tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42825912546148976262024-03-17T16:01:50.318-07:00Our Parkinson's Place WELCOME TO
OUR PARKINSON'S PLACE!
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.comBlogger10311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-43106339348426579612023-04-26T15:42:00.000-07:002023-11-29T15:42:55.475-08:00Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-47076089967483115802022-07-24T11:40:00.001-07:002022-07-24T11:40:18.872-07:00 Happenings as of July 2022 <p> July 24, 2022 </p><p>My health has been like a roller coaster since December 2020. I have fallen several times. Most of the time I am short of breath. It is hard to exercises on those days. I am officially 73 years old.</p><p>I had quite an interested evening a few weeks ago. I was almost ready to go to dinner when I began to pick up my foot to put my shoe on, when all of a sudden on the outside near the bottom of my left foot a small vein pop squirting blood everywhere.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDmDpZUcS4OwWX2mTM2bjkxPRJFBRXNZhMbpbJnx4VZJG8JqEfSkFcTzj5q54t4quRU-vg6rpUDBxNy8MTxEi8audLN922P6czAOHBcHGPtoUFT0wERz3eJLr3WSMz1vu-EsEto2nVLX6kXbZp8dHv6Abq_Bf5yvGUmemD355JejZwIZqYpFF02XY/s500/foot-and-ankle-veins-feat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="500" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDmDpZUcS4OwWX2mTM2bjkxPRJFBRXNZhMbpbJnx4VZJG8JqEfSkFcTzj5q54t4quRU-vg6rpUDBxNy8MTxEi8audLN922P6czAOHBcHGPtoUFT0wERz3eJLr3WSMz1vu-EsEto2nVLX6kXbZp8dHv6Abq_Bf5yvGUmemD355JejZwIZqYpFF02XY/w245-h216/foot-and-ankle-veins-feat.jpeg" width="245" /></a></div><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We did all of the following:</b></p><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Elevate your leg above your heart to slow the bleeding.</b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Apply gentle, consistent pressure over the vein.</b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Once bleeding is under control, wrap the vein with a bandage</b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We couldn't get the bleeding to stop. My husband called 911. </span><span style="color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36);">Firemen arrived and it took some time to get the bleeding to stop. They did all of what we did, but wrapped my foot tighter. They instructed me to continue keeping my leg and foot elevated, stating if it begins to bleed again, go to the ER and have them stitch it up. I cancelled the ambulance.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36);">Fortunately it stop bleeding but was quite sore for 3 days. I lost over a cup or more possible close to a pint of blood, my husband said. He cleaned it all up.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36);">The weather here in Southwest Florida has been hot, hot and more hot with the humidity extremely high. This really takes my breath away. </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">So I don't have the energy like I use to.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I am tired more than normal . I have not been </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">able to exercise like I use to.</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I am hoping this weather will improve and I will begin to breath better.</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I have not given up.</span></p>Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-30368639752792359172020-02-03T10:34:00.003-08:002020-05-03T15:56:01.579-07:00I want to Inform you of what happened to me.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZBeYtohimlio06mDBlVqAAOwwt9GpJh46q46Dzke5fLOPh0JHK6MFsBgFZT06ryAKNUVQuLJPJ8mLPeUT33fMQmu44eRgOx9Gt7jpi5VSoPpMg2a-1O5xpi3PoL6piX-VSXiWe215DQ/s1600/choking.+jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZBeYtohimlio06mDBlVqAAOwwt9GpJh46q46Dzke5fLOPh0JHK6MFsBgFZT06ryAKNUVQuLJPJ8mLPeUT33fMQmu44eRgOx9Gt7jpi5VSoPpMg2a-1O5xpi3PoL6piX-VSXiWe215DQ/s1600/choking.+jpeg.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I went to the hospital by ambulance on December 9th, because I had tremors of my voice box and the flap suddenly closed. I couldn't breathe and my husband called 911. I went by ambulance and started choking again while being transported to the hospital.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtE8mx7KzrgCC7CuO38igGt6kTv_lKgBqVOzBhIv7rML59c2vCiyB36Spsjv0hn32uDUOopGs3kjljdMMMkWY36bnq6GK7gZQM-X98fuxKsqO2YerbXRpXV41C1ACAZN25HERYwkzeCdQ/s1600/ambulance.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtE8mx7KzrgCC7CuO38igGt6kTv_lKgBqVOzBhIv7rML59c2vCiyB36Spsjv0hn32uDUOopGs3kjljdMMMkWY36bnq6GK7gZQM-X98fuxKsqO2YerbXRpXV41C1ACAZN25HERYwkzeCdQ/s1600/ambulance.jpeg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Upon entering the hospital, I stopped breathing again and then went into a seizure like episode. This occurred one more time that evening.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My husband and grandchildren were there. The following day, I had 4 more episodes. My son arrived from Virginia. My husband and daughter called my movement specialist at the University of South Florida, requesting the doctor and giving the neurology department the urgent message. My family called several times, with no response. I slept quite a bit in-between having the episodes. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My husband stayed 24 hours the entire time not knowing if I was going to live or die. My children also were afraid. Seeing me </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Choke (not being able to breathe ) and then having seizure like episodes was quite scary. After that I would fall asleep.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The doctors at the hospital didn't know what to do. The seizure medicine was not working and the problems continued at that time. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuBRrpINqcyd6kMLp46XGxB3TfZxxUOdVAORkOWj_9WHZ61hamW3nv1kYUjpojQSAJ_JNwe2wK8jBznffI5UXxGu6S2tb2mSmvMfwsg_jrUYonD0dIF83Bz_ffkmY0DCXSFkJojSisGg/s1600/confused+doctors.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuBRrpINqcyd6kMLp46XGxB3TfZxxUOdVAORkOWj_9WHZ61hamW3nv1kYUjpojQSAJ_JNwe2wK8jBznffI5UXxGu6S2tb2mSmvMfwsg_jrUYonD0dIF83Bz_ffkmY0DCXSFkJojSisGg/s1600/confused+doctors.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By the third day, I had 3 more episodes, of unable to breathe as well as seizure episodes. My family called my Naples, Florida Neurologist. He immediately spoke to the hospital Neurologist.I was taken off the of the seizure medicine and placed on a medicine that relaxes the muscles and another drug helping with pain. It worked. The tremors and choking stopped, and no more seizures.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thank God.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the 5th day in the hospital, they released me and placed me in their physical therapy unit. I was there until December 23, 2019. I did many exercises, including weights, stepping , balance exercises and walking at a fast pace. I also completed physical therapy at my home for a month.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I recently had a camera placed down my throat and the tremors are not there since I am taking my PD medicine as well as the new medicine. I do have a bow in my voice box and I am in the process of checking to find an LSVT Loud in my area. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I will enroll for that, since the Doctor that performed the test recommended that therapy. My Naples, Florida Doctor saved me. A Big Thank You goes to Dr. John Campbell !!!!!!!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I plan to discontinue this blog, at least for now.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgnD_spGRDnZ3j8weu-Zm9XzX6HbwWyJ5o2Wh4ulerkUoMhWSemJL5npu1vS7KCfRzWD9WQocFPfVuqIAZf-gKFnXXCGuSqa6opSGmBeo721UFdFczDXKsqqDOiYk2qVmgXvTLxpyYPk/s1600/e655da9dac50e98279dd49840e93588e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I want to do more things with my family, while I able. There is a part of me, knowing it is hard to say </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">goodbye, so I will say, "God Bless!"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgnD_spGRDnZ3j8weu-Zm9XzX6HbwWyJ5o2Wh4ulerkUoMhWSemJL5npu1vS7KCfRzWD9WQocFPfVuqIAZf-gKFnXXCGuSqa6opSGmBeo721UFdFczDXKsqqDOiYk2qVmgXvTLxpyYPk/s1600/e655da9dac50e98279dd49840e93588e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgnD_spGRDnZ3j8weu-Zm9XzX6HbwWyJ5o2Wh4ulerkUoMhWSemJL5npu1vS7KCfRzWD9WQocFPfVuqIAZf-gKFnXXCGuSqa6opSGmBeo721UFdFczDXKsqqDOiYk2qVmgXvTLxpyYPk/s400/e655da9dac50e98279dd49840e93588e.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-9456496108464494432019-12-23T09:25:00.004-08:002019-12-23T09:32:16.591-08:00Where is the news?December 23, 2019<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0DmgzegtljmbHSTy_d4cnYu6nA26sFqzwESOPM6xLUU5HNkJdCqZer7c2dQDNZZJOpX145EhenFnanPwjfS9GrZovIGoB1ARnHhXuiPV4on5w6rlvg6fFKIJqBxwbHif63Z7cHijAoY/s1600/0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0DmgzegtljmbHSTy_d4cnYu6nA26sFqzwESOPM6xLUU5HNkJdCqZer7c2dQDNZZJOpX145EhenFnanPwjfS9GrZovIGoB1ARnHhXuiPV4on5w6rlvg6fFKIJqBxwbHif63Z7cHijAoY/s1600/0.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Day in the Hospital !</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
I AM SENDING MY APOLOGIES TO YOU!<br />
<br />
I just returned after 14 days from the hospital, including Therapy.<br />
<br />
A nurse will evaluate me tomorrow, Christmas eve, to see what kind of therapy is needed to<br />
get me back to the best I can be.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJex2wwk9Izx-uXPxkX8OPrPQvgRZHxVgNrT8E9BkixPSFnq7kEglkQyL-i_7L4Zx16utd8hNDROvdQPepo20O-ucJPzaHKcCdi5WBcqx3SDDmDIMHlIs7zFx_tmHz4U1JM_d74y1-8Gs/s1600/0-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJex2wwk9Izx-uXPxkX8OPrPQvgRZHxVgNrT8E9BkixPSFnq7kEglkQyL-i_7L4Zx16utd8hNDROvdQPepo20O-ucJPzaHKcCdi5WBcqx3SDDmDIMHlIs7zFx_tmHz4U1JM_d74y1-8Gs/s1600/0-1.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 23, 2019</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
As soon as I can, I will be back online. Have a very Merry Christmas!<br />
<br />
God Bless!<br />
<br />Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-48174399259744740462019-12-07T15:54:00.001-08:002019-12-07T15:54:22.348-08:00Understanding What Parkinson’s Progression Means to Each Patient <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 6, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>BY DR. C</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOQoLShRlm-vl2ltcaDPt1CkydShPYjIoHFOf7vqsulOlI377u1F6hL5Zd0myFwkNs5Q5TA8sn3JUHRlJZAb08xe0BJKpcbc_47kShWH8MhvTLAPkRp1X4OoF1BMTc9R8UehK5z9wP6Q/s1600/bioNewsTX_PathwaysThroughParkinsons_DrCs_logo_311019_01_v2-1400x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1400" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOQoLShRlm-vl2ltcaDPt1CkydShPYjIoHFOf7vqsulOlI377u1F6hL5Zd0myFwkNs5Q5TA8sn3JUHRlJZAb08xe0BJKpcbc_47kShWH8MhvTLAPkRp1X4OoF1BMTc9R8UehK5z9wP6Q/s640/bioNewsTX_PathwaysThroughParkinsons_DrCs_logo_311019_01_v2-1400x480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every day following the <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/11/08/ruin-sedentary-life-exercise-muscle-injury-recovery/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">ruin of stagnation</a>, it seems that I have progressed from early Parkinson’s to a moderate stage of the disease. But I can’t be sure. Many other factors, including stress, injuries, medication changes, and aging, could be making it look and feel worse. To appease my quandary, I dove into the internet, searching for elucidation about Parkinson’s progression.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We watched as Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali were changed by the disease. Granted, their Parkinson’s symptoms were dramatic: Their body movements gradually became less fluid, the tremors more pronounced. Over time, the movement challenges became more noticeable, signifying progression. The Parkinson’s community uses the terms “early,” “middle,” and “late” stage to describe progression. It mostly makes sense and matches what medical providers identify with patients. But it doesn’t help me in my search for well-being possibilities.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Progression for me is more than “early,” “middle,” or “late.” I accept that the disease will cause changes in me and my life. But it would be helpful for my wellness map if some of the pitfalls could be marked, “Danger ahead!” or, “Here’s a list of supplies,” to get me through the hardest parts of my chronic disease journey. Being well-prepared is an essential part of wellness success. The progression of Parkinson’s is not about stages — except in a general way. Rather, it means having some idea about what can be done to slow the progression, or, failing that, how to recognize when progression is happening. Useful information about progression would help guide us through what is sometimes a tortuous journey. It might make the trip easier.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chatting with the Parkinson’s community reveals the entrenched idea that progression is unique to each person. It would be helpful if our understanding of progression could provide for each patient more details than, “It’s unique to everyone, and you will know when you get there.” So what’s holding up progress toward understanding disease progression?</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Medical professionals determine Parkinson’s progression by a system involving a physical exam, patient report, and sometimes a standardized measurement tool or questionnaire. That system fails when all that we are told about progression is, “You’ll know it when you get there.” We need better information from early Parkinson’s stages to understand progression to middle and beyond. Data from the existing collection system is insufficient to give a clear understanding of what progression means to each patient.<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="margin-bottom: 0px;" /></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently read an article in which the authors discuss the <a href="https://www.journalofparkinsonsdisease.com/retropulsion-test-good-evaluation-postural-instability-parkinson%E2%80%99s-disease" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">merits of the retropulsion test</a> to evaluate postural instability in Parkinson’s. The three methods are: “(1) the pull test as described in the MDS-UPDRS scale; (2) using an unexpected shoulder pull, without prior warning; and (3) the push-and-release test.” Although the test is considered the gold standard, the authors state that “the outcome can vary considerably due to variability in test execution and interpretation.”</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The authors state that the test fails to predict future falls, explaining that falling results from the “complex interplay between gait, balance, cognitive decline and environmental factors, and the retropulsion test captures only part of that.”</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is difficult to spot early symptoms during a short office visit once every three to six months. Increasing the speed of care by reducing the duration of clinic appointments has not improved healthcare for this ailing columnist. It hinders the ability of the healthcare practitioner to get to know the patient better and increases the chance of the latter being categorized as “that patient with Parkinson’s.” The provider can’t see all the effects of the chronic disease, even with a longer visit.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have good and bad days, on and off periods, and life circumstances — all of which make data collection on Parkinson’s progression from a 15-minute office visit problematic. It makes sense that early diagnosis and proper treatment should make a difference in progression. As far as I can tell, no adequate longitudinal studies exist that describe variation in progression as a result of treatment, or lack thereof. This applies even to exercise, my favorite Parkinson’s treatment to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5088404/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">slow progression,</a> and the <a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/88/16_Supplement/N5.002" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">effects of stress</a> as my “most need to avoid” situation to prevent speeding up the progression.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the next column, I will offer a possible solution to the Parkinson’s progression research problem. </span></span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div align="center" style="border: 0px; color: #484848; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"> or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/06/parkinsons-progression-part-1-stages-postural-instability-falls/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-29644777779226022732019-12-07T15:50:00.000-08:002019-12-07T15:50:04.805-08:00Dosing Begins in Phase 2 Trial of CNM-Au8, Potential Therapy for Dopaminergic Neurons <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 6, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> BY PATRICIA INACIO, PHD</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdBt8lgyo0VLWXSESdPfBNpk7AB3gSTfw0j5_Rqyuatt7FrsoWNSSHXaeKGd-RrJ35zIBrU55HBPq86w-YTXIDrv9LWpFTVwTjo4Jp0QOLO1YzIlUWpl8f5wC2qExH9fO-wFsNGTyYkQ/s1600/shutterstock_598486442-1400x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1400" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdBt8lgyo0VLWXSESdPfBNpk7AB3gSTfw0j5_Rqyuatt7FrsoWNSSHXaeKGd-RrJ35zIBrU55HBPq86w-YTXIDrv9LWpFTVwTjo4Jp0QOLO1YzIlUWpl8f5wC2qExH9fO-wFsNGTyYkQ/s640/shutterstock_598486442-1400x480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A pilot Phase 2 study evaluating <a href="https://www.clene.com/pipeline/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">CNM-Au8</a>, an investigational <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/what-is-parkinsons-disease/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Parkinson’s</a> treatment aiming to protect nerve cells, has started dosing patients, the therapy’s developer, <a href="https://www.clene.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Clene Nanomedicine</a>, announced.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The open-label REPAIR-PD (<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03815916?term=CNM-Au8&draw=2&rank=2" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">NCT03815916</a>) clinical trial is <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03815916?term=CNM-Au8&draw=2&rank=2#contactlocation" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">enrolling up to 24 people</a>, ages 30 to 80 and diagnosed within the past three years, at its one site at the <a href="https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center</a>.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We are excited to be advancing CNM-Au8 clinically into Parkinson’s patients starting with the REPAIR-PD Phase 2 study” Rob Etherington, president and CEO of Clene, said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clene-nanomedicine-announces-first-patient-enrolled-in-the-repair-pd-clinical-trial-for-the-treatment-of-parkinsons-disease-with-the-nanocatalytic-therapeutic-cnm-au8-300968084.html" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">press release</a>.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the death of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15743669" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">dopaminergic neurons</a> in two brain regions, the striatum and the substantia nigra. These nerve cells rely on large amounts of energy to function, which is provided by mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses. Failure to provide the energy that cells need contributes to their death.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oxidative stress, an imbalance between the production of harmful free radicals and the ability of cells to detoxify them, is another hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. These free radicals, or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/reactive-oxygen-species" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">reactive oxygen species</a>, are produced during certain metabolic reactions that involve mitochondria, and can damage cells.