SURVEY OF THE CAUSES OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

3rd March 2013 - New survey

Parkinson's Database are conducting a survey of the causes of Parkinson's Disease. They believe that the mass accumulation of data for Physicians and Researchers will provide better treatments and faster diagnosis. They want to accumulate as much pertinent data on Parkinson's Disease and related diseases as possible. They believe that this data needs to come from the patients themselves in order to paint a much clearer picture of this disease for researchers. They do not want personal information. They believe that they will receive a much wider and more honest responses by providing anonymity.  http://www.parkinsonsdatabase.net/

COGANE FAILS CLINICAL TRIALS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

18th February 2013

Phytopharm announced the results of the Phase II, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, dose-ranging trial of Cogane in unmedicated patients with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease. Cogane was found to have no beneficial effects at all on Parkinson's Disease symptoms.

Cogane, which can be taken orally, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to stimulate the release of GDNF. GDNF can indirectly stimulate the formation of dopamine, the substance whose insufficiency causes Parkinson's Disease. However, GDNF deficiency has never been shown to be the cause of Parkinson's Disease. Previous studies claiming efficacy for Cogane in Parkinson's Disease were only carried out in Macaque monkeys who did not actually have Parkinson's Disease.

DBS IS EFFECTIVE IN EARLIER PARKINSON'S DISEASE

15th February 2013 -

New England Journal of Medicine [2013] 368 (7) : 610-622 (Schuepbach WM, Rau J, Knudsen K, Volkmann J, Krack P, Timmermann L, Hälbig TD, Hesekamp H, Navarro SM, Meier N, Falk D, Mehdorn M, Paschen S, Maarouf M, Barbe MT, Fink GR, Kupsch A, Gruber D, Schneider GH, Seigneuret E, Kistner A, Chaynes P, Ory-Magne F, Brefel Courbon C, Vesper J, Schnitzler A, Wojtecki L, Houeto JL, Bataille B, Maltête D, Damier P, Raoul S, Sixel-Doering F, Hellwig D, Gharabaghi A, Krüger R, Pinsker MO, Amtage F, Régis JM, Witjas T, Thobois S, Mertens P, Kloss M, Hartmann A, Oertel WH, Post B, Speelman H, Agid Y, Schade-Brittinger C, Deuschl G; EARLYSTIM Study Group)

Researchers assessed whether it would be suitable to use Subthalamic stimulation at an earlier stage of Parkinson's Disease. Subthalamic stimulation, which is referred to as DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation), involves the use of electrodes that are implanted into the brain and connected to a small electrical device called a pulse generator that can be externally programmed. DBS can reduce the need for L-dopa and related drugs, which in turn decreases the involuntary movements called dyskinesias that are a common side effect of L-dopa.

In a two year clinical trial people with Parkinson's Disease and early motor complications (with an average age of 52 and a mean duration of Parkinson's Disease of 7.5 years) underwent neurostimulation plus medical therapy or only medical therapy alone. The primary end point was quality of life, as assessed with the use of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) with scores ranging from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicating worse function.

For the primary outcome of quality of life, the mean score for the neurostimulation group improved by 7.8 points, and that for the medical-therapy group worsened by 0.2 points. Neurostimulation was superior to medical therapy with respect to motor disability, activities of daily living, L-dopa induced motor complications, and time with good mobility and no dyskinesia. Serious adverse events occurred in 54% of the people in the neurostimulation group and in 44% of those in the medical therapy group. Serious adverse events related to surgical implantation or the neurostimulation device occurred in 17% of people. 

MOLECULAR HYDROGEN WATER FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

14th February 2013 - New research


Movement Disorders [2013] Feb 11 (A.Yoritaka, M.Takanashi, M.Hirayama, T.Nakahara, S.Ohta, N.Hattori, D.Weintraub, K.Papay, A.Siderowf)

Oxidative stress is involved in the progression of Parkinson's Disease. Recent studies have confirmed that molecular hydrogen (H2) functions as a highly effective antioxidant in cultured cells and animals.

Drinking molecular hydrogen dissolved water had reduced oxidative stress and improved Parkinson's Disease features in animals. A pilot study was carried out in people with Parkinson's Disease who were taking L-dopa. Each person drank either a litre a day of molecular hydrogen water or only water (without the molecular hydrogen). Symptom scores improved in those people who drank molecular hydrogen water and worsened in those people who only drank normal water. The drinking of molecular hydrogen water was found to safe and well tolerated. It would therefore be an easy means of delaying or reducing symptoms. A larger clinical trial is intended.

