Tag: Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s gene affects more people than previously thought

Almost 1 million people in the United States and nearly 10 million people across the world live with Parkinson’s disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 15 percent of those living with Parkinson’s have a hereditary form of the disease. Such hereditary forms of the condition are often down to mutations in several

Progress toward improved Wilson’s disease drug

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), working in collaboration with DepYmed Inc., a CSHL spinout company, today report that they have conducted promising preclinical experiments on a compound that could be used to treat Wilson’s disease and possibly other disorders — including certain types of cancer — in which levels of copper in the

New evidence sheds light on how Parkinson’s disease may happen

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital have identified unexpected new key players in the development of an early onset form of Parkinson’s disease called Parkinsonism. These key players are ceramides, a family of lipid molecules that are found within cell membranes. The researchers propose that ceramides are the linchpin that connects

This ‘light-activated’ drug could treat Parkinson’s

The drug — which is activated by shining light down an optical fiber implanted in the brain — reduced Parkinson’s symptoms and improved motor function in mice. In a paper about the work now published in the Journal of Controlled Release, the international team suggests that the “light-operated” drug could potentially treat other movement disorders.

Sleep problems in Parkinson’s disease: Can we fix them?

A team of researchers at VIB and KU Leuven has uncovered why people with a hereditary form of Parkinson’s disease suffer from sleep disturbances. The molecular mechanisms uncovered in fruit flies and human stem cells also point to candidate targets for the development of new treatments. Sleep and Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease affects 5 million people

Early synaptic dysfunction found in Parkinson’s Disease

Northwestern Medicine scientists identified a cellular mechanism that leads to neurodegeneration in patients with Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dimitri Krainc, MD, Ph.D., chair and Aaron Montgomery Ward Professor of Neurology, was the senior author of the study, which demonstrated a link between defective synaptic

Putting distinct memories of similar events in their place

Neuroscientists have found new evidence on how distinct memories of similar events are represented in the brain. Its findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, correct a previous misconception of how such memories are stored in the hippocampus — a part of the brain crucial for memory and understanding space. “Previous research suggested that brain

The effect of night shifts: Gene expression fails to adapt to new sleep patterns: Genes related to the immune system and metabolic processes did not adapt to new sleeping and eating patterns

Have you ever considered that working night shifts may, in the long run, have an impact on your health? A team of researchers from the McGill University affiliated Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DMHUI) has discovered that genes regulating important biological processes are incapable of adapting to new sleeping and eating patterns and that most

Eating fish could prevent Parkinson’s disease

A new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shines more light on the link between consumption of fish and better long-term neurological health. Parvalbumin, a protein found in great quantities in several fish species, has been shown to prevent the formation of certain protein structures closely associated with Parkinson’s disease. Fish has long been

Just one concussion could raise Parkinson’s risk

If you’ve ever had a mild concussion, your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease goes up by 56 percent, a new study of more than 300,000 U.S. veterans suggests. “Upwards of 40 percent of adults have had a traumatic brain injury [concussion], so these findings are definitely concerning,” said study author Dr. Raquel Gardner. She is

Are people with Parkinson’s disease depressed or demoralized?

People with Parkinson’s disease who show signs of depression may actually have a condition called demoralization, according to a study published in the April 4, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. That study found demoralization may be common in Parkinson’s disease. Demoralization is a state of feeling