Sip from the fountain of youth

March 31, 2018

If you’re not as nimble as you once were, don’t fear, the spring in your chicken hasn’t snapped, it’s just a little rusted.

Lots of senior-focused exercise programs are available — at little or no cost — to help older adults gain flexibility, balance and strength.

“It gives them better stamina and mobility,” said certified fitness instructor Debbie Gagnon during a water break at her functional fitness class at the Tiverton Senior Center.

“They’re not just here for bikini season,” she quipped.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m., the tables are pushed to the walls in the center’s community room and the bingo board sits idle when Gagnon teaches her class.

“I hope you’re sweating a little,” Gagnon said, raising her arms and stepping to the beat of Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen,” as the group of roughly 20 or so seniors followed her moves.

“It keeps you moving,” said Jane Benevides. “It gets you out of the house. I like the fact that this class can be modified for all ages and conditions.”

In Gagnon’s class, the age range runs from the 60s to the 80s.

Butch Arel has been working out with Gagnon for 13 years. He started the program a year after having open heart surgery.

“Even the doctors tell me to keep it up,” Arel said.

Wiley Crockett suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. He’s been in the class for six years.

“My doctor said it’s the only thing that keeps me walking,” Crockett said.

Gagnon has been teaching fitness for 43 years. One of her longest followers, Janet Frederick, 84, said she lost 80 pounds years back and now exercises to keep her “fake knees” going.

“It makes me get up in the morning, get dressed and get out of the house,” Frederick said.

Paulette Gagnon, not related to Debbie, said the class helps her to not “stiffen up, at least not too much. She’s helped me out with my back so many times.”

Besides being fit, the class offers a lot more than loose limbs.

“They socialize,” Gagnon said. “They’re not sitting home thinking about their problems.”

If exercise is the fountain of youth, then seniors can take a big sip with other local classes too, like tai chi offered by Serena Honeycutt at the Swansea Senior Center every Tuesday morning.

“It helps with balance, arthritis, stress, memory, blood pressure...,” Honeycutt said. “I love teaching seniors. They’re so inspiring.”

With the lights dimmed, about a dozen seniors followed the gentle flow, moving slowly and deliberately from one foot to another, their postures straight, and hands swaying.

“It helps with balance,” said student Linda Roy. “It helps put you in a different state of calmness.”

Gail Laberge said “balance” was a major benefit.

“You leave with so much more energy,” said Nancy Feeney, who has been taking the class with her husband John Feeney for the past couple of weeks.

“I like it,” John Feeney said. “When we leave here, we look too young to use our senior IDs.”

For Fran Ratcliffe, the class not only gives her physical benefits, but goes beyond the body.

“It helps you have a better day,” Ratfliffe said.

http://www.heraldnews.com/news/20180331/sip-from-fountain-of-youth

Brian Grant on Parkinson's, 'Pints' and playoffs

March 30, 2018  By Andy Giegerich

The passports are available for purchase until April 30 and are good between April 1 and May 31.

When Brian Grant walks down the street in Portland these days, he's hearing new exclamations from fans.

"They're saying, 'Hey, isn't your Pints coming up?'" said the Blazer fan favorite.

"And I say, 'You know about Pints?'"

"Pints," in this case, is shorthand for Pints for Parkinson's, the Brian Grant Foundation fundraiser that's generating money for the condition that affects Grant and at least 60,000 other known Americans. Grant's foundation has offered the very-Portland program for the past three years.

It's an innovative fundraiser that achieves at least four aims. It raises awareness of both the Grant Foundation and the condition. It allows participating breweries to find new customers. It provides a terrific discount to those who purchase Pints for Parkinson's passports. And, it allows for a new set of benefactors to donate money.

"It gives someone who might not be able to buy a seat at the gala a chance to support us," Grant said before a Pints kickoff party Wednesday.

The passport allows users to, for $25, get 10 pints at 24 spots in Portland and seven spots in Bend. The discount ends up coming to less than half the going price (before tips) for a pint at many of the participating breweries.

A visual tour of Brian Grant's Pints for Parkinson's 2017 fundraiser (Photos)

The Pints for Parkinson's booklets sell for $25 and allow users to get 10 pints at 35 locations across Oregon. The event runs between the beginning of April and May 31. Click through for a look at the spots I hit during what ended up being a four-week P4P jaunt.

In Portland, participating breweries include Breakside, Ecliptic, 10 Barrel and the new Von Ebert.

"Portland has caught on to this, and we're expected a successful year," Grant said. Indeed, scores of the passports were sold at the Wednesday event, which itself raised thousands for the foundation's activities and Parkinson's research.

Grant himself is doing well some 10 years after his diagnosis.

"I actually spoke to my neurologist today and he's impressed: I lowered my meds," said Grant.

He was able to do so with the help of naturopathic treatments.

"I love my neurologist, but naturopathic medicine is working very well," Grant said. "As I came down on my medication, I thought I’d see a big difference, but there was hardly any. Naturopathy has helped me, in coordination with what I do with my neurologist."

Brian Grant weighed on his health, his foundation's successful fundraising programs and the Blazers before Wednesday's Pints for Parkinson's kickoff party.

As Grant spoke, the Blazers were battling the Memphis Grizzlies. The locals eventually lost, but Grant remains confident about the upstart team's prospects.

