Showing posts with label parkinsons. Show all posts

Friday 28 August 2015

Brain cells 'burn out' in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease: computer artwork of neurones

Brain cells in Parkinson's disease exhaust themselves and die prematurely, burning out like an "overheating motor", an early study suggests.

Canadian researchers say the findings might help explain why only small parts of the brain are affected in the disease.

Parkinson's is caused by a loss of nerve cells in certain areas of the brain - but why these cells are vulnerable has been a mystery.

The work appears in Current Biology.

Tremor and stiffness

An estimated 127,000 people in the UK have Parkinson's disease, which can lead to a pronounced tremor, slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles.

In this paper, scientists from the University of Montreal studied the disease in mice cells.

They found, unlike other similar brain cells, neurons most often involved in Parkinson's disease were complex and had many more branches.

The cells also had much higher energy requirements, producing more waste products as they met this need.

Researchers suggest it is the accumulation of these waste products that triggers cell death.

Prof Louis-Eric Trudeau said: "Like a motor constantly running at high speed, these neurons need to produce an incredible amount of energy to function.

"They appear to exhaust themselves and die prematurely."

The team hope this finding may help create better experimental models of Parkinson's and identify new treatments.

'Rekindle interest'

They suggest, for example, that medication could one day be developed to help reduce the energy requirement of cells or increase their energy efficiency.

Dr Arthur Roach, at the charity Parkinson's UK, said:"Out of the billions of cells in the brain, it is always the same small group that degenerate and die in Parkinson's. We don't know why only these cells are affected.

"This study provides strong support to the idea that it is the unique structure and function of these cells that makes them especially susceptible to a damaging process called oxidative stress.

"We hope that this study will rekindle interest in the approach, and even lead to new treatments based on the most up-to-date ideas about oxidative stress."

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Patients with advanced Parkinson's disease often have rapid swings between mobility and immobility

Subthalamic nucleus versus globus pallidus bilateral deep brain stimulation for advanced Parkinson's disease (NSTAPS study): a randomised controlled trial

Summary

Background

Patients with advanced Parkinson's disease often have rapid swings between mobility and immobility, and many respond unsatisfactorily to adjustments in pharmacological treatment. We assessed whether globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) gives greater functional improvement than does subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS.

Methods

We recruited patients from five centres in the Netherlands who were aged 18 years or older, had idiopathic Parkinson's disease, and had, despite optimum pharmacological treatment, at least one of the following symptoms: severe response fluctuations, dyskinesias, painful dystonias, or bradykinesia. By use of a computer-generated randomisation sequence, we randomly assigned patients to receive either GPi DBS or STN DBS (1:1), applying a minimisation procedure according to drug use (levodopa equivalent dose <1000 i="i" mg="mg" nbsp="nbsp">vs

≥1000 mg) and treatment centre. Patients and study assessors (but not those who assessed adverse events) were masked to treatment allocation. We had two primary outcomes: functional health as measured by the weighted Academic Medical Center Linear Disability Scale (ALDS; weighted by time spent in the off phase and on phase) and a composite score for cognitive, mood, and behavioural effects up to 1 year after surgery. Secondary outcomes were symptom scales, activities of daily living scales, a quality-of-life questionnaire, the occurrence of adverse events, and drug use. We used the intention-to-treat principle for all analyses. This trial is registered with www.controlled-trials.com, number ISRCTN85542074.

Findings

Between Feb 1, 2007, and March 29, 2011, we enrolled 128 patients, assigning 65 to GPi DBS and 63 to STN DBS. We found no statistically significant difference in either of our primary outcomes: mean change in weighted ALDS (3·0 [SD 14·5] in the GPi group vs 7·7 [23·2] in the STN group; p=0·28) and the number of patients with cognitive, mood, and behavioural side-effects (36 [58%] of 62 patients in the GPi group vs 35 [56%] of 63 patients in the STN group; p=0·94). Secondary outcomes showed larger improvements in off-drug phase in the STN group compared with the GPi group in the mean change in unified Parkinson's disease rating scale motor examination scores (20·3 [16·3] vs 11·4 [16·1]; p=0·03), the mean change in ALDS scores (20·3 [27·1] vs 11·8 [18·9]; p=0·04), and medication (mean levodopa equivalent drug reduction: 546 [SD 561] vs 208 [521]; p=0·01). We recorded no difference in the occurrence of adverse events between the two groups. Other secondary endpoints showed no difference between the groups.

Interpretation

Although there was no difference in our primary outcomes, our findings suggest that STN could be the preferred target for DBS in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

Funding

Stichting Internationaal Parkinson Fonds, Prinses Beatrix Fonds, and Parkinson Vereniging.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Bacteria 'linked' to Parkinson's disease

Bacteria 'linked' to Parkinson's diseaseFollow @westofmengele

Could this bacterium cause Parkinson's disease?

The bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers have been linked to Parkinson's disease, according to researchers in the US.

Mice infected with Helicobacter pylori went onto develop Parkinson's like symptoms.

The study, presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, argues that infection could play "a significant role".

The charity Parkinson's UK said the results should be treated with caution.

Parkinson's disease affects the brain and results in slow movements and a tremor.

Middle-aged mice, the equivalent of being between 55 and 65 in humans, were infected. Six months later they showed symptoms related to Parkinson's, such as reduced movement and decreased levels of a chemical, dopamine, in the brain.

These changes were not noticed in younger mice.

Toxic

Dr Traci Testerman, from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, said: "Our findings suggest that H. pylori infection could play a significant role in the development of Parkinson's disease in humans.

"The results were far more dramatic in aged mice than in young mice, demonstrating that normal ageing increases susceptibility to Parkinsonian changes in mice, as is seen in humans."

The researchers believe the bacteria are producing chemicals which are toxic to the brain.

They said H. pylori was able to "steal" cholesterol from the body and process it by adding a sugar group.

The bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers may have a role in Parkinson's say researchers.

Dr Testerman said this new chemical was almost identical to one found in seeds from the cycad plant, which had been shown to trigger a Parkinson's-like disease among people in Guam.

She told the BBC: "H. pylori eradication in late stage Parkinson's disease is unlikely to result in significant improvement.

"Certain neurons are killed before symptoms begin, and more are killed as the disease progresses. Those neurons will not grow back."

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at Parkinson's UK, said: "We believe Parkinson's is most likely caused by a combination of environmental factors together with an individual's genetic susceptibility to developing the condition.

He said there was some evidence that bacteria can prevent the main drug to treat Parkinson's, levodopa, being absorbed, but there was no strong evidence that people who have H. pylori in their gut are actually more likely to develop Parkinson's.

He added: "The current study is interesting and suggests that the bacteria may release a toxin that could kill nerve cells.

"However, the results should be treated with caution. The research was carried out in mice that were infected with relatively high doses of the bacterium or its extract.

"While they developed movement problems, we don't know whether this was actually due to the death of nerve cells. Further research needs to be carried out".

A new technique could improve the quality of life for patients with Parkinson's Disease

Cardiff University new Parkinson's therapy hope

MRI scan of a patient with Parkinson's Disease

A brain scan of a patient with Parkinson's disease. The blue box highlights a damaged region

A new technique could improve the quality of life for patients with Parkinson's Disease, according to research led by Cardiff University.

Patients with the early stages of the disease were trained to control areas of the brain associated with movement by using the power of thought alone.

A clinical evaluation later found their movement had improved by up to a third.

The charity Parkinson's UK described the research as "exciting" but stressed "these are very early days".

The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, involved ten patients with the disease that affects the brain and results in slow movements and a tremor.

Five patients received the brain regulation feedback technique and five acted as a control.

Activity mapping

“Start Quote

We wanted them to activate the brain regions associated with movement through the force of their mind”

Professor David LindenCardiff University

Patients undergoing the training were placed in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner in Bangor, Gwynedd. At first, they were asked to squeeze a hand as the team mapped the regions of the brain responsible for controlling movement.

Then, in real time, the subjects were shown the level of activity in these regions displayed on a gauge above them.

They were asked to imagine making complex movements in order to activate the brain centres, and saw a corresponding increase on the gauge. With practice, they were able to increase and decrease the level of activity at will, through thought alone.

Prof David Linden from Cardiff University, who led the research, described the process as "real-time neural feedback".

Motor function

"Self-regulation of brain activity in humans based on real-time feedback is emerging as a powerful technique," said Prof Linden.

Diagram from Cardiff University showing the principle of feedback in the research

Patients experienced a feedback effect as they learnt to control motion centres in their brain

"In this study we assessed whether patients with Parkinson's disease are able to alter their brain activity to improve their motor function. We wanted them to activate the brain regions associated with movement through the force of their mind," he explained.

The professor stressed that the technique did not offer a cure but he said that improved function could lead to a better quality of life.

"We found that the five patients who received neuro feedback were able to increase activity in brain networks important for movements and that this intervention resulted in an overall improvement in motor speed - in this case, finger tapping," said Prof Linden.

"The training resulted in clinically relevant improvement of motor functions - so assuming patients can learn to transfer the strategies used during neuro feedback into real-life settings, it might also become possible to sustain the clinical benefits," he added.

The research team said the study was a small scale proof of principle and they now hope to stage a larger, randomised, clinical trial.