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CNM-Au8 is a suspension of nanocrystalline gold designed to increase the production of energy. Specifically, it works by increasing the speed of conversion between two molecules — nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) to its oxidized form (NAD+) — resulting in greater production of energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, an energy-carrying molecule of cells).</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In addition, CNM-Au8 has antioxidant properties that may help to protect cells against oxidative stress.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preclinical (in the lab) data <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/10/29/cnm-au8-potential-dopaminergic-neuron-treatment-opens-phase-2-parkinsons-trial/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">showed </a>that CNM-Au8 aided the survival of dopaminergic neurons, and helped prevent the loss of mitochondria.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, treatment with CNM-Au8 improved the animal’s motor activity compared to control (untreated) mice. Of note, rats treated with CNM-Au8 in this test showed better results than did rats given <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/dopamine-agonists/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">carbidopa/levodopa</a>, a standard Parkinson’s therapy.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Our preclinical data with CNM-Au8 demonstrated improvements in neuronal bioenergetics, which may improve the survival of dopaminergic neurons in patients with PD [Parkinson’s disease], thereby helping slow the progression of this devastating disease,” Etherington said.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Phase 1 clinical trial involving healthy volunteers (<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02755870?term=CNM-Au8&draw=2&rank=4" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">NCT02755870</a>) found CNM-Au8 to be safe.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the REPAIR-PD study, patients will first undergo a four-week screening period, after which they will drink two ounces of CNM-Au8 daily each morning for 12 weeks. Treatment will be followed by a four-week follow-up period.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The study’s primary outcome is to determine improvements in oxidative stress in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), assessed by the ratio of NAD+/NADH measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Additional (secondary) measures include assessing the effects of CNM-Au8 on energy production, and nerve cell metabolism.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-4" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The objective of the REPAIR-PD Phase 2 study is to demonstrate improvements in brain bioenergetic metabolism in Parkinson’s disease patients treated with CNM-Au8. Participants will undergo <span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">31</span>phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">31</span>P-MRS) imaging to show how treatment with CNM-Au8 results in improvements in brain metabolic and membrane biomarkers,” said Robert Glanzman, MD, chief medical officer of Clene.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Results from the REPAIR-PD trial are expected by mid-2020.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/06/dosting-starts-phase-2-trial-cnm-au8-potential-dopaminergic-neuron-therapy/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-50750064230121290722019-12-05T15:31:00.000-08:002019-12-05T15:31:00.543-08:00Exploring the Diversity of Parkinson's Proteins<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Dec 05, 2019 </span><a href="https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/go/lc/view-source-328018" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Original story from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-rwWb0Vuclash8tyAGu3yRBXkTBHm7_nlO6xSTdv6gMi7SxmVODbNJHuAqa_rzUvHYt5_I2VmJ0YIljz251ce2kemwEGnJAx7VGNzJI20G1u4z9rbvcZzhPIr_v0q8agkuSZzkUiqjc/s1600/exploring-the-diversity-of-parkinsons-proteins-328017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-rwWb0Vuclash8tyAGu3yRBXkTBHm7_nlO6xSTdv6gMi7SxmVODbNJHuAqa_rzUvHYt5_I2VmJ0YIljz251ce2kemwEGnJAx7VGNzJI20G1u4z9rbvcZzhPIr_v0q8agkuSZzkUiqjc/s640/exploring-the-diversity-of-parkinsons-proteins-328017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parkinson’s and multisystem atrophy (MSA) – both of them neurodegenerative diseases – are associated with the accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC) have investigated the molecular makeup of these protein deposits finding structural diversity. Experts from South Korea, Australia, and Argentina were also involved in the study. The results suggest that Parkinson’s might be related to diverse types of protein aggregates.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Alpha-synuclein is a protein that occurs naturally in the body. It is assumed to be involved in signal transmission between neurons. The protein appears both at the cell membrane and solved – floating, so to speak - in the cell’s interior. In addition to these “normal” variants, there are others that manifest in brain diseases. This applies e. g. to Parkinson’s disease and MSA. Both can be associated with various neurological impairments, including movement disorders. In Parkinson’s and MSA alpha-synuclein molecules stick together. As a result, elongated aggregates arise that are deposited inside neurons and other brain cells. “These deposits successively appear in various areas of the brain. They are a disease hallmark,” explains Prof. Markus Zweckstetter, who heads a research group at the DZNE and the MPI-BPC. “There is evidence that these aggregates are harmful to neurons and promote disease progression.”</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: 700; text-align: justify;">
A matter of folding</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
These deposits represent a potential starting point for medicines. The idea is that drugs might prevent alpha-synuclein molecules from sticking together or dissolve existing aggregates. To identify potential docking sites for agents, data on the aggregates’ fine structure is required. Thus, the question is: What kind of shape (also known as “folding”) do the molecules adopt within the aggregates? So far, information on this topic had been limited to data from laboratory experiments. “Previous studies investigated the molecular structure of aggregates that were synthesized in a test tube. We asked ourselves how well such artificially produced specimens reflect the patient’s situation. That is why we studied aggregates generated from tissue samples from patients,” said Zweckstetter. “We collaborated closely with international partners on this project. In fact, the tissue samples originated in Australia and the aggregates were synthesized in South Korea. We then did the structural studies in Göttingen.”</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Aggregates from brain samples taken from five deceased Parkinson’s patients and five deceased MSA patients were examined. For comparison, the researchers artificially produced different variants of alpha-synuclein aggregates. For this, they used standard procedures. To compare the structure of the different aggregates, they applied nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and other methods.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: 700; text-align: justify;">
Structural differences</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
“We found that aggregated proteins that came from the lab were structurally different to all aggregates generated from patient material,” Dr. Timo Strohäker, first author of the study, commented on the findings. “In addition, proteins of MSA patients differed from those of Parkinson’s patients. If one looks at the data more closely, you notice that the proteins of the MSA patients all had a largely similar shape. The proteins of the patients with Parkinson’s were more heterogeneous. When comparing the proteins of individual Parkinson’s patients, there is a certain structural diversity.”</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
The alpha-synuclein proteins of all aggregates contain “beta sheets”, which is in line with previous investigations. Accordingly, the molecular backbone is twisted in a way that the proteins are largely two-dimensional. Within the aggregates, the proteins stick together in layers. However, folding does not encompass the whole protein. Each protein also contains areas that are unstructured. Besides, orientation of the beta sheets bears significance. “It is a question of how much of a protein is folded and also how it is folded,” Zweckstetter stated.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: 700; text-align: justify;">
Various types of aggregates in Parkinson’s</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
In the structure of the alpha-synuclein associated with Parkinson’s, there were some significant differences between patients. This might be due to the fact that the course of Parkinson’s can vary quite considerably between individuals. “The variability of Parkinson’s disease could be related to differences in the folding of aggregated alpha-synuclein. This would be in contrast to the ‘one disease-one strain’ hypothesis, that is to say that Parkinson’s disease is associated with one, clearly defined aggregate form. However, in view of our relatively small sample of five patients, this is just a guess,” said Zweckstetter. “Yet, our results certainly prove that studies with tissue samples from patients are necessary to complement lab experiments in a sensible way.”</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: 700; text-align: justify;">
Reference</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Strohäker<i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;"> et al</i>. (2019) Structural heterogeneity of α-synuclein fibrils amplified from patient brain extracts. <i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">Nature Communications</i>. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13564-w</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/exploring-the-diversity-of-parkinsons-proteins-328017</span></div>
</span>Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-21813039796046743932019-12-05T15:24:00.003-08:002019-12-05T15:24:25.034-08:00Patent Describes Apple Watch Feature for Improving Treatment of Parkinson's Disease Symptoms <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 5, 2019 by Tim Hardwick <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><u>(Rumors)</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39);">A newly unearthed patent reveals that Apple is exploring how a future </span><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-watch/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Apple Watch</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39);"> could help doctors monitor the symptoms of Parkinson's patients. </span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39);"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqgrH_8MXNz-KobaOlwDooaxSTSnjzlfOhC1-hAGuAZSPyCcjUxvnknMIhLqJalK8OAdkMhc5u0uBVUmjZPiJ72I6VvOYz2PmewWlY4JSjCFopBVT6yEFsQLOHSlP2SETWztxKD8HH6I/s1600/apple-patent-sensors-parkinsons-symptoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="660" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqgrH_8MXNz-KobaOlwDooaxSTSnjzlfOhC1-hAGuAZSPyCcjUxvnknMIhLqJalK8OAdkMhc5u0uBVUmjZPiJ72I6VvOYz2PmewWlY4JSjCFopBVT6yEFsQLOHSlP2SETWztxKD8HH6I/s640/apple-patent-sensors-parkinsons-symptoms.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39);"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">Spotted by </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/12/05/future-apple-watch-may-help-treat-parkinsons-disease-or-diagnose-tremor-symptoms" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">AppleInsider</a></em><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">, "</span><a href="http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=160&p=4&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=(apple.AANM.+AND+20191205.PD.)&OS=aanm/apple+and+pd/12/5/2019&RS=(AANM/apple+AND+PD/20191205)" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;">Passive Tracking of Dyskinesia/Tremor Symptoms</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">" describes the use of special sensors in a proposed Apple Watch medical feature and the reasoning behind it. </span></span></div>
<blockquote style="background-image: url("https://cdn.macrumors.com/images-new/quote.png"); background-position: 0px 12px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 11px 0px 12px 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #152a44;">"</span><span style="color: #073763;">There are an estimated 600,000 to 1 million cases of Parkinson's Disease in the United States and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year," reads the filing, which goes on to describe the symptoms sufferers have to live with. "Symptoms of PD include... tremor and dyskinesia. Dyskinesia is an uncontrollable and involuntary movement that can resemble twitching, fidgeting, swaying or bobbing."</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">The patent states that dyskinesia and tremors can occur when all of the other features of Parkinson's Disease are being managed through medication. Unfortunately, the dopamine replacement therapy can also cause more pronounced side effects, and doctors have to rely on in-clinic tests and patient reports to regulate their treatment effectively. </span></span></div>
<blockquote style="background-image: url("https://cdn.macrumors.com/images-new/quote.png"); background-position: 0px 12px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 11px 0px 12px 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #152a44;">"</span><span style="color: #073763;">A patient's quality of life is largely dependent on how precisely clinicians titrate and schedule the patient's medications to minimize the patient's symptoms. This is a challenge for clinicians because each patient has a different combination of symptoms that can change and become more severe over time. Also, in any given day the symptoms may fluctuate based on medications, food intake, sleep, stress, exercise, etc."</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">The feature uses motion sensors to monitor the wearer's movement and the data gathered is analyzed on the device using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). According to Apple, this allows the data to be collected more reliably and means the sufferer doesn't need to keep close track of their symptoms and can better plan activities around symptom patterns.</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;" /><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">The image above shows a patient wearing an Apple Watch, but the patient doesn't specify that the feature would be limited to a wrist-based device, suggesting it could make its way into an </span><a href="https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;">iPhone</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">, or perhaps even an </span><a href="http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10444834.PN.&OS=PN/10444834&RS=PN/10444834" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;">electronic finger ring</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;">.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(4, 20, 39); text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">https://www.macrumors.com/2019/12/05/patent-apple-watch-improving-parkinsons-symptoms/</span></div>
</span>Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-26499337417360405952019-12-05T15:14:00.003-08:002019-12-05T15:14:41.636-08:00Scientists identify chaperones as potential therapies for Parkinson's disease <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> December 5, 2019 By Samantha Black, Ph.D. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaXvcEIJQdiKJhQTH0fcSQ8bKd_kDz-HzYaw72hofid5Fl-_gHP6LRnIhuNskTFQOkfuxwQwSBgNq7AnVuWR0WEncE5rAPsneqBOFhHSMDPCGXCRuLPWOTRcBvFJPL3fKtmcZbBskNc8/s1600/2019_12_05_18_50_6617_381_Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1440" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjaXvcEIJQdiKJhQTH0fcSQ8bKd_kDz-HzYaw72hofid5Fl-_gHP6LRnIhuNskTFQOkfuxwQwSBgNq7AnVuWR0WEncE5rAPsneqBOFhHSMDPCGXCRuLPWOTRcBvFJPL3fKtmcZbBskNc8/s640/2019_12_05_18_50_6617_381_Image.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: small; font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>University of Basel, Biozentrum</u></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Researchers from the University of Basel have identified the malfunctional relationship and master regulatory mechanisms between chaperone proteins and α-Synuclein occurring in Parkinson's disease. The findings were published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1808-9" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(81, 81, 81); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nature</em></a> on December 4.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chaperones are proteins that assist with assembly and disassembly of other macromolecular structures. In humans, chaperones interact with α-Synuclein and the formation of aggregates of intrinsically disordered α-Synuclein, called Lewy bodies, which are strongly associated with Parkinson's disease.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder with poorly understood causes. Some are genetic while others are a combination of environmental factors. Regardless of the cause, the disease leads to nerve death within the brain. But with the life expectancy rising around the world, the incidence of Parkinson's disease is projected to increase rapidly in the next years. Therefore, the need for effective therapies is crucial.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Molecular bodyguards interact with α-Synuclein</span></strong></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the study, the researchers sought to systematically characterize the interaction of molecular chaperones with α-synuclein in vitro as well as in cells at the atomic level. In humans, there are only 30-40 chaperones that could potentially interact with α-Synuclein. They discovered six highly divergent molecular chaperones commonly recognize a canonical motif in α-synuclein and hinder the aggregation of α-synuclein.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Using state-of-the-art NMR technology, we have discovered a specific pattern that determines the exact interaction site of α-Synuclein with chaperones," explains Sebastian Hiller. "There is not fixed, rigid interaction, but a dynamic and constantly changing encounter."</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Impaired chaperone binding causes cell damage</span></strong></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In healthy cells, α-Synuclein is always accompanied by chaperones such that the protein always remains transportable and a pool of functional α-Synuclein proteins is available. Some post-translational modifications of α-Synuclein, such as those observed in Parkinson's disease can interfere with chaperone binding. The researchers found that transient membrane binding triggers a remarkable re-localization of α-synuclein to the mitochondria and concomitant formation of aggregates. Previous research shows that Lewy bodies mainly consist of mitochondrial membrane fragments of α-Synuclein.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New function for chaperones discovered</span></strong></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"With our work, we are questioning the paradigm that the function of chaperones is solely to help proteins to fold into their proper shape," says Hiller. "Chaperones do far more than just assist in protein folding. They control cellular processes by flexibly interacting with a variety of proteins and accompanying them like a shadow." This research helps gain a deeper understanding of the molecular role that chaperones play in cell function and can provide important clues for the development of novel therapies for Parkinson's disease.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.scienceboard.net/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=381</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-3457929727917696822019-12-05T15:08:00.000-08:002019-12-05T15:08:02.566-08:00Drug helped dementia patients curb their hallucinations and delusions<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 5, 2019</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VMasOxp1w_hxD_SBrVCCPKfnRJxJJ7M2QTRGSOeu_x8oJGJPpOO6-ZAovCAJgPBM6MF8ucMTwvSoDuKAkgJRiGdqt3TdwzNvXqfpjwlIinMHNQRFzmb2nkZnKtrmOSLaAnAIKCDODYU/s1600/Nuplazid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="840" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VMasOxp1w_hxD_SBrVCCPKfnRJxJJ7M2QTRGSOeu_x8oJGJPpOO6-ZAovCAJgPBM6MF8ucMTwvSoDuKAkgJRiGdqt3TdwzNvXqfpjwlIinMHNQRFzmb2nkZnKtrmOSLaAnAIKCDODYU/s400/Nuplazid.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div class="Figure-caption" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #20124d; display: inline; font-style: italic; text-align: start; text-decoration: underline;">
