Parkinsons Network

New Procedure Gives Hope to Parkinson's Sufferers

Monday, 23 January 2012 11:20 patch.com News - Latest

Riverview Medical Center, part of Meridian Neuroscience, announced it is one of the first hospitals in the state to offer patients deep brain stimulation (DBS), a breakthrough procedure for treating essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease.

Functioning like a "pacemaker" for the brain, DBS uses electrodes implanted in the brain to send out electrical impulses to areas in the brain linked to disorders. When treating Parkinson's disease, for example, the inserted DBS device, Activa® PC, manufactured by Medtronic, sends electrical impulses through a wire into the brain to control the movement center. The stimulation blocks abnormal activity in the brain and relieves patients of tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, stiffness, and may help with other problems associated with their conditions.

Psychiatric Treatment Crucial for Many Parkinson’s Patients

Monday, 23 January 2012 11:12 Joan Arehart-Treichel News - Latest

A decade or so ago, psychiatrists would have been hard pressed to provide evidence-based psychiatric treatments to Parkinson’s patients. Thanks to research advances, that situation has improved considerably.

Not just the public, but many clinicians, believe that Parkinson’s disease is exclusively a neurological disorder—that is, that it only entails tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with balance.

Researchers look to stop memory loss in Parkinson's patients

Monday, 23 January 2012 11:09 wtop.com News - Latest

WASHINGTON - Actor Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali have become the faces of Parkinson's disease, but local researchers are looking to see whether exercise and memory training can help with the disease's debilitating symptom of memory loss.

Tremors are often associated with Parkinson's disease, "but a fair number of people with Parkinson's develop memory impairment," says Karen Anderson, a neuro-psychiatrist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Constant-Current Neurostimulation Effective in Parkinson's

Sunday, 15 January 2012 13:57 MedScape - Megan Brooks News - Latest

Bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus with a device that delivers a constant electrical current is safe and can produce significant and lasting improvements in motor function and quality of life in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), results of a new study suggest.

Parkinson's Called Hidden Killer

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:10 John Gever, MedPage Today News - Latest

Life expectancy for patients with Parkinson's disease is poorer than some previous studies have suggested, with barely one-third of patients surviving six years with the condition, researchers said.

Dynein's Gait Discovery a 'First Step' in Brain Disease Fight

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:19 Medical Daily Reporter News - Latest

Researchers have discovered that the transport protein dynein moves differently from cells’ two other transport proteins.

The protein’s malfunction has been associated with Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s.

Researchers say the discovery is a “first step” that may one day shed light on the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disease.

The finding was published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Parkinson's Disease And Survival - Factors That Have An Impact

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:25 Petra Rattue - Medical News Today News - Latest

A report in the January issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, reveals that demographics and clinical factors seem to be linked to survival in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and that the presence of dementia is linked to a substantial increase in mortality.

Biologists a step nearer to solving the Parkinson's conundrum

Monday, 23 January 2012 11:02 scientistlive.com News - Latest

Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step forward in isolating the cause of Parkinson’s disease in younger adults.

Research by a team in the University’s Department of Biology found evidence that movement disorders, including tremor and slowness of movement (bradykinesia), associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be due to a defect in energy production in the nervous system. The advance may help to identify young adults who may be susceptible to the disease.

Parkinson's and Liver Disease Now More Popular Than Homicide

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:05 sfist.com News - Latest

In a new set of data just out from the CDC, culled from 2010, homicide is no longer one of the top 15 causes of death for Americans. This is the first time since 1965 that murder hasn't made the list, which the CDC has been publishing since 1949. More popular causes of death these days are things that affect the elderly, like chronic liver disease, Parkinson's disease, and pneumonitis (lung damage caused by people who have choked on their food or who have lost the ability to swallow).

Dementia Predicts Death in Parkinson’s

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:14 D. E. Bouley News - Latest

Dementia is prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is a significant predictor of early death, new research shows.

"Our data highlight the need for prevention of or treatment for dementia in patients with PD because of its effect on survival," the study team says.

Race and gender also influence survival, they report online January 2 in the Archives of Neurology.

Scientists follow ancient literature to seek treatment for Parkinson's

Sunday, 15 January 2012 14:23 D. E. Bouley News - Latest

A new trend is emerging in modern medicine. Scientists across the country working on developing new drugs seem to be looking towards ayurveda for remedies. They are trying to obtain molecules from known ayurvedic herbs, to make drugs to treat diseases that do not have cures in modern medicine. Some of the diseases being targeted include heart problems, diabetes, tuberculosis, Parkinson's etc.