risk of complications has been considered too high. New research published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease indicates that a biopsy of the submandibular gland can help identify the same pathology that is seen in the brain, providing some of the increased accuracy of brain biopsy, but not the increased risk.

12 Apr 2016

PERK inhibition can be a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases

A major challenge in the field of neurodegeneration is the unclear understanding of neuronal dysfunction. Elucidation of these patho-mechanisms could result in the identification of novel therapeutic targets. In this article, Bell et al. present an exhaustive literature review highlighting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase PERK as a crucial contributor to systemic and neurodegenerative disorders.

20 Mar 2016

CTE can be diagnosed by neuropathological examination of brain tissue

For the first time, CTE has been confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed by neuropathological examination of brain tissue. A consensus panel of expert neuropathologists concluded that CTE has a pathognomonic signature in the brain, an advance that represents a milestone for CTE research and lays the foundation for future studies defining the clinical symptoms, genetic risk factors and therapeutic strategies for CTE.

16 Dec 2015

Salsalate drug offers new hope for treating Alzheimer's disease and FTD

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that salsalate, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, effectively reversed tau-related dysfunction in an animal model of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Salsalate prevented the accumulation of tau in the brain and protected against cognitive impairments resembling impairments seen in Alzheimer's disease and FTD.

21 Sep 2015

CSF biomarkers predict dementia risk in PD patients

Early analysis of cerebrospinal fluid could help diagnose parkinsonian disorders and enhance the prediction of dementia in Parkinson’s disease patients, study results indicate.

19 Aug 2015

C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12) gets orphan drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

C2N Diagnostics and AbbVie today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted their investigational recombinant humanized anti-tau antibody, C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12), an orphan drug designation for the treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

17 Jul 2015

AbbVie signs exclusive worldwide license agreement with C2N for Alzheimer's disease therapies

AbbVie today announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with C2N Diagnostics, a privately held protein diagnostic and therapeutic discovery company, to develop and commercialize a portfolio of anti-tau antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and other neurological disorders.

19 Mar 2015

UC San Diego Health System's Movement Disorder Center joins NPF Center of Excellence network

The Movement Disorder Center at UC San Diego Health System has been designated the 41st Center of Excellence in the National Parkinson Foundation's global network. This designation is the highest recognition offered by NPF to a Parkinson's specialty clinic. It represents the consensus of leaders in the field that the UC San Diego program is among the world's leading centers for Parkinson's research, outreach and care.

27 Feb 2015

Study shows amyloid formation may link type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer disease

The pathological process amyloidosis, in which misfolded proteins (amyloids) form insoluble fibril deposits, occurs in many diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

17 Feb 2015

Alzheimer's Association announces new research grants to study potential drug therapies

Many academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies have identified new Alzheimer's drug therapy candidates, but lack the funding to move them into human testing. At the same time, few funding sources support early-phase clinical drug trials. As a result, too many promising studies stall out early in the discovery process.

28 Jan 2015

Simple tests can help differentiate between early-stage PD and atypical parkinsonism

Two simple tests conducted during the neurological exam can help clinicians differentiate between early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonism. By asking patients to perform a tandem gait test and inquiring whether they are still able to ride a bicycle, clinicians can ascertain whether medio-lateral balance is impaired, a defining characteristic of atypical parkinsonism.

18 Nov 2014

Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network awarded $29 million NIH grant

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $29 million to the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, which is dedicated to furthering translational research and investigating new treatments for patients with rare diseases.

14 Oct 2014

Study: People with PSP experience more severe cognitive impairments than those with PD

Researchers from the University of Melbourne have established how two diseases that present in similar ways are in fact quite different.

13 Oct 2014