Nuplazid, a drug that treats psychosis in patients with Parkinson’s disease, also curbed hallucinations and delusions in people with dementia, researchers said this week at an Alzheimer’s conference in San Diego.</div>
<div class="Figure-credit" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; margin-left: 5px; text-align: start;">
<u style="color: #20124d; font-style: italic;">(Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. via Associated Press)</u><br /><br /><br /></div>
</span><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson’s patients did the same for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in a clinical trial that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If regulators agree, the drug could become the first offered specifically for treating dementia-related psychosis. It would also be the first new medicine for Alzheimer’s in nearly two decades. </span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The daily pill targets some of the most troubling symptoms that patients and caregivers face — hallucinations that often lead to anxiety, aggression, and physical and verbal abuse.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;">Trial results were disclosed this week at an </span><a class="Link" href="https://www.ctad-alzheimer.com/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">Alzheimer’s conference</a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;"> in </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;"> San Diego.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span></span><div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“This would be a very important advance,” said one independent expert, <a class="Link" href="https://www.alzdiscovery.org/about-addf/staff" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">Dr. Howard Fillit</a>, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although the field is focused on finding a cure for dementia and preventing future cases, “there is a huge unmet need for better treatment” for those who have it now, said <a class="Link" href="https://www.alz.org/press/spokespeople/maria_c_carrillo_ph_d" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">Maria Carrillo</a>, chief science officer for the Alzheimer’s Assn.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The drug, <a class="Link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440097/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">pimavanserin</a>, is sold as Nuplazid by Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. It was approved for Parkinson’s-related psychosis in 2016 and is thought to work by blocking a brain chemical that seems to spur delusions.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About 8 million Americans have dementia, and studies suggest that up to 30% of them develop psychosis.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“It’s terrifying,” said <a class="Link" href="https://healthybrains.org/dr-jeffrey-cummings/" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">Dr. Jeffrey Cummings</a> of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. “You believe that people might be trying to hurt you. You believe that people are stealing from you. You believe that your spouse is unfaithful to you. Those are the three most common false beliefs.”</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cummings consults for Acadia and helped lead the study, which included about 400 people with dementia and psychosis. All were given a low dose of the drug for three months, and those who seemed to respond or benefit were then split into two groups. Half continued on the drug and the others were given dummy pills for six months or until they had a relapse or worsening of symptoms. Neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was getting what.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Independent monitors stopped the study when they saw that those on dummy pills were more than twice as likely as those on the drug to relapse or worsen — 28% versus nearly 13%.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were relatively few serious side effects — 5% in the drug group and 4% in the others. Headaches and urinary tract infections were more common among those on the drug. Two deaths occurred, but study leaders said neither was related to the drug.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carrillo said the study was small, but the drug’s effect seemed large. It’s unclear whether the federal Food and Drug Administration would want more evidence to approve a new use.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Current anti-psychotic medicines have some major drawbacks and are not approved for dementia patients.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“They’re often used off-label because we have very few other options,” Fillit said.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All carry warnings that they can raise the risk of death in elderly patients, as does Nuplazid.</span></div>
<div class="Enhancement" data-align-center="" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px; text-align: start; width: 680px;">
</div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The drug costs about $3,000 a month, so cost could be an issue. The amount patients pay can vary depending on insurance coverage.</span></div>
<div style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-12-05/drug-can-curb-dementia-delusions</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-65442114544481826762019-12-05T14:59:00.005-08:002019-12-05T14:59:56.798-08:00Parkinson’s Changes the Rules: It’s OK to Ask for Help DECEMBER 5, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By Lori DePorter<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9fwV8PT0PdZfh5Pw_LroRuCyaHGg_XyT6X1lnc2CvSkOtuzxIjdM1PwLXU27t-2qgl7mqua3exO6mF0u_f-TINYG4UEChBlkBP8XUu9MnX_M7j5BBiowHkfzmje9Fdy232wUmXolq_s/s1600/shutterstock_584483764-1000x480-1000x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1000" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9fwV8PT0PdZfh5Pw_LroRuCyaHGg_XyT6X1lnc2CvSkOtuzxIjdM1PwLXU27t-2qgl7mqua3exO6mF0u_f-TINYG4UEChBlkBP8XUu9MnX_M7j5BBiowHkfzmje9Fdy232wUmXolq_s/s640/shutterstock_584483764-1000x480-1000x480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all have a fundamental desire to help our loved ones, and this is particularly true of those of us with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Life moves along, and we try to advance with it. We are used to taking care of our responsibilities. But when we have Parkinson’s, the rules change.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was trying to accomplish many things and not doing any of them well. I felt defeated in my job, and as a mom, daughter, and wife. I didn’t know how to step back and recognize my limitations. I had been taking care of everything for over 25 years and I loved it.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I find myself in unfamiliar territory. It may be a natural part of getting older or my progression, but I am not the same person. I can’t do everything that I could in the past. And <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/11/07/parenting-anxiety-challenges-flexibility/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">accepting my limitations</a> is not easy.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When my doctor suggested that I see a <a href="https://www.parkinson.org/blog/tips/psychotherapy-counseling-myths" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">psychologist,</a> my immediate reaction was, “No, I don’t need to.” However, she was right. I did need therapy, at least in the short term. While it is not for everyone, therapy has been beneficial when I find myself struggling. My therapist can make me aware of things that my friends, family, and others who are part of my everyday routine can’t see in me.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Talking with a professional provides a different perspective. And sometimes, having a fresh look at your situation can help you to get to where you want to be. Unfortunately, therapy is not always available, and people often avoid seeking this kind of help because of the stigma attached.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 36px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New rules</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While my approach is still a work in progress, I have developed some new rules. I am sure that I will add more and you may have some rules of your own. With the busy holiday season approaching, you may want to give these a try:</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<ul style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 24px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You don’t need to take care of everything.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Know when to seek support.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s OK to ask for assistance.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Allow others to help.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parkinson’s makes us feel helpless at times. However, it’s not just about us. What about the people in our lives? Do they feel the same way? Maybe playing by the new rules and allowing them to help us will make them feel more useful. We can see our acceptance of their help as a gift to them rather than a burden — something as simple as opening a car door can make all the difference.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"> or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/05/changes-rules-accepting-help-counseling-psychotherapy/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-63987138329419472112019-12-05T14:56:00.002-08:002019-12-05T14:56:23.657-08:00Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke Linked to Lower Risk of Developing Parkinson’s, Study Suggests <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 5, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> BY CATARINA SILVA, MSC</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK5RONky2KNvlQPWRtz8j8UGqC6XNkxPOZjzK2dvY0NtLfYv8O1kdKIfn39-Kx-s5GnDjtNWylB-3Br7cuvo4UiZl6Jx1zOtKOkc-zeSLQEwKtjYwqZPWl98nqSL8yF7vjHAIhc4Icqs/s1600/shutterstock_644142106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK5RONky2KNvlQPWRtz8j8UGqC6XNkxPOZjzK2dvY0NtLfYv8O1kdKIfn39-Kx-s5GnDjtNWylB-3Br7cuvo4UiZl6Jx1zOtKOkc-zeSLQEwKtjYwqZPWl98nqSL8yF7vjHAIhc4Icqs/s640/shutterstock_644142106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/index.htm" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Second-hand smoke</a> may have a neuroprotective effect, as exposure to this type of indoor pollutant seems to be associated with a decreased risk of developing <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/what-is-parkinsons-disease/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Parkinson’s disease</a>, according to a recent study.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conversely, exposure to certain air pollutants — like nitrogen dioxide and ozone — might contribute to a higher risk of developing the disease.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The study, “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350619303130" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">The impact of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and second-hand smoke on the onset of Parkinson disease: a review and meta-analysis</a>,” was published in <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/public-health" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Public Health</a></span>.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Air pollution is composed of a variety of particulate air pollutants, volatile organic compounds, gaseous air pollutants, and airborne metals. Exposure to polluted air has been consistently associated with adverse effects in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, but little is known about the effects of such exposure in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although the exact <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/what-causes-parkinsons-disease/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">causes</a> behind Parkinson’s disease are not fully understood, it is thought to be induced by “a complicated interplay of environmental and genetic factors,” according to these researchers.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As such, “further investigation of the modifiable risk factors of [Parkinson’s disease] is of imperative significance and expected to have broad implication for the primordial prevention of this disease,” they said.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Second-hand smoke is a type of indoor air pollution. Evidence indicates that active smokers have a 50% lower chance of developing Parkinson’s in comparison with non-smokers. “However, whether this negative correlation is causal and persists among persons regularly exposed to SS [second-hand smoke] remains undetermined,” the researchers said.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To learn more, the scientists searched five medicine-related databases for any observational or epidemiological evidence on the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollution and second-hand smoke and Parkinson’s susceptibility.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The studied air pollutants included: particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">2.5</span>), such as combustion particles, organic compounds, and metals; particulate matter with less 10 μm in diameter (PM<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">10</span>), including dust, pollen, and mold; nitrogen dioxides (NO<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span>); ozone (O<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">3</span>); and carbon monoxide.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The researchers combined the results of 21 studies, involving a total 222,051 Parkinson’s patients, and performed a statistical review known as a meta-analysis.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A marginally significant higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was observed in those exposed to PM<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">2.5</span>, NO<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span>, and O<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.5ex; vertical-align: baseline;">3</span>. Although carbon monoxide was found to be positively associated with Parkinson’s susceptibility, statistical significance was not attained.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Second-hand smoke conferred reduced risk of Parkinson disease, regardless of exposure occasions [at home/at work/in children] and timing,” the researchers said. This suggests that second-hand smoke might have a neuroprotective effect in those who are susceptible to developing Parkinson’s at some point in their lives.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some possible explanations exist as to why cigarette smoke may be associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s. One theory is that some tobacco smoke compounds contain properties that inhibit <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/monoamine-oxidase" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">monoamine oxidase</a> (MAO), an enzyme that plays a key role in the activation of MPTP, a well-known Parkinson’s-inducing neurotoxin, and that is involved in the degradation process of dopamine released by nerve cells.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Other hypotheses include the direct neuroprotective effect of nicotine by stimulating dopamine release, upregulating nicotinic receptors, and inhibiting alpha-synuclein fibrillation, thereby suppressing and relieving parkinsonian symptoms,” the researchers said.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-4" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Given the many harmful effects of air pollutants, public and environmental health strategies that reduce outdoor air pollution levels could help lower the burden of Parkinson’s disease.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the potential neuroprotective effect of second-hand smoke, caution is advised when interpreting these results, as more large-scale studies are necessary to fully understand such an association.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/05/second-hand-smoke-associated-with-lower-risk-developing-parkinsons/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-30333151897161435852019-12-05T14:43:00.003-08:002019-12-05T14:49:30.916-08:00Aphios Granted US Patent for Oral Administration of Bryostatin-1 Nanoparticles for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases<span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">December 05, 2019</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwhRPXdmV1XloV7PDiCRwv5uin1s1T7Q0MsytB7NxwSKLYdBgJnXsrE44ekSmwbiUsjJ5UVVZ0fWw1h3rUgC1g7fbtxAKEunM7_4u5jsuDa_ZzMGE97qBLNeEQFEmxjSxRNzjHi2_QWw/s1600/vintage-illustration-of-a-brain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1100" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwhRPXdmV1XloV7PDiCRwv5uin1s1T7Q0MsytB7NxwSKLYdBgJnXsrE44ekSmwbiUsjJ5UVVZ0fWw1h3rUgC1g7fbtxAKEunM7_4u5jsuDa_ZzMGE97qBLNeEQFEmxjSxRNzjHi2_QWw/s320/vintage-illustration-of-a-brain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; caret-color: rgb(119, 103, 220);"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; caret-color: rgb(119, 103, 220);"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; caret-color: rgb(119, 103, 220);"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">WOBURN, Mass.--(<span itemid="https://www.businesswire.com" itemprop="provider publisher copyrightHolder" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><span itemprop="name"><a href="https://www.businesswire.com/" itemprop="url" referrerpolicy="unsafe-url" rel="nofollow" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none;">BUSINESS WIRE</a></span></span>)--Aphios Corporation today announced that it was granted United States Patent No. 10,485,766 for the oral administration of Bryostatin-1 nanoparticles for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.</span></div>
<blockquote style="border-right-color: rgb(122, 165, 42) !important; border-right-style: solid !important; border-right-width: 1px !important; float: left; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.1667em; margin: 5px 15px 15px 0px; position: relative; top: -0.0833em; width: 386.796875px;">
