Movement Disorder News and Research

Latest Movement Disorder News and Research

Micrographia prevalent in Parkinson’s

Around half of patients with Parkinson’s disease display symptoms of micrographia, a case–control study shows.

19 Jul 2012

Carotid stenosis, ECG anomalies foreshadow Parkinson’s disease

Individuals aged 65 years and over who have carotid stenosis or electrocardiography abnormalities face an elevated risk for subsequently being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, results of a 14-year longitudinal study show.

19 Jul 2012

UCB’s Neupro now available in U.S. pharmacies

UCB announced today that Neupro (Rotigotine Transdermal System) is now available in U.S. pharmacies. Neupro was approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration in April to treat the signs and symptoms of early and advanced stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease and moderate-to-severe primary Restless Legs Syndrome.

16 Jul 2012

Scientists identify abnormal gene that leads to Parkinson's

An international team including scientists from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon Health Region and University of British Columbia, with the help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families, has identified an abnormal gene which leads to Parkinson's disease.

28 Jun 2012

Small coils activate neurons to modulate brain-cell activity

Magnetic fields generated by microscopic devices implanted into the brain may be able to modulate brain-cell activity and reduce symptoms of several neurological disorders.

27 Jun 2012

Gene transfer technique eliminates specific neural circuit linked to Parkinson's disease

In the brains of humans and non-human primates, over 100 billion nerve cells build up complicated neural circuits and produce higher brain functions. When an attempt is made to perform gene therapy for neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease, it is necessary to specify a responsible neural circuit out of many complicated circuits.

27 Jun 2012

Researchers identify latest gene associated with typical late-onset Lewy body Parkinson's

An international team led by human genetic researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the latest gene associated with typical late-onset Lewy body Parkinson's disease (PD), with the help of a Canadian Mennonite family of Dutch-German-Russian ancestry.

27 Jun 2012

Inexpensive exome sequencing can quickly detect heterogeneous diseases

The first report of the diagnostic use of the technique of exome sequencing, where short sequences of DNA are analysed, shows that it can give good results at low cost, a researcher from The Netherlands will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics.

25 Jun 2012

No legal recourse because generic drug caused injury

Carrie Scott went in to the hospital for abnormal bleeding. Days later she returned home without her hand and forearm. The generic form of Phenergan was given improperly, apparently from an inadequate warning label. Scott has no legal recourse because a generic drug caused her injury, rather than its brand-name equivalent.

22 Jun 2012

Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel reduces 'off' time in people with advanced PD

A new delivery method for levodopa/carbidopa, a common dual-drug Parkinson's disease (PD) regimen, significantly improved the duration of the drugs' effectiveness in people with advanced PD, according to research by Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

21 Jun 2012

HCHD to offer APTA-accredited post-professional physical therapy residency programs

The Harris County Hospital District joins only one other public healthcare system in the nation to offer two post-professional physical therapy residency programs with the recent accreditation of the Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency by the American Physical Therapy Association.

20 Jun 2012

Five abstracts evaluating Abbott's LCIG presented at Parkinson's disease congress

Today Abbott announced results from five abstracts evaluating levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), its investigational compound for advanced Parkinson's disease.

19 Jun 2012

European launch of technology for quantitative assessment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms from Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies

Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies announced today that they are launching the latest version of their medical device technology for assessing Parkinson’s disease next week at the Movement Disorders Society Congress in Dublin, Ireland.

14 Jun 2012

Patent claims for technology to assess Parkinson’s disease issued to Great Lakes Neurotechnologies

Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies announced today that the U.S. Patent Office has issued claims under patent number 8,187,209 covering their Movement Disorder Monitoring System and Method for quantitative assessment of motor symptoms associated with movement disorders.

6 Jun 2012

NYU Langone establishes unique neuromodulation center

The Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Langone Medical Center has established a unique, multidisciplinary neuromodulation center for the treatment of complex neurological conditions including movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, chronic pain and psychiatric condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder and severe depression.

31 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

Colonic tissue may help predict Parkinson's disease

Two studies by neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center suggest that, in the future, colonic tissue obtained during either colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy may be used to predict who will develop Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder of aging that that leads to progressive deterioration of motor function due to loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential to executing movement.

16 May 2012

Rare form of dementia eats away at personality and language

Michael French suffered from a rare form of dementia. It made him do unwise things like throwing away tax documents, getting a ticket for trying to pass an ambulance and buying stock in companies that were obviously in trouble. He seemed withdrawn and no longer spoke to his wife over dinner. He also lost his job at the consulting firm. This happened in 2006. His wife found he had changed suddenly from the smart, good-natured, hardworking man and was considering divorce when his ailment came into the picture.

8 May 2012

Therapy to halt symptoms in Parkinson's patients

Parkinson's disease, a disorder which affects movement and cognition, affects over a million Americans, including actor Michael J. Fox, who first brought it to the attention of many TV-watching Americans. It's characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age.

3 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