“Start Quote

While these results are exciting, these are very early days”

Claire BaleParkinson's UK

'Amazing' brain

Claire Bale, senior research communications officer at Parkinson's UK, said: "This study showed that people with Parkinson's were able to alter their own brain activity to improve their movement symptoms using neurofeedback from brain scans. This highlights the amazing ability of the brain to change and adapt".

"While these results are exciting, these are very early days. We need much larger, in-depth studies to help us understand the potential these techniques may have to tackle some of the symptoms of Parkinson's," said Ms Bale.

The research into Parkinson's disease was the result of a collaboration between Cardiff University and scientists and doctors from north Wales, London and the Netherlands.

Prof Linden has also carried out a pilot trial using the neuro feedback technique on patients suffering with depression. The findings of that study are yet to be published.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

ISHERWOOD: AM PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR PARKINSON’S UK WALES MANIFESTO

Written by Mark Isherwood AM

Friday, 29 October 2010 12:35

A NORTH Wales Assembly Member has pledged his support for the Parkinson’s UK Wales manifesto for the National Assembly elections. As the support and research charity committed to improving life for everyone affected by Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s UK Wales has launched its manifesto, which expresses the needs of people affected by Parkinson’s to the future Wales Government.Welsh Conservative AM, Mark Isherwood, was keen to pledge his support for the manifesto, ‘3 Pledges for Parkinson’s,’ after speaking to the charity and hearing of some of the problems faced by carers and people with the condition.

“I have signed up to the Parkinson’s UK manifesto and if I’m elected, I will do everything in my power to make sure people affected by Parkinson’s have all the support they need,” said Mr Isherwood.

Aileen Napier, Wales Manager at Parkinson’s UK, added: “Too many people with Parkinson’s can’t get the support, services or treatment they need to manage their condition.“People with Parkinson’s can get a raw deal we want as many candidates as possible to sign up to our manifesto and highlight the issues that we’ve raised.”Our manifesto pledges make financial sense for the next Government. The Government can save around £56million by offering the right support through nurses and therapists.”The manifesto highlights three main priorities for the Wales Government based on the needs of people with Parkinson’s:Everyone affected by Parkinson’s in Wales should have timely access to the right health and social care including a Parkinson’s nursePeople with Parkinson’s in Wales should be able to get the medication they need, when they need it All staff involved in managing care for people with Parkinson’s should have a good understanding of the condition For information and support call the Parkinson’s UK free confidential helpline on 0808 800 0303 or visit parkinsons

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Low vitamin D levels 'linked to Parkinson's disease'

Low vitamin D levels 'linked to Parkinson's disease'
Sunlight on the skin helps generate vitamin D Having low vitamin D levels may increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life, say Finnish researchers.

Their study of 3,000 people, published in Archives of Neurology, found people with the lowest levels of the sunshine vitamin had a three-fold higher risk.

Vitamin D could be helping to protect the nerve cells gradually lost by people with the disease, experts say.

The charity Parkinson's UK said further research was required.

Parkinson's disease affects several parts of the brain, leading to symptoms like tremor and slow movements.

30-year study

The researchers from Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare measured vitamin D levels from the study group between 1978 and 1980, using blood samples.

They then followed these people over 30 years to see whether they developed Parkinson's disease.

They found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D were three times more likely to develop Parkinson's, compared with the group with the highest levels of vitamin D.

Most vitamin D is made by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight, although some comes from foods like oily fish, milk or cereals.

As people age, however, their skin becomes less able to produce vitamin D.

Doctors have known for many years that vitamin D helps calcium uptake and bone formation.

But research is now showing that it also plays a role in regulating the immune system, as well as in the development of the nervous system.

Vitamin target

Writing in an editorial in the US journal Archives of Neurology, Marian Evatt, assistant professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, says that health authorities should consider raising the target vitamin D level.

"At this point, 30 nanograms per millilitre of blood or more appears optimal for bone health in humans.

"However, researchers don't yet know what level is optimal for brain health or at what point vitamin D becomes toxic for humans, and this is a topic that deserves close examination."

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at Parkinson's UK, said: "The study provides further clues about the potential environmental factors that may influence or protect against the progression of Parkinson's.

"A balanced healthy diet should provide the recommended levels of vitamin D.

"Further research is required to find out whether taking a dietary supplement, or increased exposure to sunlight, may have an effect on Parkinson's, and at what stage these would be most beneficial."Vitamin D
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Vitamin D (disambiguation).

