Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

By shutting down inflammation, agent reverses damage from spinal cord injury in preclinical studies

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have been able to speed recovery and substantially reduce damage resulting from spinal cord injury in preclinical studies.

1 Apr 2009

Senate measure would allow generic versions of biotechnology drugs after five years

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday introduced legislation (S 726) that would allow FDA to approve generic versions of biotechnology drugs after a five-year period of brand-name patent exclusivity, the New York Times reports.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of mechanism of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease

Tiny, toxic protein particles severely disrupt neurotransmission and inhibit delivery of key proteins in Alzheimer's disease, two separate studies by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) researchers have found.

29 Mar 2009

St. Jude Medical announces first European patient implants of Libra deep brain stimulation systems for Parkinson’s Disease

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced the first patient implants of its Libra deep brain stimulation (DBS) system for treating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder that affects a person's control over his or her movements and speech.

29 Mar 2009

New way to make stem cells avoids risk of cancer

A team of scientists has advanced stem cell research by finding a way to endow human skin cells with embryonic stem cell-like properties without inserting potentially problematic new genes into their DNA.

29 Mar 2009

Modified magnetic resonance imaging technique shows disease metabolism in action

Duke University chemists are using modified magnetic resonance imaging to see molecular changes inside people's bodies that could signal health problems such as cancer.

29 Mar 2009

External focus improves postural stability in patients with Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson disease may be able to improve their postural stability by directing their attention to the external effects of their movements rather than to the movements of their own body, according to a study published in the February 2009 issue of Physical Therapy, the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

29 Mar 2009

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related problems hard to swallow

Patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit a disordered breathing-swallowing pattern that may account for their higher risk of aspiration pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh.

29 Mar 2009

The egg makes sure that sperm don't get too old

In contrast to women, men are fertile throughout life, but research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has now shown that a fertilising sperm can get help from the egg to rejuvenate. The result is an important step towards future stem cell therapy.

25 Mar 2009

Non-invasive brain scanning technique may trace development of Parkinson's disease

While finding a biomarker for Parkinson's disease that would let physicians screen for or track its progression remains an elusive goal, a team led by a University of Illinois at Chicago neuroscientist has shown that a non-invasive brain scanning technique offers promise.

24 Mar 2009

Experimental Parkinson's therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

24 Mar 2009

New insights may help HIV and cancer patients

Important progress in understanding the function of tetherin, known to have both anti-cancer and anti-viral properties, has been made by researchers at the University of Bristol.

24 Mar 2009

p11 protein may lead to faster acting antidepressants

Research conducted by Nobel laureate Paul Greengard, Medical Director of The Michael Stern Parkinson's Research Center at The Rockefeller University, Dr. Jennifer L. Warner-Schmidt in New York and colleagues in Sweden, demonstrated in the Journal of Neuroscience that the brain protein called p11 could lead pharmaceutical companies to develop anti-depression drugs that begin working within hours or days rather than the weeks or even months required by current drugs.

23 Mar 2009

New nanotechnology treatment for drug addiction

A precise, new nanotechnology treatment for drug addiction may be on the horizon as the result of research conducted at the University at Buffalo.

23 Mar 2009

Insights into Parkinson's disease and deep-brain stimulation

About the only thing doctors have understood about deep-brain stimulation, which is widely used to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, is that somehow it works for many patients.

20 Mar 2009

Novel stimulation method sparks hope for Parkinson's disease sufferers

A novel stimulation method, the first potential therapy to target the spinal cord instead of the brain, may offer an effective and less invasive approach for Parkinson's disease treatment, according to pre-clinical data published in the journal Science by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

20 Mar 2009

Research could lead to potential new drugs for treating asthma

The American Asthma Foundation announced that a significant research discovery they funded has been licensed by a leading biotech company.

20 Mar 2009

A living representation of the brain created by scientists

Researchers in the School of Life & Health Sciences at Aston University in Birmingham, UK are developing a novel new way to model how the human brain works by creating a living representation of the brain.

17 Mar 2009

Scientists 'watch' as individual alpha-synuclein proteins change shape

In an Early Edition publication of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week, the researchers demonstrate the "alpha-synuclein dance" - the switching back and forth of the protein between a bent helix and an extended helix as the surface that it is binding to changes.

16 Mar 2009

University of Florida doctors test targets for Parkinson surgery

Doctors may be able to tailor a specialized form of brain surgery to more closely match the needs of Parkinson patients, according to results from the first large-scale effort to compare the two current target areas of deep brain stimulation surgery, or DBS.

15 Mar 2009