Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

U.S. Judge approves federal funding for embryonic research

Federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is now legal in the United States. Chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia Royce Lamberth has ruled on the case Sherley et al. v. Sebelius, in favor of hESC research. This overturns an existing law that prohibits the government from funding research that destroys the embryo.

27 Jul 2011

Safeguard Scientifics reports consolidated net income of $121.8M for second quarter 2011

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced results of operations for the second quarter of 2011.

27 Jul 2011

All football players do not get chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Preliminary results from the first four brains donated to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, TorontoWesternHospital, reveal that two of the four former Canadian Football League (CFL) players suffered from a brain disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), while two did not show signs of CTE.

27 Jul 2011

Methamphetamine users more likely to develop Parkinson's disease

People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

27 Jul 2011

NeurOp receives NIH grant to support research program for ischemia

NeurOp, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for central nervous system disorders, today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the company a $3 million grant to support its research program for ischemia.

27 Jul 2011

Fragile X syndrome study to reveal more

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability in the world. Medical experts, including the Mater Hospital's Dr Helen Heussler, are today launching a new push to uncover the secrets of a disorder that affects a child born in Australia every week. Fragile X is passed from parent carriers who often exhibit very few symptoms. Estimates suggest more than 100,000 Australians either carry the gene mutation that causes Fragile X or have the syndrome, yet the vast majority have not been diagnosed, according to the Fragile X Association of Australia.

25 Jul 2011

Specific yeast protein can promote spontaneous prion formation

It's a chicken and egg question. Where do the infectious protein particles called prions come from? Essentially clumps of misfolded proteins, prions cause neurodegenerative disorders, such as mad cow/Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, in humans and animals.

25 Jul 2011

Elite task force provides insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia

Neurologist Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, served on an elite international task force commissioned by the Movement Disorder Society to provide insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia, an uncommon condition that causes sustained, sometimes crippling muscle contractions.

22 Jul 2011

Advancements in use of zinc finger nucleases to produce genetically modified pigs

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced the publication of a study demonstrating the use of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) to produce genetically modified pigs. The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), represents a significant advancement in the development of improved, less immunogenic animal tissue as a source for transplant into humans.

22 Jul 2011

Neuroscience 2011 to explore latest advances in brain research

The Society for Neuroscience's Annual Meeting, Neuroscience 2011, Nov. 12-16 at the Washington Convention Center. The event will include more than 16,000 study abstracts on new discoveries in aging, stress, mental illness, learning, disease, and more.

22 Jul 2011

Microencapsulated cell transplant can help treat chronic illnesses more effectively

Chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's could be treated more effectively in the future, by means of the transplant of microencapsulated cells. The researcher from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Dr Ainhoa Murua has presented a number of proposals for optimising this technique.

21 Jul 2011

Baxter net income increases 15% to $615 million for second quarter 2011

Baxter International Inc. today announced strong financial results for the second quarter of 2011, and raised its financial outlook for full-year 2011.

From Baxter International Inc. 21 Jul 2011

Deep brain stimulation benefits people with Parkinson's, essential tremor

Tom Keilen couldn't grab a glass of water without spilling it all over himself. Plagued with uncontrollable tremors at just 57 years old, the Michigan resident was fighting a battle against an aggressive case of Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2011

Obama backs 'Gang of Six' plan that includes Medicare cuts

The Senate's "Gang of Six" unveiled its 10-year, $3.7 trillion deficit reduction plan Tuesday and received a warm, bipartisan reception in the upper chamber. Meanwhile, in the House, GOP lawmakers, in a largely symbolic vote, passed their "cut, cap and balance" measure, which the White House has called "unacceptable."

21 Jul 2011

Study examines cost-effectiveness of MS drugs in the U.S.

A new study examining the cost-effectiveness of drugs to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States finds that the health gains from these drugs come at a very high cost compared to basic therapy to control the symptoms of MS and compared to treatments for other chronic diseases.

21 Jul 2011

PrioNet Canada awards University of Western Ontario $600,000 to study neurodegenerative disorders

The University of Western Ontario is one of nine universities which will share 2.9 million dollars in research grants announced by PrioNet Canada to study Prion diseases and neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's.

21 Jul 2011

New insights into sleep difficulties among older people

A new study of the brain's master circadian clock - known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN - reveals that a key pattern of rhythmic neural activity begins to decline by middle age. The study, whose senior author is UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, may have implications for the large number of older people who have difficulty sleeping and adjusting to time changes.

20 Jul 2011

Scientists discover new dominant gene linked to Parkinson's

The newly discovered gene is known as VPS35, the sixth one which has been associated with Parkinson's disease and the third dominant gene.

20 Jul 2011

Scientists identify new inherited form of Parkinson's disease

Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München working in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna have identified a mutation associated with a inherited form of late-onset Parkinson's disease.

19 Jul 2011

Nano-patterned plastic to advance stem cell research

Scientists have developed a novel plastic surface which overcomes the difficulties associated with growing adult stem cells. Standard surfaces have proved limited for growing large amounts and retaining the stem cells' useful characteristics. This discovery could lead to the creation of stem cell therapies for re-growing bone and tissue, and also for conditions such as arthritis. The study was carried out by Glasgow and Southampton universities.

18 Jul 2011