<div id="pull-quote" style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 4px; padding-right: 12px; text-align: justify; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bryostatin-1 nanoparticles rapidly restore cognitive performance in Alzheimer's transgenic mice and improve inter-trial latency in transgenic mouse model of Down syndrome which shares many characteristics with Alzheimer’s</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and other spongiform encephalopathies remain major health problems. Currently there are very limited means to treat these diseases. With respect to Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, these diseases tend to manifest themselves in older individuals and as the diseases progress; the afflicted individuals are less able to care for themselves. Dr. Trevor P. Castor, co-inventor of the patent states that, “It is therefore highly desirable to have simple therapies which can be administered (e.g. oral formulations) without the need for specially trained healthcare providers.”</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dr. Castor continues, “Our Mechanism-of-Action studies have shown that our lead Alzheimer's disease drug candidate, APH-1104, a potent analog of Bryostatin-1, is neuroprotective by α-secretase activation via novel PKC isoforms, down-regulation of pro-inflammatory and angiogenic processes and the substitution of β-amyloid for its soluble and harmless relative, sAPP-α at concentrations which are orders of magnitude lower than conventional APP modulators. Our <i>in vivo</i> studies show that we can rapidly restore cognitive performance in AD-transgenic mice by oral administration of Bryostatin-1 encapsulated in biodegradable polymer nanospheres. These nanoparticles protect Bryostatin-1 in its transit to the stomach, are resistant to stomach acids, and increase residence time and efficacy once transported to the circulation system in the duodenum.”</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dr. Jonathan Steven Alexander, a professor in LSU Health Shreveport’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and a co-inventor of the patent states, “We are another step closer to helping find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. In our hands, we discovered that Bryostatin-1 improves inter-trial latency in a transgenic mouse model of Down syndrome. Bryostatin-1 showed a significant improvement in inter-trial water maze performance, with a p<0.001 compared to vehicle treated transgenic Down mice. This shows a significant difference in task acquisition in the Down syndrome model which shares many characteristics with Alzheimer’s disease. Importantly, these data show for the first time a dose dependent improvement in task performance.” </span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>About LSU Health Shreveport: </b>LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport is home to the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies and School of Allied Health Professions. The primary mission of the LSU’s Health Sciences Center at Shreveport is to teach, heal, and discover, in order to advance the well-being of the region and beyond. At the heart of LSUHSC-S is a strong faculty that includes over 600 nationally and internationally-acclaimed physicians and scientists. LSU Health Shreveport has strong community support, fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion that promotes mutual respect for all. For more information, visit <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lsuhscshreveport.edu&esheet=52140474&newsitemid=20191205005233&lan=en-US&anchor=www.lsuhscshreveport.edu&index=1&md5=a3927994029842f027f99bb2e74c6d7d" referrerpolicy="unsafe-url" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.lsuhscshreveport.edu</a>.</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>About Aphios Corporation: </b>Aphios Corporation (<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aphios.com&esheet=52140474&newsitemid=20191205005233&lan=en-US&anchor=www.aphios.com&index=2&md5=875640fac73ab59422e3faabb537b30f" referrerpolicy="unsafe-url" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.aphios.com</a>) is an emerging growth biotechnology company developing green enabling technology platforms for improving drug discovery and manufacturing, nanotechnology drug delivery and pathogenic drug safety. Based on these enabling technology platforms, we are developing enhanced therapeutics for health maintenance and disease prevention, and the treatment of cancers such as prostate and pancreatic cancer, supportive care such as CINV, infectious diseases such as HIV, and nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Pain and Opioid Addiction.</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-bottom: 1.5em; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Research leading to this discovery was in part funded by a SBIR Grant No. No. 5R44AG034760-03 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIA and NIH.</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191205005233/en/Aphios-Granted-Patent-Oral-Administration-Bryostatin-1-Nanoparticles</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-57681780889773479462019-12-05T14:34:00.000-08:002019-12-05T14:34:08.800-08:00Though safe, nilotinib does not show promise for benefit for Parkinson's disease <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">DECEMBER 5, 2019 by Northwestern University</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NRiNTnJzfuUCBa0bOItu3nSC3JdH6wS7AxcTs5TjmuS0xvNMxR7J-fh7eBdz7bjKQEO2LXOKgRvIxD2amymaU2bbh4FD2smJ5fRqXxvceV-ieUihgLLkvi2Lm8hlGxbUr6eIAecVyNQ/s1600/parkinsonsdi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="631" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NRiNTnJzfuUCBa0bOItu3nSC3JdH6wS7AxcTs5TjmuS0xvNMxR7J-fh7eBdz7bjKQEO2LXOKgRvIxD2amymaU2bbh4FD2smJ5fRqXxvceV-ieUihgLLkvi2Lm8hlGxbUr6eIAecVyNQ/s400/parkinsonsdi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.45098); color: #eeeeee; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><u>Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia</u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><u><br /></u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;">Northwestern University and the Parkinson Study Group announced that the Nilotinib in Parkinson's Disease (NILO-PD) study showed that nilotinib, an FDA-approved treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia being tested for potential repurposing as a Parkinson's drug, was safe and tolerable in its trial population of 76 participants with moderate to advanced Parkinson's but does not exert a clinically meaningful benefit or biological effect to benefit those with Parkinson's disease.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The NILO-PD Steering Committee unanimously agreed to accelerate the announcement of these results, originally planned for 2020, in line with members' commitment to keep the Parkinson's community informed of new scientific findings as quickly as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Gary Rafaloff of Marlboro, New Jersey, diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2012, served as a member of the NILO-PD steering committee. "No one wanted this trial to succeed more than I did," Rafaloff said. "If I had qualified, I would have participated as a volunteer. Instead I spent over two years working with the other committee members to ensure that the trial was designed and administered with the utmost rigor. Nevertheless, the results are what they are. The good news is that there are several other upcoming trials that we can focus on as we look forward to future success."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was led by principal investigator Tanya Simuni, MD, professor of neurology and head of the division of movement disorders at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It was carried out at 25 sites through the Parkinson Study Group, the largest not-for-profit scientific network of Parkinson's disease centers in North America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The trial was coordinated through the Clinical Trial Coordination Center at the University of Rochester, and statistical analysis was led by the University of Iowa. NILO-PD—which tested placebo, 150mg and 300mg doses of nilotinib daily over six months—was supported by an international consortium of research and patient advocacy groups: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, The Cure Parkinson's Trust (London, United Kingdom), Van Andel Institute, The Parkinson Alliance and the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity (Brussels, Belgium). Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation provided the study drug and placebo for use in the trial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Science is a high-risk endeavor and too often strategies, even promising ones, do not prove replicable or scalable. Unfortunately, the results we observed—as measured by change in clinical symptoms and influence on biological measures—did not support testing nilotinib in a larger study," Simuni said. "This is not the outcome we hoped for, but we remain dedicated to pursuing better treatments by advancing other potential therapies in today's robust Parkinson's pipeline."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Simuni noted that it is critical that anyone considering adding nilotinib to their Parkinson's treatment regimen work closely with their health care provider before doing so. While nilotinib was seen to be safe and tolerable in the study population, the study was strict with health history, excluding those who may have heart issues or other health challenges. Therefore, its safety in a broader Parkinson's population remains unproven.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nilotinib (marketed as Tasigna) inhibits the activity of c-Abl, a protein that has been linked to cellular pathways associated with Parkinson's disease including aggregation of alpha-synuclein protein and deactivation of parkin protein. In 2016, preliminary data from a small open-label Phase I clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of nilotinib in people with advanced Parkinson's showed potential benefit in PD. The c-Abl pathway remains an important target of interest to Parkinson's researchers, with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/trials/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #954f72; text-decoration-skip: objects;"><span style="color: #04347b; text-decoration: none;">trials</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of other drugs in this class ongoing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Study results were unblinded at a steering committee meeting on November 15. Study leadership and funding partners committed to broadly sharing top-line findings on an accelerated timeline—after reporting high-level results back to study participants and site investigators—in service to the Parkinson's community awaiting news from this trial and the donors who made the study possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">NILO-PD leaders will share more detailed data with study volunteers on a call on December 12 and with the scientific community in February at the 3rd Pan American Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Congress in Miami, Florida. The partners also plan to make data and biosamples available for further analysis to the wider Parkinson's research community.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); margin: 0in 0in 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"When the science doesn't pan out, it's easy to feel deflated. As a patient, I get it," said Michael J. Fox. "But even a study that doesn't show the results we hoped for ultimately gets us closer to the one that will."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-size: 15pt;">Provided by </span><a href="https://medicalxpress.com/partners/northwestern-university/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #0049b0; font-size: 15pt;">Northwestern University</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-safe-nilotinib-benefit-parkinson-disease.html</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-28367665602390893402019-12-04T17:34:00.006-08:002019-12-04T17:34:54.443-08:00Brain diseases with molecular diversity<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-transform: uppercase;">4-DEC-2019 </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Marcus Neitzert</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(43, 43, 43); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;">DZNE - GERMAN CENTER FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(43, 43, 43); font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(43, 43, 43); color: #2b2b2b; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(123, 123, 123); font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">New insights into abnormal proteins in Parkinson's disease and MSA</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(123, 123, 123); font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkUFqFawzUvoyikdga9g0L2Uz59ttdLs66Pztam6ZXZrooO1pprEt7p9GRJqrn0QG34lHtAiNo9Fd65mQo7lfJAPSxewDvc4wEjruE6FNtMbVvf5wCpHIP_A11JIG6mNquWxThKz7NjE/s1600/brain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkUFqFawzUvoyikdga9g0L2Uz59ttdLs66Pztam6ZXZrooO1pprEt7p9GRJqrn0QG34lHtAiNo9Fd65mQo7lfJAPSxewDvc4wEjruE6FNtMbVvf5wCpHIP_A11JIG6mNquWxThKz7NjE/s400/brain.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span>
<div style="line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parkinson's and multisystem atrophy (MSA) - both of them neurodegenerative diseases - are associated with the accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC) have investigated the molecular makeup of these protein deposits finding structural diversity. Experts from South Korea, Australia, and Argentina were also involved in the study. The results, published in the scientific journal "Nature Communications", suggest that Parkinson's might be related to diverse types of protein aggregates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alpha-synuclein is a protein that occurs naturally in the body. It is assumed to be involved in signal transmission between neurons. The protein appears both at the cell membrane and solved - floating, so to speak - in the cell's interior. In addition to these "normal" variants, there are others that manifest in brain diseases. This applies e. g. to Parkinson's disease and MSA. Both can be associated with various neurological impairments, including movement disorders. In Parkinson's and MSA alpha-synuclein molecules stick together. As a result, elongated aggregates arise that are deposited inside neurons and other brain cells. "These deposits successively appear in various areas of the brain. They are a disease hallmark," explains Prof. Markus Zweckstetter, who heads a research group at the DZNE and the MPI-BPC. "There is evidence that these aggregates are harmful to neurons and promote disease progression."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A Matter of Folding</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These deposits represent a potential starting point for medicines. The idea is that drugs might prevent alpha-synuclein molecules from sticking together or dissolve existing aggregates. To identify potential docking sites for agents, data on the aggregates' fine structure is required. Thus, the question is: What kind of shape (also known as "folding") do the molecules adopt within the aggregates? So far, information on this topic had been limited to data from laboratory experiments. "Previous studies investigated the molecular structure of aggregates that were synthesized in a test tube. We asked ourselves how well such artificially produced specimens reflect the patient's situation. That is why we studied aggregates generated from tissue samples from patients," said Zweckstetter. "We collaborated closely with international partners on this project. In fact, the tissue samples originated in Australia and the aggregates were synthesized in South Korea. We then did the structural studies in Göttingen."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aggregates from brain samples taken from five deceased Parkinson's patients and five deceased MSA patients were examined. For comparison, the researchers artificially produced different variants of alpha-synuclein aggregates. For this, they used standard procedures. To compare the structure of the different aggregates, they applied nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and other methods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Structural Differences<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"We found that aggregated proteins that came from the lab were structurally different to all aggregates generated from patient material," Dr. Timo Strohäker, first author of the study, commented on the findings. "In addition, proteins of MSA patients differed from those of Parkinson's patients. If one looks at the data more closely, you notice that the proteins of the MSA patients all had a largely similar shape. The proteins of the patients with Parkinson's were more heterogeneous. When comparing the proteins of individual Parkinson's patients, there is a certain structural diversity."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The alpha-synuclein proteins of all aggregates contain "beta sheets", which is in line with previous investigations. Accordingly, the molecular backbone is twisted in a way that the proteins are largely two-dimensional. Within the aggregates, the proteins stick together in layers. However, folding does not encompass the whole protein. Each protein also contains areas that are unstructured. Besides, orientation of the beta sheets bears significance. "It is a question of how much of a protein is folded and also how it is folded," Zweckstetter stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Various Types of Aggregates in Parkinson's<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the structure of the alpha-synuclein associated with Parkinson's, there were some significant differences between patients. This might be due to the fact that the course of Parkinson's can vary quite considerably between individuals. "The variability of Parkinson's disease could be related to differences in the folding of aggregated alpha-synuclein. This would be in contrast to the 'one disease-one strain' hypothesis, that is to say that Parkinson's disease is associated with one, clearly defined aggregate form. However, in view of our relatively small sample of five patients, this is just a guess," said Zweckstetter. "Yet, our results certainly prove that studies with tissue samples from patients are necessary to complement lab experiments in a sensible way."</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #20124d;">###</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Original Publication</strong><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 3.75pt 0in 11.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Structural heterogeneity of α-synuclein fibrils amplified from patient brain extracts<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Timo Strohäker et al.,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nature Communications</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(2019),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13564-w<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Disclaimer:</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 17.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/d-gc-bdw120419.php</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-78150341121799603762019-12-04T17:20:00.005-08:002019-12-04T17:20:50.651-08:00Managing the Cost of Chronic Illness <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 4, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> BY MARY BETH SKYLIS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr-e-biyhWMLqEEXXdDAiJPDsQHsagDWm7OaH8FhvxkabgdIPN_EohTu6T9dmeJx4A76hYjUtv1GMkpKSoMC4tSvOGhbIxBcToMVW8TQkWoZAlYgEQbEd0wec3vAsLKZrs44JHoqr1l8/s1600/bioNewsTX_ShakingThingsUp%25E2%2580%2593MaryBethSkylis_logo_210919_02_v1-1400x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="1400" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr-e-biyhWMLqEEXXdDAiJPDsQHsagDWm7OaH8FhvxkabgdIPN_EohTu6T9dmeJx4A76hYjUtv1GMkpKSoMC4tSvOGhbIxBcToMVW8TQkWoZAlYgEQbEd0wec3vAsLKZrs44JHoqr1l8/s640/bioNewsTX_ShakingThingsUp%25E2%2580%2593MaryBethSkylis_logo_210919_02_v1-1400x480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chronic illness is expensive. It costs money, time, and peace of mind. Whether you’re sifting through your worries or counting the pennies in your pocket, illnesses affect all avenues of life. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before the symptoms of a disease appear, one may go about daily life unencumbered by thoughts of self-preservation. But disease changes everything. </span></span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to the </span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, 90 percent of the country’s annual healthcare spending — some $3.5 trillion — is related to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and others. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With Parkinson’s disease, the same costs apply. </span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While the return is generally worth the investment, Parkinson’s treatments are expensive. And people most often are hit with shocking bills at the same time they’re losing physical independence. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So how do you foot the bill? Where is the balance between finding the appropriate care and saving your pennies? What do you do when financial limitations find you?</span></span></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 26.667px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Switching from full-time to part-time work</span></span></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For many PD patients, one big question is: “Will I be able to keep my job as the disease progresses?” Everyone’s situation is different, and there’s no universal answer to this question. It depends on the job and how PD affects you. </span></span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My dad worked as a Realtor for most of his adult life, and he remains invested in that world. He grew up in the same area where he worked, and many of his clients were friends first. So I doubt he’ll ever entirely give up his profession. But he has certainly chosen to change his relationship with work. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One thing he noticed early on is that stress seems to drastically affect his PD symptoms. So adapting to the disease was never a debate. He just needed to determine how to move forward. His solution was to slow down and reduce the number of homes he sells. This means that his income has changed as well. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Luckily, my mom is a worker bee. Even when she has a day off, she fills her time with projects and goals. She continues to work full-time and hold down the fort. But the financial side of PD has been fluid and will continue to change. Will my parents have to downsize houses again one day? Sell some assets? What happens when my mom realizes she’s in her 60s and can’t work as much anymore? </span></span></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 26.667px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Medical care and travel expenses</span></span></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Medical care is a complicated subject. If you’re lucky enough to live in or near a city, the options allow you the privilege of choice. But what if you have to commute an hour each way and you’re not comfortable with your driving abilities anymore? What if you live in a remote area of the country and medical care is limited? The greatest cost in this situation seems to be time — your time and the time of a loved one.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Since undergoing <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/08/21/deep-brain-stimulation-surgery-worry-family-dad/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">deep brain stimulation</a>, an expensive surgery, Dad continues to see his neurologist to tune the hardware. He always has a companion for these visits, which increase his quality of life. But he gives up time to travel and money for gas, and he probably pays something for each doctor visit. </span><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes he’ll also see an herbalist (the “witch doctor,” as he says) and a chiropractor. And even with insurance, he spends a lot of money on medication. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 26.667px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mom’s thoughts on the cost of Parkinson’s</span></span></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mom was kind enough to share some thoughts about the cost of Parkinson’s disease. She said that while they’re doing fine, it seems that “fun money” inevitably turns into bill money. Yet she remains positive. She, like my dad, continuously adapts to the changes that come with chronic illness. </span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She ended a recent email on a positive note: “NONETHELESS, we are doing alright!”</span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">***</span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Note: </span></span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or </span></span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">treatment</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or </span></span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">treatment</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of </span></span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/04/chronic-illness-costs-sacrifices-decisions/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-23501049127487409622019-12-04T17:17:00.002-08:002019-12-04T17:17:27.380-08:00I’ve Made BIG Improvements with Parkinson’s Therapy Program <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 4, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>BY <u><span style="color: red;">"SHERRI WOODBRIDGE" </span></u></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGHBKSz4yfoaRy4NzepYF_ZEOPyns3E6jl9AZi9owio4QAyKfqueNk9CwT1AFz1t_LJTNQTp2JVYuEXm-VClhoYlz1mdm1lVFvib7pgfF935YSlArbQ63EjuprMUg9A0Hp4ZjIJwH42U/s1600/blog_images_2-27-e1516130867529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="720" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGHBKSz4yfoaRy4NzepYF_ZEOPyns3E6jl9AZi9owio4QAyKfqueNk9CwT1AFz1t_LJTNQTp2JVYuEXm-VClhoYlz1mdm1lVFvib7pgfF935YSlArbQ63EjuprMUg9A0Hp4ZjIJwH42U/s640/blog_images_2-27-e1516130867529.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></u></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been seeing a physical therapist four times a week for the last month. I hadn’t injured myself, though I experience aches and pains with Parkinson’s disease. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My neurologist referred me to a physical therapist who teaches the BIG program. The <a href="https://www.lsvtglobal.com/LSVTBig" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">LSVT BIG program</a> is designed for people with Parkinson’s to bring their movements to a more “normal” state, as they tend to become slower and smaller over time.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 36px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first session</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first appointment consisted of small “tests,” like those performed during a Parkinson’s diagnostic exam but less extensive. The therapist examines and times your walking and tests your <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/08/14/balance-spills-falls-harrison-ford-regarding-henry/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">balance</a>, among other abilities.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BIG is customized for people with Parkinson’s. Perhaps you struggle with getting out of bed. Though this specific activity isn’t included in the standard routine of the BIG program, it can be worked into your tailored activities. The therapy can help you no matter what stage of the disease you are at and it’s recommended that you start treatment as early as possible.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 36px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What improved?</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The BIG treatment improved my walking in general, and I gained confidence with “stair-stepping.” I no longer take each stair sideways, with extreme caution, and slower than molasses. The program helped me to be more intentional in my activities and how I carry them out.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At my therapy sessions, we started with the exercises that are specific to the BIG program. I completed two exercises while sitting in a chair, stretching down, up, and back, and ending with a “BIG” finish. The rest of the exercises — except for the last — are performed while standing and are aimed at balance and coordination, and also end with a “BIG” finish. The program strives to teach the person with Parkinson’s to emulate the bigger movements of those around them who walk and interact “normally.”</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the “regular” exercises, we practiced tasks tailored to my needs. These included cutting up food, buttoning/unbuttoning and zipping/unzipping my coat or sweater, and other tasks. After those exercises, we walked around the neighborhood for a half-hour, practicing arm swings and balance.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 36px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Was it worth it?</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My sessions are over, and as my movements have improved, <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/02/25/life-is-beautiful-mammogram-fear-hope/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">my outlook</a> has, too. While the exercises are not difficult to do, they must be practiced daily for continuous improvement. I noticed that if I skipped even one day, it made a difference to my ease of movement. I realize that if I want to live BIG, I need to exercise BIG, and that means I must think BIG.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-treatments/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">treatment</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of </span><a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">Parkinson’s News Today</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;"> or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/04/think-big-live-big-movements-big-program-physical-therapy/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-35865199253959476022019-12-04T17:07:00.000-08:002019-12-04T17:07:06.260-08:00From depression to Parkinson’s disease: The healing power of dance <span class="fn author-name" itemprop="name" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 4, 2019 <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adrianna-mendrek-497765" rel="author" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none;">Adrianna Mendrek</a></span></span><br />
<span class="fn author-name" itemprop="name" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span class="fn author-name" itemprop="name" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vgbh8-QJVl_2Q2rOHHFhTPSvldJZXCba5HK7JTUyZe4ZS_sGp8ACruG7VKAhvVf1Xvz_HWmsfkIXLJ-h6hjWfEhgj53XHfk7I8vQf1faEinU2sgCCmXTC5fDhNyi82YzE4v3F2aNeOI/s1600/depression+to+dance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="256" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vgbh8-QJVl_2Q2rOHHFhTPSvldJZXCba5HK7JTUyZe4ZS_sGp8ACruG7VKAhvVf1Xvz_HWmsfkIXLJ-h6hjWfEhgj53XHfk7I8vQf1faEinU2sgCCmXTC5fDhNyi82YzE4v3F2aNeOI/s640/depression+to+dance.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u>Historically, the body and movement have been widely disregarded within psychotherapy. But times are changing, as a growing movement of somatic and dance therapies are gaining scientific credibility. </u></i></span></span><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">(Shutterstock)</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“When a body moves, it’s the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Mikhail Baryshnikov</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why do we stop dancing when we grow up? Why do we disconnect and alienate ourselves from the body? It is surprising to me that <a href="https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/dance-movement-therapy" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">dance/movement therapy (DMT)</a> is not more popular within the fields of psychology and psychotherapy globally.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a couple of decades, I devoted my attention as a researcher in behavioural neurobiology and psychiatry almost exclusively to the brain and mental health, neglecting the rest of the body. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was trained in the late 1990s, the <a href="https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.284.5415.739" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">decade of the brain</a>. I have been mesmerized by the complexity of the brain, completely forgetting that it is part of the entire organism, intimately connected and reciprocally interacting with the entire body. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interestingly, in my personal life my body has played a central role. My way to deal with any mental health problems has been through long walks, dancing and yoga.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mhoEjbvIEw8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mhoEjbvIEw8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/mhoEjbvIEw8">https://youtu.be/mhoEjbvIEw8</a> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><u><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An introduction to dance/movement therapy from the American Dance Therapy Association.</span></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><u><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><u><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is partly why in the past few years, as a professor in psychology at Bishop’s University, I have started incorporating bodywork in my teaching and research, and why I entered a <a href="https://grandsballets.com/en/national-centre-for-dance-therapy/training" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">dance/movement therapy training program in Canada</a> this summer.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Understanding the body in motion</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dance/movement therapy goes beyond simply dancing. DMT uses dance and movement to promote insight, integration and well-being, as well as to diminish undesirable symptoms in various clinical populations. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unlike mainstream talk therapies, DMT uses the entire body to approach the client primarily on a non-verbal and creative level. The body in motion is both the medium and the message. DMT recognizes the moving body as the centre of the human experience, and that body and mind are in constant reciprocal interaction.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just like with more traditional psychotherapies, DMT can be applied in a wide range of ways. It may involve talking, different types of music or no music at all. It can be done in groups, with individuals or with couples. Therapists sometimes dance with their clients and at other times observe. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A group therapy session may involve a warm-up and check-in as to where we are at emotionally, mentally and physically. It may be followed by the development of a theme, which emerges spontaneously or has been prepared by a therapist (for example, working with difficult emotions). It ends with grounding (reconnecting with our bodies and our selves in the present moment) and closure (for example, a gesture, a sound, a word). </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of this is done with our bodies in motion or stillness, but some verbal sharing, journaling, drawing and other elements may be added.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8z974GV7tqq5SUb0uPQWG7WBy9s2nBT_HLkmAG4-vzJxyedEc-mJAIfYCsazI4PgBeU6QYzKrNPRq6mQedgVfPaAp4eu4FxScEJ4YCkFZ4rUtjKpWELz1dW_EJYjeIRrLSKHqi9FAMuw/s1600/file-20191128-178062-1ybg9a9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="754" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8z974GV7tqq5SUb0uPQWG7WBy9s2nBT_HLkmAG4-vzJxyedEc-mJAIfYCsazI4PgBeU6QYzKrNPRq6mQedgVfPaAp4eu4FxScEJ4YCkFZ4rUtjKpWELz1dW_EJYjeIRrLSKHqi9FAMuw/s400/file-20191128-178062-1ybg9a9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i><span class="caption" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Exploring new movements can help people see a wider range of possibilities in a given situation.</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114);"> </span><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Shutterstock)</span></i></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></i></u></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dance/movement therapy has been around for several decades but it has never become widely popular, possibly due to a lack of well-designed research studies. This has changed and I would like to highlight here a few recent studies supporting the benefits of dance and DMT on emotional regulation, cognitive function and neural plasticity.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A positive effect on depression</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the main reasons people dance is to modify their emotional state; typically, they strive to feel more joy and happiness and to reduce stress and anxiety. Since its inception dance therapy, similar to <a href="https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/somatic-psychotherapy" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">somatic psychotherapies</a>, has emphasized the reciprocal interaction between body and mind, and the ability to regulate emotions via changes in body postures and movements. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The exploration of new movements can evoke novel perceptions and feelings. It may also facilitate seeing a wider range of possibilities in a given situation. Some new or old movement patterns may evoke repressed material and enhance better understanding of oneself and one’s environment and history.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the most compelling studies supporting this idea examined complex improvised movements, and identified <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02030" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">unique sets of movement components that can elicit the feelings of happiness, sadness, fear or anger</a>. The associations between emotions and specific motor components have been used in the past for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00990296" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">diagnosis or emotion recognition</a>. This study goes further and proposes specific techniques for modifying emotions.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rUQlFZJySYA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rUQlFZJySYA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/rUQlFZJySYA">https://youtu.be/rUQlFZJySYA</a> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u>A new report from WHO/Europe provides evidence of the benefits of the arts for mental and physical health.</u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><br /></u></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); text-align: start;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><br /></u></i></span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A recent systematic review of research on dance/movement therapy specifically found it to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00936" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">effective in the treatment of adults with depression</a>.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Improvements in Parkinson’s disease</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dance typically involves learning sequences of steps and movements in space, in coordination with music. In other words, it requires substantial physical and cognitive engagement and, as such, it should improve not only muscle tone, strength, balance and coordination, but also memory, attention and visuospatial processing.