Cholecalciferol (D3)
Calcium regulation in the human body.[1] The role of vitamin D is shown in orange.Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids, the two major physiologically relevant forms of which are vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D without a subscript refers to either D2 or D3 or both. Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin of vertebrates after exposure to ultraviolet B light from the sun or artificial sources, and occurs naturally in a small range of foods. In some countries staples such as milk, flour and margarine are artificially fortified with vitamin D, and it is also available as a supplement in pill form.[2]

Vitamin D is carried in the bloodstream to the liver, where it is converted into the prohormone calcidiol. Circulating calcidiol may then be converted into calcitriol, the biologically active form of vitamin D, either in the kidneys or by monocyte-macrophages in the immune system. When synthesized by monocyte-macrophages, calcitriol acts locally as a cytokine, defending the body against microbial invaders.[3]

When synthesized in the kidneys, calcitriol circulates as a hormone, regulating, among other things, the concentration of calcium and phosphate in the bloodstream, promoting the healthy mineralization, growth and remodeling of bone, and the prevention of hypocalcemic tetany. Vitamin D insufficiency can result in thin, brittle, or misshapen bones, while sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, and, together with calcium, helps to protect older adults from osteoporosis. Vitamin D also modulates neuromuscular function, reduces inflammation, and influences the action of many genes that regulate the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of cells.[4]

Saturday 5 December 2009

could offer Parkinson's clue

Worm could offer Parkinson's clue

C. elegans worm, which researchers will use to study Parkinson's Disease

Scientists will study the C. elegans worm for clues to Parkinson's Disease

Scientists believe that worms could hold the key to why some people develop Parkinson's Disease.

Worms share 50% of their genes with humans, including those involved with inherited Parkinson's.

Dundee University researchers will study a simple worm called C. elegans to try to work out why the condition causes patient's brain cells to die.

The Parkinson's Disease Society has given the university £190,000 to carry out the research.

Eventual cure

There are about 120,000 people with Parkinson's in the UK. In up to 5% of those cases, the disease is believed to be directly inherited.

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition affecting movements such as walking, talking and writing. It occurs as a result of a loss of nerve cells in the brain.

Dr Anton Gartner, who is leading the study, said: "Research leading to an eventual cure for Parkinson' s disease is a daunting task and requires a very broad and multidisciplinary approach.

"I am grateful to the Parkinson's society to recognise this and to so generously support our research."

It's fascinating that such a simple animal as a worm can be an excellent model for Parkinson's researchers

Dr Kieran Breen
Parkinson's Disease Society

Worms will be used in the study as they are one of the simplest organisms with a nervous system.

The way worms' nerve cells communicate with each other is also similar to how it works in humans.

Several genes, including one known as LRRK2, have been linked to the hereditary form of Parkinson's Disease.

Dr Gartner's team want to understand how changes or mutations in this gene lead to the development of Parkinson's - and how drugs could stop the damage that these mutations cause to nerve cells.

Dr Kieran Breen, from the Parkinson's Disease Society, said: "It's fascinating that such a simple animal as a worm can be an excellent model for Parkinson's researchers to study what happens in specific nerve cells.

"We are delighted to be funding this research with Dr Gartner in Dundee. It will help us to understand better what causes nerve cells to die in Parkinson's, and will help us to develop new treatments for the condition."

Thursday 1 October 2009

Colostrinin

Colostrinin™

ReGen Therapeutics Plc was formed in February 1998 to develop Colostrinin™, a proline-rich polypeptide complex derived from mammalian colostrum. The complex and the peptides within it are viewed as having potential utility in neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Colostrinin™ was originally identified by scientists working in Poland, where early clinical studies, dating back to 1995, had indicated a significant potential benefit to Alzheimer’s disease sufferers. ReGen therefore conducted a placebo-controlled clinical trial of it’s own on Alzheimer’s sufferers in Poland, which completed in mid-2002. Results from the trial showed 33% of patients achieved stabilisation or improvement in their disease condition after 30 weeks of treatment, with efficacy demonstrated in both mild and moderate symptom groups. A good safety profile and no Serious Adverse Events or other safety concerns were observed. An article reviewing the results of this trial was published in the February 2004 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Since 2003 ReGen has been investigating the possibility of developing a nutraceutical version of Colostrinin™. The natural origin and nature of Colostrinin™ means that it conforms to the general criteria for non-pharmaceutical health supplements, so the Company formulated a nutraceutical development plan which has run in parallel with the continuing development of pharmaceutical drug-candidates based on the constituent peptides of the Colostrinin™ complex. ReGen has filed a substantial number of patent applications with various patent authorities throughout the World. These patents are targeted at protecting both discoveries in the field of the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and at wider applications for Colostrinin™ and its constituent peptides in other neurodegenerative disease areas. Most of ReGen’s patent applications are still in the process of examination by the various national patent authorities, but up to September 2007, the Company has had its main “use” patent on Colostrinin™ granted in the United Kingdom, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, China, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Czech Republic and South Africa and another three patents (under licence from University of Texas Medical Branch) granted in the USA. ReGen’s subsidiary, ReGen Biotech Ltd had a patent on the use of Colostrinin™ in combination with other materials as a dietary supplement, granted in the UK in October 2002.

Last updated January 2008