POSITIVE RESULTS CLAIMED FOR STEM CELLS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

8th February 2013 -


International Stem Cell Corporation have claimed positive results from its pre-clinical study using stem cells in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The primary goal of the study was to demonstrate the benefits of neuronal cells derived from human stem cells. The neuronal cells were derived from human parthenogenetic stem cells, which are not obtained via reproduction. They can become neurons when they are implanted in to the brain.

The study was carried out for 12 weeks on rats who did not actually have Parkinson's Disease. The rats were instead given 6-OHDA (6-Hydroxydopamine), which is a toxin used to kill dopaminergic neurons (the cells involved in Parkinson's Disease). The actual results for the study have not been disclosed. It has only been stated that "signs of improvement in rotational behavior of these animals were clearly observed.

Although it was claimed for many years that stem cells could rid Parkinson's Disease, stem cell operations have not fulfilled those claims. It was widely believed that stem cell operations were essential because there was a massive loss of cells involved in Parkinson's Disease. However, no study has ever demonstrated massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease.

6th February 2013 - New book

SO I'VE GOT PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Terry Rummins

Publisher's description : Terry Rummins was diagnosed with Parkinson's 10 years ago. So, I've Got Parkinson's Disease is her story and covers her diagnosis and the progression of the condition - from the first warning tremors in her right hand to her day-to-day life now. Terry has written this book in the hope that describing her experience will benefit others who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's and to help them understand their expectations of how the condition may affect them. This is a candid story, told with humour and contains a positive message for those recently diagnosed and those close to them. It is also for anyone interested in what happens when life presents an unpleasant surprise.

USING CELL PHONES TO MONITOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

29th January 2013



IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (submitted) [2013] (A.Tsanas, M.A.Little, P.E.McSharry, L.O. Ramig) 

Dysphonia is an impairment in the ability to produce vocal sounds that can occur in Parkinson's Disease. A wide range of dysphonia measures have been used to predict Parkinson's Disease severity using speech signals. Researchers demonstrated that this method can match standard methods of diagnosing Parkinson's Disease.

Telephone monitoring of Parkinson’s Disease has attracted interest as a potential means of assessing this. Purpose built devices have been developed that record various signals that can be associated with symptom severity, as quantified on standard Parkinson's Disease scores such as the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Previous studies have demonstrated replication of UPDRS scores to within less than 2 points of a clinical raters’ assessment of symptom severity, using solely high-quality speech signals.

This study investigated using the cellular mobile telephone networks for Parkinson's Disease monitoring. The Parkinson's Disease (UPDRS) symptom score could be estimated to within about 3.5 points difference from the clinicians’ assessment, which is useful because even different clinicians vary by as much as 4 to 5 points. This provides evidence that the phone network is adequate for inexpensive, mass-scale Parkinson's Disease symptom monitoring.

SALIVA GLAND TEST FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

11th January 2013 -

New research has suggested that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a means of diagnosing Parkinson's Disease. It was previously shown in autopsies of people with Parkinson's Disease that the abnormal proteins associated with Parkinson's are consistently found in the submandibular saliva glands, which are found under the lower jaw.

The study involved 15 people with an average age of 68 who had Parkinson's disease for an average of 12 years, who responded to Parkinson's medication and who did not have known saliva gland disorders. Biopsies were taken of two different saliva glands. The abnormal Parkinson's protein was detected in nine of the 11 patients who had enough tissue to study. This is the first study demonstrating the value of testing a portion of the saliva gland to diagnose a living person with Parkinson's Disease.

PARKINSON'S DISEASE DOES NOT CAUSE COMPULSIONS

12th January 2013 - New research



Neurology [2013] 80 (2) : 176-180 (Weintraub D, Papay K, Siderowf A)

Although compulsions can often occur in Parkinson's Disease, Parkinson's Disease does not actually cause compulsions or related problems. When people with Parkinson's Disease were compared with people who do not have Parkinson's Disease the frequencies of compulsions were little different : gambling (1.2% v 0.7%), buying (3% v 2%), sexual behaviour (4.2% v 3.5%), eating (7% v 10%), punding (prolonged, purposeless, and stereotyped behaviour) (5% v 2%), hobbyism (5% v 12%), walkabout (0.6% v 0.7%), any compulsions (18% v 20%).

The fact that Parkinson's Disease itself does not seem to cause an increased risk of developing compulsions or related behaviour further reinforces the reported association between Parkinson's Disease drugs and causing compulsions. Given that approximately 20% of people with newly diagnosed Parkinson's Disease report some impulse control or related behaviour symptoms, long-term follow-up is needed to determine whether such people are at increased risk for impulse control disorder development once Parkinson's Disease drugs are initiated.