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When comparing relatively long-term dance interventions (of six and 18 months) to conventional fitness training, several studies have found <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00056" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">improvements in attention and verbal memory</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196636" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">neuroplasticity in healthy older adults</a>. Researchers also found improvements in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2017.02.013" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">memory and cognitive function for older adults with mild cognitive impairment</a> after a 40-week dance program. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In addition, a recent meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of dance therapy to non-dance interventions in Parkinson’s disease found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.04.005" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">dance was especially beneficial for executive function</a>, the processes that help us plan, organize and regulate our actions.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Changes in brain structure</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dancing engages <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhj057" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">extensive areas of the cerebral cortex as well as several deep brain structures</a>.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A recent descriptive systematic review included eight well-controlled studies, all of which demonstrated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.010" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">changes in brain structure following dance intervention</a>. These changes included: increased hippocampal and parahippocampal volume (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0603414103" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">involved in memory</a>), increased gray matter volume in the <a href="https://radiopaedia.org/articles/precentral-gyrus?lang=us" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">precentral gyrus</a>(involved in motor control) and white matter integrity in the <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318065.php" style="outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;">corpus callosum</a>(involved in communication between the two hemispheres).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmb0puOyN9UARUMFrJ8A8GQglQWDJYsq5_YQnVLS0VvS4B66kRiuFgPx3bkyvrLX3G_drnWlVRIiZFgYgtQ8ea9OElwiz6yf3YijJ90SotYVNM-ftAill3x27DLdPMJyp1CtvYnX02PU/s1600/file-20191128-178094-1j9yj52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="754" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmb0puOyN9UARUMFrJ8A8GQglQWDJYsq5_YQnVLS0VvS4B66kRiuFgPx3bkyvrLX3G_drnWlVRIiZFgYgtQ8ea9OElwiz6yf3YijJ90SotYVNM-ftAill3x27DLdPMJyp1CtvYnX02PU/s400/file-20191128-178094-1j9yj52.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="caption" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); color: #727272; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><span class="caption" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New ways of moving can produce new ways of feeling and perceiving the world.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56);"> </span><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Shutterstock)</span></u></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></u></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><span class="attribution" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></u></i></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall, these studies are compatible with the idea of using dance and DMT in various neurological and psychiatric disorders — such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders — as well as in the general population.</span></div>
<h2 style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New possibilities for feeling and perceiving</span></h2>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is clear that dance has a powerful effect on the human body and psyche. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DMT from its inception emphasized that the body is inseparable from, and in constant reciprocal interaction with, the mind. As such, sensations, perceptions, emotions and thinking affect our body and the way we move. By observing the body we can deduce mental states. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conversely, our posture and our movements have the power to transform our mental states, to evoke repressed memories, to release spontaneity and creativity, to reorganize our brains. New ways of moving and dancing may produce new ways of feeling and perceiving the world. </span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the most exciting and profound aspects of DMT and it is shocking that the body, movement and dance have been almost entirely ignored by mainstream psychotherapy. It is time to change that!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://theconversation.com/from-depression-to-parkinsons-disease-the-healing-power-of-dance-123748</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-49905997435542687682019-12-04T16:44:00.004-08:002019-12-04T16:44:58.896-08:00Cerevance Initiates Phase 2 Trial of CVN424 for Parkinson’s Disease <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 04, 2019 Category: <a href="https://pipelinereview.com/index.php/Table/News-Channels/Small-Molecules/" style="text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s linear;">Small Molecules</a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rD2Bor9Xpll8q2T0Cl0lPcrExvWfMLmRTzKcLSXKogGMcuNeCZPtHffoAxImxlSKlLZmGgJEwPaSCnAdMP2qw63_eYx8COkjAZ1_2Nq9mxkzhBqdtdwYqQW1mNcL1oe6sJVcNegjzf0/s1600/ph-news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rD2Bor9Xpll8q2T0Cl0lPcrExvWfMLmRTzKcLSXKogGMcuNeCZPtHffoAxImxlSKlLZmGgJEwPaSCnAdMP2qw63_eYx8COkjAZ1_2Nq9mxkzhBqdtdwYqQW1mNcL1oe6sJVcNegjzf0/s640/ph-news.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div data-reader-unique-id="1" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Boston, MA – December 4, 2019 – Cerevance, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing new medicines for brain diseases, announced today the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of CVN424, an oral, first-in-class compound that selectively modulates a novel, non-dopaminergic target selectively expressed in an important class of neurons in the striatum.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="1" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="2" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“We are pleased to further advance the clinical development of CVN424 in Parkinson’s, as there remain significant shortcomings with current therapeutics,” said Brad Margus, chief executive officer of the company.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="2" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="3" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The study, now enrolling patients, is a Phase 2, double-blind, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of CVN424 in patients with Parkinson’s disease and motor fluctuations who are currently being treated with levodopa. The trial will test two dose levels of CVN424 and is expected to enroll approximately 70 patients. Efficacy endpoints include reduction in “off time,” which refers to periods of the day when Parkinson’s symptoms recur despite medication, as well as other functional outcome measures.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="3" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="4" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“CVN424 activates key motor pathways, but not the neurons implicated in dyskinesias, a common side effect of dopaminergic Parkinson’s disease treatments,” noted David H. Margolin, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president of clinical and translational medicine at Cerevance. “This selectivity should allow CVN424 to augment the positive effects of the current standard of care, levodopa, without exacerbating its side effects.”</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="4" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="5" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mark Carlton, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Cerevance, added, “This compound exemplifies Cerevance’s approach of identifying and modulating therapeutic targets that are selectively expressed in disrupted circuits or vulnerable neuronal and glial populations in central nervous system diseases.”</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="6" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Additional information about the study will soon be posted to ClinicalTrials.gov.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="6" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="7" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="8" style="max-width: 100%;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About CVN424</span></u></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="7" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="8" style="max-width: 100%;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="9" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">CVN424 is an orally bioavailable, brain penetrant small molecule. It acts as a potent modulator of a novel target that is selectively expressed in striatal neurons of the dopamine D2 receptor dependent pathway (the “indirect” pathway) compared to the D1 receptor dependent (“direct”) pathway. The compound improves locomotor activity in animal models of Parkinson’s disease.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="9" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="10" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="11" style="max-width: 100%;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About Cerevance</span></u></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="10" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="11" style="max-width: 100%;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="12" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cerevance is a private pharmaceutical company focused on central nervous system diseases. The company’s strengths include its powerful NETSseq target discovery platform, a pipeline of novel discovery-stage and clinical-stage compounds and a proven team. Its scientists believe that they are well positioned to deliver life-changing therapeutics for patients who have brain-related disorders.</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="12" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="13" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="14" style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Contacts:</span></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="13" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<strong data-reader-unique-id="14" style="max-width: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="15" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong data-reader-unique-id="16" style="max-width: 100%;"></strong><strong data-reader-unique-id="17" style="max-width: 100%;">Cerevance Contact: </strong></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="18" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Robert Middlebrook, +1.408.220.5722</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="18" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="18" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); max-width: 100%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191204005119/en/Cerevance-Initiates-Phase-2-Trial-CVN424-Parkinson’s</span></div>
<div data-reader-unique-id="18" style="caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); color: #1b1b1b; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 18px; max-width: 100%;">
<br /></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-37180469118823329002019-12-04T16:26:00.003-08:002019-12-04T16:26:51.527-08:00 Molecular bodyguards against Parkinson's disease<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">DECEMBER 4, 2019 / by University of Basel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8RFLW00ulGBcq6mTAM7BlBmrh7Q78quzyGOWLejzavq_nOtp1tnDzdUyBL79RVp8cjaPKrnlg-vq5_0qP8kMMX4uWR4b0thd9SQm7kBoaTxqi2Wy-1ptaEq_AL4EDvdomtfNNadsUCg/s1600/molecularbod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8RFLW00ulGBcq6mTAM7BlBmrh7Q78quzyGOWLejzavq_nOtp1tnDzdUyBL79RVp8cjaPKrnlg-vq5_0qP8kMMX4uWR4b0thd9SQm7kBoaTxqi2Wy-1ptaEq_AL4EDvdomtfNNadsUCg/s640/molecularbod.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i style="text-decoration: underline;">Chaperones protect the protein α-Synuclein, which is strongly associated with Parkinson's disease. Credit: University of Basel, Biozentrum</i><br /><br /></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;">Chaperone proteins in human cells dynamically interact with the protein α-Synuclein, which is strongly associated with Parkinson's disease. A disturbed relationship to these "bodyguards" leads to cell damage and the formation of Lewy bodies typical for Parkinson's disease. The findings by researchers from the University of Basel's Biozentrum have been published in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;">Nature</span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238);"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #212529; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. In Switzerland, about 15,000 people are affected. Because of the worldwide rise in <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/life+expectancy/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">life expectancy</a>, a rapid increase in Parkinson's cases is expected in the next years. The causes of the disease, which leads to the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain, are still not well understood. Therefore, the development of effective therapies is all the more difficult.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
It is well accepted that the protein α-Synuclein can play a key role in the development of Parkinson's. Researchers led by structural biologist Prof. Sebastian Hiller have now discovered that assisting proteins, known as chaperones, are constantly protecting α-Synuclein in <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/human+cells/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">human cells</a>. Whenever the chaperones are unable to fulfill their bodyguard job, α-Synuclein shows its negative side and causes serious <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/cell+damage/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">cell damage</a>.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Molecular bodyguards interact with α-Synuclein</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
In human cells, there are about thirty to forty chaperones that can potentially interact with α-Synuclein. The scientists have systematically investigated at the <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/atomic+level/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">atomic level</a>where the molecular bodyguards interact with α-Synuclein.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
"Using state-of-the-art NMR technology, we have discovered a specific pattern that determines the exact interaction site of α-Synuclein with chaperones," explains Hiller. "There is not fixed, rigid interaction, but a dynamic and constantly changing encounter." In <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/healthy+cells/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">healthy cells</a>, α-Synuclein is always accompanied by chaperones such that the protein remains transportable and at all times a pool of functional α-Synuclein proteins is available.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Impaired chaperone binding causes cell damage</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
There are serious consequences if the chaperones are no longer able to perform their bodyguard function. Chemical modifications of α-Synuclein, such as those observed in Parkinson's disease, interfere with chaperone binding. These "unaccompanied" α-Synuclein proteins can re-localize and accumulate on the membrane of mitochondria, the power plants of the cell, and gradually destroy them. As recently shown, Lewy bodies typical for Parkinson's disease mainly consist of mitochondrial membrane fragments and α-Synuclein.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">New function for chaperones discovered</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
"With our work, we are questioning the paradigm that the function of chaperones is solely to help proteins to fold into their proper shape," says Hiller. "Chaperones do far more than just assist in protein folding. They control <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/cellular+processes/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #04347b; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">cellular processes</a> by flexibly interacting with a variety of proteins and accompanying them like a shadow."</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
Understanding the molecular interactions and the interactions between the partners involved provides important clues for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. In the future, chaperones and the maintenance of their function should also be considered in the development of novel therapies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>More information:</b> Regulation of α-synuclein by chaperones in mammalian cells, <i>Nature</i> (2019). <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1808-9" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1808-9</a> , <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1808-9">https://nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1808-9</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Journal information:</b> <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/journals/nature/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Nature</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Provided by <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/partners/university-of-basel/">University of Basel</a> </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-molecular-bodyguards-parkinson-disease.html</span><span style="color: #212529;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-72751980029321833992019-12-04T16:18:00.004-08:002019-12-04T16:18:47.104-08:00Study highlights protein variability in neurodegenerative diseases <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 4, 2019 by Gabrielle Giroday, University of Toronto</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX_Wn2JXMh8ZdYaCuFPC_nDAkYFW20tgJ6H-aXHM4qjdHh6aibRmFQ-UEQnyL7c0JAWE1JOopCmmkD-uUfj7v0j8-qrNeo8lNd1pSLfcYdGijU6WN6bn3j5tWOmtACxwy2kyp231t4ao/s1600/9-studyhighlig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX_Wn2JXMh8ZdYaCuFPC_nDAkYFW20tgJ6H-aXHM4qjdHh6aibRmFQ-UEQnyL7c0JAWE1JOopCmmkD-uUfj7v0j8-qrNeo8lNd1pSLfcYdGijU6WN6bn3j5tWOmtACxwy2kyp231t4ao/s640/9-studyhighlig.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u>If you're developing therapies for Parkinson's disease, and you're targeting this alpha-synuclein aggregate pathology, it's likely that one therapy may not fit all," says U of T Assistant Professor Joel Watts. Credit: Gabrielle Giroday<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; text-align: left;">A new University of Toronto study sheds light on how protein strains vary in the brains of those affected by progressive neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, suggesting the need for patient-specific medicines.</span></div>
