Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

New research identifies cause of disruption in brain's communication channels linked to psychiatric disorders

New research has identified the mechanisms that trigger disruption in the brain's communication channels linked to symptoms in psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. The University of Bristol study, published today [17 Aug] in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, could have important implications for treating symptoms of brain disorders.

18 Aug 2015

Tracking retinal changes may help doctors to adjust schizophrenia treatment in the future

Schizophrenia is associated with structural and functional alterations of the visual system, including specific structural changes in the eye. Tracking such changes may provide new measures of risk for, and progression of the disease, according to a literature review published online in the journal Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, authored by researchers at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and Rutgers University.

18 Aug 2015

Putaminal serotonergic innervation flags levodopa-induced dyskinesia risk

Increased serotonergic fibre innervation relative to dopaminergic fibre availability may be a potential marker of disease progression in Parkinson’s disease patients and a possible warning of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, indicates an in vivo imaging study.

17 Aug 2015

FDA accepts Chiasma's NDA filing for octreotide capsules for treatment of adult patients with acromegaly

Chiasma, Inc., a U.S. late-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for the marketing and sale of octreotide capsules, an oral drug proposed for the maintenance therapy of adult patients with acromegaly.

17 Aug 2015

Algorithm encompassing clinical and genetic factors predicts PD

Researchers have devised a model that distinguishes patients with Parkinson’s disease from those without the condition without relying on motor features.

14 Aug 2015

Prion protein could play a role in depression

The discovery of antidepressant drugs in the 1950s led to the first biochemical hypothesis of depression, known as the monoamine hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that an imbalance of certain brain chemicals is the key cause of depression.

14 Aug 2015

Neurocrine completes enrollment in Phase III clinical trial of NBI-98854 in tardive dyskinesia patients

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. announced today that it has recently completed subject randomization of the Phase III clinical trial (Kinect 3 Study) of its proprietary Vesicular Mono-Amine Transporter 2 (VMAT2) compound NBI-98854 in tardive dyskinesia patients.

13 Aug 2015

Researchers report role of two gene-regulating molecules in Parkinson's disease

As Parkinson's disease progresses in patients, a puzzling dichotomy plays out in their brains. One set of neurons degenerates, while a similar population nearby is spared the same degree of damage. Why the difference? An answer to this question could clear the way for preventions and treatments for this disease, which impairs movement.

11 Aug 2015

McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

Researchers at McGill have clearly identified, for the first time, the specific parts of the brain involved in decisions that call for delayed gratification. In a paper recently published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, they demonstrated that the hippocampus (associated with memory) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with pleasure) work together in making critical decisions of this type, where time plays a role.

5 Aug 2015

University of Southampton research finds that electric fields alter behaviour of fruit flies

A new piece of research led by the University of Southampton has found that the behaviour of fruit flies, which are commonly used in laboratory experiments, is altered by electric fields.

31 Jul 2015

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Numerous genes that regulate the activity of a neurotransmitter in the brain have been found to be abundant in brain tissue of depressed females. This could be an underlying cause of the higher incidence of suicide among women, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

31 Jul 2015

Study sheds light on certain antagonist drugs that block physiological responses

Members of the Consolidated Research Group of Molecular Neurobiology of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB), affiliated with the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), have published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the formation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) which allows understanding the unexpected behaviour of some antagonists that block physiological responses.

30 Jul 2015

Low-dose lithium lowers involuntary motor movements in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Low-dose lithium reduced involuntary motor movements - the troubling side effect of the medication most commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) - in a mouse model of the condition that is diagnosed in about 60,000 Americans each year. The third in a series of studies from the Andersen lab involving PD and low-dose lithium, the results add to mounting evidence that low-doses of the psychotropic drug could benefit patients suffering from the incurable, degenerative condition.

28 Jul 2015

Discovery brings hope for people suffering from Parkinson's disease

Scientists from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the United States have found that existing anti-malaria drugs could be a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease.

16 Jul 2015

New study shows high-fat diet can cause impairments in functioning of mesolimbic dopamine system

High-fat feeding can cause impairments in the functioning of the mesolimbic dopamine system, says Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal and the CHUM Research Centre. This system is a critical brain pathway controlling motivation. Fulton's findings, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, may have great health implications.

15 Jul 2015

Does smoking increase the risk of developing psychosis?

Research conducted at King’s College London and reported in Lancet Psychiatry today indicates that smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing psychosis; a mental health disorder that disrupts normal processing by the brain causing delusion and hallucination.

10 Jul 2015

Cognizin citicoline shows promise in patients with bipolar disorder and cocaine dependence

The results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that Cognizin citicoline (Jarrow Formulas) was effective at reducing cocaine use, based on urine drug screens, in patients with bipolar disorder and cocaine dependence. The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in Advance, included a total of 130 outpatients with bipolar I disorder and cocaine dependence, who received either Cognizin citicoline or placebo add-on therapy for 12 weeks.

7 Jul 2015

Increased sleepiness may necessitate cautious PD management

Many patients with early Parkinson’s disease develop excessive daytime sleepiness as their condition progresses, a study shows.

3 Jul 2015

Potential new class of drugs lessen neurodegeneration in rat model of Parkinson's disease

The first test in a mammalian model of a potential new class of drugs to treat Parkinson's disease shows abatement of neurodegeneration in the brains of test rats and no significant toxicities, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Pfizer Inc. researchers report online in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

26 Jun 2015

New 3D cell culture system could facilitate search for therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease

The progressive loss of neurons in the brain of Parkinson's patients is slow yet inexorable. So far, there are no drugs that can halt this insidious process.

25 Jun 2015

Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

New research identifies cause of disruption in brain's communication channels linked to psychiatric disorders

Tracking retinal changes may help doctors to adjust schizophrenia treatment in the future

Putaminal serotonergic innervation flags levodopa-induced dyskinesia risk

FDA accepts Chiasma's NDA filing for octreotide capsules for treatment of adult patients with acromegaly

Algorithm encompassing clinical and genetic factors predicts PD

Prion protein could play a role in depression

Neurocrine completes enrollment in Phase III clinical trial of NBI-98854 in tardive dyskinesia patients

Researchers report role of two gene-regulating molecules in Parkinson's disease

McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

University of Southampton research finds that electric fields alter behaviour of fruit flies

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Study sheds light on certain antagonist drugs that block physiological responses

Low-dose lithium lowers involuntary motor movements in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Discovery brings hope for people suffering from Parkinson's disease

New study shows high-fat diet can cause impairments in functioning of mesolimbic dopamine system

Does smoking increase the risk of developing psychosis?

Cognizin citicoline shows promise in patients with bipolar disorder and cocaine dependence

Increased sleepiness may necessitate cautious PD management

Potential new class of drugs lessen neurodegeneration in rat model of Parkinson's disease

New 3D cell culture system could facilitate search for therapeutic agents for Parkinson's disease

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Dopamine News and Research

Latest Dopamine News and Research

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

How cohesin mechanics and nanotracker tech are redefining DNA research

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

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