</u></i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their research findings, published in the journal <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nature Neuroscience</i>, have important implications for people who are affected by progressive <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/neurodegenerative+diseases/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">neurodegenerative diseases</a>, and those trying to develop drugs to help them.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It's very evident in these diseases that there's patient-to-patient variability. This provides a potential explanation of why," says Joel Watts, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine's department of biochemistry and a principal investigator at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I think it also really gets to the concept of patient-specific medicine that might be necessary. This research also suggests a way of how that could be done." </span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The research looked at the behavior of different strains of the <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/protein/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">protein</a> known as alpha-synuclein in the brains of mice. Alpha-synuclein is the principal pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease, and the research looked at whether different strains of the protein could lead to the manifestation of different diseases.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the research, Watts and his team created two different strains of alpha-synuclein that were structurally different in test tubes. They then introduced them into mice and watched what happened.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The differing structures of the artificial strains led to different results, he says.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"What we found was that they caused two completely different types of diseases," he says. "The mice took different amounts of time to show symptoms of diseases [and] the symptoms of the disease were different for the two. The pathological markers of disease—these protein aggregates—were found in different brain regions. That's exactly what you see in human disease."</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watts says the findings illuminate the complexity of the disease.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They also demonstrate the need for patient-specific medicine, he says.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The lesson from the research is that if you're developing therapies for Parkinson's disease, and you're targeting this alpha-synuclein aggregate pathology, it's likely that one therapy may not fit all. If there are differences, you may need to have patient-specific therapies," he says.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watts has a background looking at prion diseases like mad cow disease.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He used his experience to inform his latest research, though he notes that, unlike <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/prion+diseases/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">prion diseases</a>, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's are not infectious.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Prion diseases are not all the same. They are sometimes transmissible from animals to humans and, in rare cases, humans to humans. There are different varieties and they're caused by different strains of prions," says Watts.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He also points to the flu, which requires people to get new flu shots every year due to varying strains.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The same thing happens in neurodegenerative diseases. Instead of having changes in the viral DNA, you have changes in structure of these protein aggregates—these clumps of proteins that are pathological and found in the brains of people with diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's," he says.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ultimately, the goal of Watts's research is to develop testing paradigms for drugs that better reflect the complexity and variability of humans.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Not all <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/disease/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">disease</a> is the same and there is variability—and this could be explained by having different <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/strains/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">strains</a> of <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/alpha-synuclein/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">alpha-synuclein</a>," says Watts. "We may need to consider patient-specific medicine when designing therapies or <a class="textTag" href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/clinical+trials/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">clinical trials</a> to better classify patients into groups based on the type of strain they have."</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1.75rem; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eceff1; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;">More information:</span><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;">Angus Lau et al. α-Synuclein strains target distinct brain regions and cell types,</span><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;"> </span><i style="background-color: #eceff1; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;">Nature Neuroscience</i><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;">(2019).</span><span style="background-color: #eceff1; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left;"> </span><a data-doi="1" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0541-x" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: left; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0541-x</a></span></div>
<div class="article-main__more p-4" style="background-color: #eceff1; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-size: 1rem; padding: 1.5rem !important; text-align: left;">
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Journal information:</span> <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/journals/nature-neuroscience/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">Nature Neuroscience</a><br />Provided by <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/partners/university-of-toronto/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;">University of Toronto</a> </span></span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 1rem; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-highlights-protein-variability-neurodegenerative-diseases.html </span></span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
<div class="mt-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-top: 1rem !important;">
<a class="icon_open" href="http://www.nature.com/neuro/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0049b0; text-decoration-skip: objects; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><svg><use href="#icon_open" x="0" xlink:href="#icon_open" y="0"></use></svg></a><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-60128278725880975292019-12-03T17:15:00.000-08:002019-12-03T17:15:25.032-08:00New Biomarker of Parkinson’s Disease Progression<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 3, 2019</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudV6q3o21Z0Nv_aLlIrR48Gohq-UJEXn9x5ZC99CzbhRmqt_Qsb9JWXj14uOb5-Vm5gL9unojVjtn65WxS_eJ3qC2U6AQnbl0cr5R5pSd9Uhix-XGvKlC2ejC8cWyK06xBei9Ces8PfQ/s1600/new-biomarker-of-parkinsons-disease-progression-327961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudV6q3o21Z0Nv_aLlIrR48Gohq-UJEXn9x5ZC99CzbhRmqt_Qsb9JWXj14uOb5-Vm5gL9unojVjtn65WxS_eJ3qC2U6AQnbl0cr5R5pSd9Uhix-XGvKlC2ejC8cWyK06xBei9Ces8PfQ/s640/new-biomarker-of-parkinsons-disease-progression-327961.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SynapCell and Motac Neuroscience have discovered a new biomarker for monitoring the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The BetaPark [</span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">evo</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">] could enable opportunities for drug developers to test the neuroprotective or disease-modifying effects of their compounds. This discovery, combining Motac’s disease modeling and SynapCell’s EEG phenotyping capabilities, was presented in a poster in the Circuit Mechanisms of Motor Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease Session of the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Chicago.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
BetaPark [<i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">evo</i>] will be commercially available to the pharmaceutical industry for PD preclinical drug discovery by Q2 2020.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
“Neuronal degeneration begins years before clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s appear. And until now there have been no reliable animal models with relevant biomarkers to track disease progression and screen novel therapies,” says Yann Roche, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Officer at SynapCell. “With BetaPark [<i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">evo</i>], we are proud to announce the identification of the first EEG biosignature to address the evolution of Parkinson’s disease and support pharmaceutical companies in developing neuroprotective strategies using objective, accurate and longitudinal metrics over time.”</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
SynapCell’s Cue® EEG methodologies have successfully highlighted aberrant Beta oscillations (BetaPark) as an <i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">in vivo</i> biomarker to assess pharmacodynamics of anti-PD and anti-dyskinetic drug candidates in symptomatic rat models of PD since 2013. The goal of the two-year partnership between the two companies was to phenotype Motac’s Alpha-Synuclein rat model of PD progression using SynapCell’s Cue® EEG technology.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
Research conducted through this partnership demonstrated the progressive rise of aberrant Beta synchronization over 12 weeks, alongside with disease progression in the clinically-relevant Alpha-Synuclein rat model. A correlation between neuron loss in the substantia nigra and the increase of BetaPark power was found. Moreover, when treated with L-DOPA, animals revealed a statistically significant decrease of BetaPark power, confirming that the biomarker is pharmacosensitive to this standard-of-care.</div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><div style="text-align: justify;">
BetaPark [<i style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">evo</i>] could represent a clinically meaningful endpoint for the validation of neuroprotective experimental therapeutics, calling for clinical validation of this surrogate biomarker for neurodegenerative disorders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/product-news/new-biomarker-of-parkinsons-disease-progression-327961</span></div>
</span></span>Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-7466952758143084282019-12-03T16:58:00.003-08:002019-12-03T17:09:50.804-08:00Gaining insight into Parkinson’s disease<h2 class="entry-subtitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1; margin: 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Cleveland-based research aims to improve walking</i></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49EffCZNEiUks0TNrXzU-CCZSLySpm27BV08L6m-0h_Z9VaRlR0B2dcvNDmeE_I9wJyshmx0vpcoOxa3NR0JqVh53-M5Dgv2qQPje8vCr0qlv73cFwHegcnov0rPqkrgRu2o-hDTXXvQ/s1600/Through-the-Hololens_r1-730x402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="730" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49EffCZNEiUks0TNrXzU-CCZSLySpm27BV08L6m-0h_Z9VaRlR0B2dcvNDmeE_I9wJyshmx0vpcoOxa3NR0JqVh53-M5Dgv2qQPje8vCr0qlv73cFwHegcnov0rPqkrgRu2o-hDTXXvQ/s640/Through-the-Hololens_r1-730x402.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><u><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">Drs. Cameron McIntyre (center) and Aasef Shaikh (right) study brain pathways through the HoloLens with neurology colleague Dr. Camilla Kilbane. The photo shows what is seen through the HoloLens glasses. </span><span style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Photo provided by Cleveland FES Center)</span></u></i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(118, 118, 118); font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During his training as a neuroscientist, <a href="http://fescenter.org/about-fes-center/who-we-are/investigators/shaikh-aasef-md/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">Dr. Aasef Shaikh</a> studied eye movement and the vestibular system. That’s the body system that helps us maintain balance and know where we are in space.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Later, Shaikh wanted to apply what he learned to complex movement disorders. He focused his research on <a href="https://www.research.va.gov/topics/parkinsons.cfm" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">Parkinson’s disease</a>, a neurodegenerative disorder that causes gait and balance impairment. An estimated 1 million people in the U.S. have Parkinson’s disease. An additional 50,000 people receive the diagnosis each year.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The condition currently affects some 110,000 Veterans, according to VA’s <a href="https://www.parkinsons.va.gov/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers</a>.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As an investigator at the <a href="http://fescenter.org/about-fes-center/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">Cleveland FES Center</a>, Shaikh is involved in three research projects related to Parkinson’s. The FES Center is a consortium of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and several partner organizations.</span></div>
<h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; text-shadow: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Examining how patients perceive their own motion</span></strong></h4>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In broad strokes, they examine how patients perceive the environment in which they walk. Also, they look at how patients perceive their own motion through an environment and how they navigate environments.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfh6lyRlhIler6ToVz0b7h2jIXrevY3YO_-Xd6aUmIsqJNFsnw2NnWPVTd0i5nECCOj-_fBeGQTzwOPsYPbccVuWt30aYPHHkavyOjoZrcPq4h8B7znH8TP7eDJ4B6aqHyereBhJzh2o/s1600/MoogChair_r1-350x514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfh6lyRlhIler6ToVz0b7h2jIXrevY3YO_-Xd6aUmIsqJNFsnw2NnWPVTd0i5nECCOj-_fBeGQTzwOPsYPbccVuWt30aYPHHkavyOjoZrcPq4h8B7znH8TP7eDJ4B6aqHyereBhJzh2o/s400/MoogChair_r1-350x514.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="caret-color: rgb(32, 18, 77); color: #20124d; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Th</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">e Moog Chair is a motion simulator, </span><br /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">similar to those used by NASA to train </span><br /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">astronauts. Staff at the Cleveland FES </span><br /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Center use it to test motion perception</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All three projects use deep brain stimulation (DBS). This technology applies electrical stimulation to specific brain regions. For the study, Shaikh teamed with <a href="http://fescenter.org/about-fes-center/who-we-are/investigators/cameron-mcintyre-phd/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">Dr. Cameron McIntyre</a>, a fellow investigator and associate director of industry relations at the FES Center.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shaikh’s experience as a vestibular and eye movement scientist and McIntyre’s expertise in DBS provide “the perfect model” to study gait impairments in participants with Parkinson’s disease, says Shaikh.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One project focuses on motion perception.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“We are studying how participants with Parkinson’s perceive their own directional heading. Whether they are going straight ahead or veering to the side,” says Shaikh. “We’re also interested in understanding why they veer and which neural pathways are involved in perception of their self-motion.”</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The researchers hope to discover how to tweak those pathways with DBS to eliminate veering.</span></div>
<h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Using motion simulators</span></h4>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shaikh’s team is conducting behavioral experiments in the lab with motion simulators, like the Moog Chair. These experiments are similar to those used by NASA to train astronauts.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the pilot study, researchers put Parkinson’s patients with DBS electrode implants in the simulator. The staff performs experiments with the DBS turned on and off to determine if it changes perception of motion. Researchers then combine that information with MRI images of the participants’ brains and with bioelectric field stimulation models created by McIntyre.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Together, this gives us a sort of 3D picture of everything involved in the process,” says Shaikh. “That allows us to understand how participants with Parkinson’s perceive their own directional heading.”</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shaikh and McIntyre can view these models using the HoloLens. The device is a self-contained, holographic computer. It allows users to interact with digital content and holograms in the environment around them.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the photo at top, Drs. Cameron McIntyre (center), Aasef Shaikh (right) and neurology colleague Dr. Camilla Kilbane study brain pathways through the HoloLens. The photo shows what the HoloLens glasses display.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“You see holographic objects in the context of the real world as opposed to virtual reality. In virtual reality, you are 100% immersed in a digital environment,” says McIntyre. “When you see the real world, you see people’s faces and communicate with people around you.”</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He says this makes HoloLens technology an ideal teaching tool. It is particularly beneficial for understanding the human brain and its exquisite network of interconnected neurons.</span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(1, 19, 63); margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-align: justify; text-shadow: none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To read about Shaikh’s other Parkinson’s projects, visit the <u><span style="color: #20124d;"><a href="https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0819-Gaining-insight-into-Parkinsons.cfm" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; transition: color 0.2s ease 0s, background 0.2s ease 0s, border 0.2s ease 0s;">VA Research</a> website</span></u>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u>https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0819-Gaining-insight-into-Parkinsons.cfm</u></span></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; max-width: 100%; text-shadow: none;">
<div style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/68894/gaining-insight-parkinsons-disease/</span></div>
</div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-79562431567837548702019-12-03T16:20:00.001-08:002019-12-03T16:20:11.863-08:00RightEye’s Parkinson’s test just took a big step forward. Now it's eyeing a $15M funding round.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dec. 3, 2019 <span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 14px;">By </span><a class="u-link u-link-color" data-ct="APT: Reporter byline name" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/washington/bio/31682/Sara+Gilgore" rel="author" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-out;">Sara Gilgore</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 14px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6wqW15Ty-0aR25wlFxy3UmvsE3erDMP1dPP8D88lHiJlklVVWoxK1F-13wBW2l5dXROFtmz90MvraFAZnX4PScTKpVApDshpY2Jv6Oet0hL9z7A1OpFfl_IpGwIVIbsE1imBvFHSj-c/s1600/RightEye+co-founders+CEO+Adam+Gross%252C+right%252C+and+Melissa+Hunfalvay%252C+chief+science+officer%252C+hope+to+increase+revenue+by+100%2525+next+year..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6wqW15Ty-0aR25wlFxy3UmvsE3erDMP1dPP8D88lHiJlklVVWoxK1F-13wBW2l5dXROFtmz90MvraFAZnX4PScTKpVApDshpY2Jv6Oet0hL9z7A1OpFfl_IpGwIVIbsE1imBvFHSj-c/s640/RightEye+co-founders+CEO+Adam+Gross%252C+right%252C+and+Melissa+Hunfalvay%252C+chief+science+officer%252C+hope+to+increase+revenue+by+100%2525+next+year..jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Bethesda health tech startup <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_c39cfb4864ae3086c5d747acfdb35298"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">RightEye</span></a>'s test for Parkinson's disease has earned a key win from the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_5146ef467a77d0b7ac9ef43b61c23286"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Food and Drug Administration</span></a>, setting the company up for a faster route to market and a new $15 million funding round. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The FDA deemed the test a breakthrough device, which means that it will have an expedited review process because it addresses a major unmet medical need. The decision thrusts RightEye, whose medical device tracks eye movement to uncover vision behavior, into the clinical diagnostics space for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now, the firm is setting out to raise between $10 million and $15 million in a Series B round to accelerate growth and transition “from adolescence to adulthood,” said co-founder and CEO <a href="applewebdata://E6AC0DBB-F5BD-4377-99DC-05671AD4C2E8/washington/search/results?q=Adam%20Gross"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Adam Gross</span></a>. RightEye has raised $10 million to date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The new funding would enable the company to expand its sales and marketing efforts. It’s currently operating in the vision care, neurological rehabilitation and performance segments — including <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/07/01/righteye-is-calling-up-eye-doctors-to-the-big.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">its work with Major League Baseball</span></a> — but plans to push into to the primary care and neurology markets, Gross said. RightEye is looking to double its 25-person team in the next year, which will require a larger headquarters for the business, Gross said. He added that he has no intention to leave Montgomery County.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The capital would also be used to speed up research and development with the company’s machine learning techniques, enhance its eye-tracking technology and, ultimately, deliver more new products like its Parkinson’s disease test.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">That test — developed by researchers at <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_a535fb2414a57705a2b64bfc0cb95107"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Virginia Commonwealth University</span></a>and the Department of Veterans Affairs, funded by the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_ff0cee7757e1ba205c80d4f77a76618c"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Michael J. Fox Foundation</span></a> and <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2016/09/27/bethesda-firm-acquires-new-tests-to-diagnose.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">acquired by RightEye in 2016</span></a> — measures a person’s ability to follow moving images on a screen. And because research shows a link between Parkinson’s disease and ocular tremors, or the lack of ability to fixate on targets, the test could be used both to diagnose the disease and, potentially, predict it before other symptoms manifest. To that extent, patients with early-stage cases could “begin certain treatments that may exist now, or may not exist for a few years, that can help stave off the symptoms of the disease,” Gross said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The company will soon begin working with the FDA to secure approval to commercialize the test, which could come by the fourth quarter of 2021. It would follow RightEye’s <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/10/30/righteye-got-its-fda-approval-here-s-what-s-next.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">first FDA green light in October 2018</span></a> for its device that detects neurological impairments or advantages in patients, such as reading issues in children or vision skills in athletes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The FDA’s breakthrough device program helps facilitate the development and commercialization of new technologies. In the case of Parkinson’s, there’s no single test that confirms a diagnosis. The market represents a large opportunity for RightEye, given that Parkinson’s accounts for about $52 billion in health care costs each year, according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And there are potential applications beyond Parkinson’s, including other neurological conditions associated with eye movement behavior abnormalities such as concussion, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">RightEye is also expanding its work in the baseball space, fueled partially by the momentum the Washington Nationals’ World Series win has created, Gross said. RightEye counts the Nats among its clients, and that number has now grown to include about a third of the league’s teams. “We’ve really expanded that, and we’re looking to continue that,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From the professional level, “we’ll be able to impact more people as we go downstream in the youth sports market,” Gross said. He hopes to grow the firm's work with <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_642e8f2c87386895257abf9510213e8d"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">USA Baseball</span></a>, the entity that governs amateur baseball, in 2020, along with other sports including softball, soccer, tennis, football and lacrosse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now with 800 users across the U.S. and abroad, RightEye is experiencing 100% year-over-year revenue growth from 2018 to 2019, and projecting another year of near-100% growth in 2020, Gross said, declining to disclose specifics. The company last publicly reported revenue at $5 million in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Bethesda health tech startup <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_c39cfb4864ae3086c5d747acfdb35298"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">RightEye</span></a>'s test for Parkinson's disease has earned a key win from the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_5146ef467a77d0b7ac9ef43b61c23286"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Food and Drug Administration</span></a>, setting the company up for a faster route to market and a new $15 million funding round. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The FDA deemed the test a breakthrough device, which means that it will have an expedited review process because it addresses a major unmet medical need. The decision thrusts RightEye, whose medical device tracks eye movement to uncover vision behavior, into the clinical diagnostics space for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now, the firm is setting out to raise between $10 million and $15 million in a Series B round to accelerate growth and transition “from adolescence to adulthood,” said co-founder and CEO <a href="applewebdata://E6AC0DBB-F5BD-4377-99DC-05671AD4C2E8/washington/search/results?q=Adam%20Gross"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Adam Gross</span></a>. RightEye has raised $10 million to date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The new funding would enable the company to expand its sales and marketing efforts. It’s currently operating in the vision care, neurological rehabilitation and performance segments — including <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/07/01/righteye-is-calling-up-eye-doctors-to-the-big.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">its work with Major League Baseball</span></a> — but plans to push into to the primary care and neurology markets, Gross said. RightEye is looking to double its 25-person team in the next year, which will require a larger headquarters for the business, Gross said. He added that he has no intention to leave Montgomery County.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The capital would also be used to speed up research and development with the company’s machine learning techniques, enhance its eye-tracking technology and, ultimately, deliver more new products like its Parkinson’s disease test.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">That test — developed by researchers at <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_a535fb2414a57705a2b64bfc0cb95107"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Virginia Commonwealth University</span></a>and the Department of Veterans Affairs, funded by the <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_ff0cee7757e1ba205c80d4f77a76618c"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">Michael J. Fox Foundation</span></a> and <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2016/09/27/bethesda-firm-acquires-new-tests-to-diagnose.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">acquired by RightEye in 2016</span></a> — measures a person’s ability to follow moving images on a screen. And because research shows a link between Parkinson’s disease and ocular tremors, or the lack of ability to fixate on targets, the test could be used both to diagnose the disease and, potentially, predict it before other symptoms manifest. To that extent, patients with early-stage cases could “begin certain treatments that may exist now, or may not exist for a few years, that can help stave off the symptoms of the disease,” Gross said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The company will soon begin working with the FDA to secure approval to commercialize the test, which could come by the fourth quarter of 2021. It would follow RightEye’s <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/10/30/righteye-got-its-fda-approval-here-s-what-s-next.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">first FDA green light in October 2018</span></a> for its device that detects neurological impairments or advantages in patients, such as reading issues in children or vision skills in athletes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The FDA’s breakthrough device program helps facilitate the development and commercialization of new technologies. In the case of Parkinson’s, there’s no single test that confirms a diagnosis. The market represents a large opportunity for RightEye, given that Parkinson’s accounts for about $52 billion in health care costs each year, according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And there are potential applications beyond Parkinson’s, including other neurological conditions associated with eye movement behavior abnormalities such as concussion, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">RightEye is also expanding its work in the baseball space, fueled partially by the momentum the Washington Nationals’ World Series win has created, Gross said. RightEye counts the Nats among its clients, and that number has now grown to include about a third of the league’s teams. “We’ve really expanded that, and we’re looking to continue that,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From the professional level, “we’ll be able to impact more people as we go downstream in the youth sports market,” Gross said. He hopes to grow the firm's work with <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/profile/company/org_ch_642e8f2c87386895257abf9510213e8d"><span style="color: #b82c2e;">USA Baseball</span></a>, the entity that governs amateur baseball, in 2020, along with other sports including softball, soccer, tennis, football and lacrosse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now with 800 users across the U.S. and abroad, RightEye is experiencing 100% year-over-year revenue growth from 2018 to 2019, and projecting another year of near-100% growth in 2020, Gross said, declining to disclose specifics. The company last publicly reported revenue at $5 million in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/12/03/righteye-s-parkinson-s-test-just-took-a-big-step.html</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4282591254614897626.post-35543668243941060802019-12-03T15:30:00.003-08:002019-12-03T15:30:39.316-08:00Iron Accumulation in Brain Detected With High-Resolution MRI Technique, Animal Study Shows <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DECEMBER 2, 2019<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>BY CATARINA SILVA, MSC IN NEWS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpT7pANm4t0i92xz3lEl0tl2smqd5jrR6AYgXW3F9chRG8VzUGo6zwZyEcGsaKQqiGadtwpe9kPPjm1ZmZhyeHLbU93rIsy-u8WmpPsrfaWG8s2CX9B0QjOdR4oD2dOH_53TKdzlSscE/s1600/BB5193-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="505" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpT7pANm4t0i92xz3lEl0tl2smqd5jrR6AYgXW3F9chRG8VzUGo6zwZyEcGsaKQqiGadtwpe9kPPjm1ZmZhyeHLbU93rIsy-u8WmpPsrfaWG8s2CX9B0QjOdR4oD2dOH_53TKdzlSscE/s640/BB5193-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An experimental model of <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/what-is-parkinsons-disease/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Parkinson’s</a> in non-human primates leads to the accumulation of iron — known to contribute to the underlying <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/what-causes-parkinsons-disease/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">causes</a> of the disease — in a brain area linked to motor control. This metal accumulation can be detected using a neuroimaging technique called <a href="https://radiopaedia.org/articles/susceptibility-weighted-imaging-1" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">susceptibility-weighted imaging</a>, according to recent research.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The study, titled “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320519310185" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">The role of iron in Parkinson’s disease monkeys assessed by susceptibility weighted imaging and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry</a>,” was published in <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/life-sciences" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">Life Sciences</a></span>.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-1" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Higher-than-usual iron levels have been found in a brain region — called the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span> — in Parkinson’s patients. This brain area, which plays a key role in motor control, is particularly affected during the course of the neurodegenerative disease.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In non-human primates, scientists have <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00215/full" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">observed</a> that this iron accumulation is accompanied by the loss of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dopamine" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">dopamine</a>. That chemical messenger is in short supply in Parkinson’s. Such high levels of iron also are thought to be correlated with an increased severity in motor deficits.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Various imaging techniques have been used to study Parkinson’s disease in distinct animal models and have been found to produce consistent results. However, such methods are rarely validated.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, using cynomolgus monkeys, or crab-eating macaques, researchers investigated the role of metal accumulation in the striatum and midbrain (both motor control areas) in Parkinson’s. The researchers evaluated the use of <a href="http://www.ajnr.org/content/30/1/19" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">susceptibility-weighted imaging</a> (SWI) to measure iron deposits in the brains of Parkinson’s monkeys.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-2" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SWI is a high-resolution <a href="https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">magnetic resonance imaging</a> (MRI) technique that is sensitive to the magnetic properties of blood, iron, and calcifications, or calcium build-up in the body. These substances disturb magnetic fields, producing a not-so-clear image in a standard MRI scenario. SWI provides a unique contrast, generating 3D high-spatial-resolution images.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The animals received a left-side carotid artery injection of MPTP, a neurotoxin that induces the death of dopamine-producing neurons and mimics Parkinson’s <a href="https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/parkinsons-disease-symptoms/" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease; vertical-align: baseline;">symptoms</a>. The carotid artery is one of the arteries that supplies the brain with blood.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An SWI-MRI was performed before and after the monkeys had received the MPTP injections.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Around 4-to-6 days after the injection, the monkeys exhibited limb muscle stiffness and limb postural tremor, and lost the ability to move their muscles freely (called akinesia). Importantly, these effects were only observed on the body side opposite, or contralateral, to the injection’s site.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The MRI results indicated there were higher-than-usual iron deposits in the MPTP-lesion side of the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span> compared with the opposite side in the same animal. Similar results were found when these animals were compared with the control group of monkeys, which had been injected with a saline solution. Despite this indication, statistical significance was not attained.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, “MPTP did not affect the iron levels in other brain regions of monkeys,” the researchers said.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Post-mortem analysis of brain samples revealed that MPTP treatment provoked the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span>. The scientists reported that approximately 67.4% of dopaminergic nerve cells were lost in the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span> on the injection side, while 30.0% were lost in the contralateral (opposite) side.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neuronal loss in the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span> on the injection’s side was correlated with worse behavioral performance and with motor impairment.</span></div>
<div class="code-block code-block-4" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); clear: both; font-size: 18px; margin: 8px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 4px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Biochemical analysis showed that MPTP increased iron levels in the injection’s side of the animals’ midbrain, but not in the striatum. However, calcium and manganese levels, which have been previously linked to Parkinson’s molecular mechanism, were unaffected by MPTP treatment.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Taken together, the results confirm the involvement of [<span style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">substantia nigra</span>] iron accumulations in the MPTP-treated monkey models for [Parkinson’s disease], and indirectly verify the usability of SWI for the measurement of iron deposition in the cerebral nuclei of [Parkinson’s disease],” the researchers concluded.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(72, 72, 72); font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/12/02/iron-accumulation-in-brain-detected-with-high-resolution-mri-technique-animal-study-shows/</span></div>
Margaret (Margie) Rogers Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15520849454027446058noreply@blogger.com2