"I just want them to finish strong," said Grant who played for the team from 1997 to 2000. "Every one of those cats has stepped up. We were thinking at the beginning of the season that we'd write it off because of the bad start, but now, they’re looking to get the third seed" in the West.

The Pints for Parkinson's Passports are available for purchase through April 30 and are usable between April 1 and May 31.

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2018/03/30/brian-grant-on-parkinsons-pints-and-playoffs.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_portland+%28Portland+Business+Journal%29

Parkinson’s disease events planned

 Times Staff Writer   March 28, 2018

John Heginbotham will host a free interactive documentary film screening of Capturing Grace, accompanied by a presentation on Dance for PD, a program he helped develop that offers specialized dance classes to people with Parkinson’s disease, at 7 p.m. April 4 at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum, 100 Library Lane. 

Also in April, the Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s will host the first Parkinson’s Expo. The free event will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 14 at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. Registration is required at neurochallenge.org (under EXPO). A free boxed lunch will be provided. 

Experts from around the country will talk at the expo, and the keynote will be given by Tim Hague Sr., who became the inaugural winner of CTV’s The Amazing Race in Canada three years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. There also will be demonstrations.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/aging/Parkinson-s-disease-events-planned_166671675

Fighting Parkinson’s with deep-sea shrimp and CRISPR

 Mar 29, 2018   By Maureen McFadden 

https://youtu.be/bxAYpju90Ns

Bioengineers are using a new gene-editing system and glow-in-the-dark sea creatures to advance the fight against Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disease that causes tremors, muscle rigidity and restricted mobility. There is no cure, but the search is on for new drugs that can halt the disease in its tracks. 

Bioengineers in central Florida are the first in the U.S. to use a new, cutting-edge technique that may pave the way for very early stage treatments. 

A million Americans are living with Parkinson’s, and for many, current medications don’t always control the side effects and tremors. 

“They’ve affected me since I was in my 30s," Harriet Marksfield said. 

“Sometimes, you get so overwhelmed as far as being tired," Helen Michaelson said. "You just can’t go anymore

Researchers at the University of Central Florida are using new technology to develop a screening tool. A gene-editing system called CRISPR allows them to “light up” a protein in the brain associated with Parkinson's. 

“In this study, we are working with a protein that was actually isolated from nature," doctoral student Levi Adams said. "It’s very similar to something you can find in a firefly, when fireflies light up

In this case, scientists used deep-sea shrimp, which also have the same ability to glow in the dark. Using the CRISPR system, scientists inserted the deep-sea shrimp gene into human cells in the lab so they could more easily measure changes in the Parkinson’s protein. 

“The expression of this protein goes up in cases of Parkinson’s disease, which leads to the subsequent, degenerative process,” Dr. Sambuddha Basu said.

Using the engineered cells, scientists can also screen new drugs to see if they lower the protein level in patients. 

“This is the first step in allowing us to identify potential treatments for this disease,” Adams said. 

The CRISPR system allows researchers to change the DNA of plants and animals without killing cells, and with faster results. CRISPR is being used more frequently in the study of genetic treatments for diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s.

RESEARCH SUMMARY

REPORT: MB #4393

CRISPR TECHNOLOGY: CRISPR technology is a simple, powerful tool used to edit genomes. This allows researchers to easily modify gene function by altering DNA sequences. It has many potential applications, some include; preventing the spread of diseases, treating diseases, improving crops, and correcting genetic defects. However it also raises ethical concerns. The technology was adapted from the natural defense mechanisms of archaea or the domain of single-celled microorganisms and bacteria. These organisms use CRISPR RNA and various proteins to stop attacks from viruses and other foreign bodies, primarily chopping up and destroying the DNA of the foreign invader. When these components are transferred in to more complex organisms, it allows for the manipulation or editing of genes. 

(Source: https://www.livescience.com/58790-crispr-explained.html)

ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN: Alpha-synuclein is a protein that’s function in a healthy brain is currently still unknown. However, it is of great interest to Parkinson’s researchers because it is a major component of Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies are protein clumps that are a pathological staple of Parkinson’s disease. In the years since its discovery, the focus of researchers has been working to characterize the protein’s role in Parkinson’s and its potential target for neuroprotective therapies. There are still more questions than answers at this point as to whether or not and exactly how alpha-synuclein plays a direct causative role in Parkinson’s disease. 

(Source: https://www.michaeljfox.org/understanding-parkinsons/living-with-pd/topic.php?alpha-synuclein)

FIREFLIES FOR RESEARCH: A research lab is monitoring and modulating the levels of alpha-synuclein so they do not reach a high level of toxicity associated with Parkinson’s disease. To do this, they need a tool to screen for drugs that can actually lower the levels of alpha-synuclein in human patients. They modeled the alpha-synuclein and tagged it using the CRISPR technique with a luminescent light-emitting gene called Nanoluc or Nanoluciferase found in fireflies. This ensured that whenever the protein is produced in a cell it will glow and emit light. The ultimate target of their research is to work on reducing the light that has been produced, as this will mean they have found drugs that help lower the expression of this alpha-synuclein protein that is associated with Parkinson’s disease. 

(Source: Sambuddha Basu, PhD)

http://www.wndu.com/content/news/Fighting-Parkinsons-with-deep-sea-shrimp-and-CRISPR-478329963.html

Vegetable oil, the unheralded enabler of Parkinson’s?

March 30, 2018    DAVID GILLESPIE

The cause of Parkinson’s is still one of the great unknowns. However, one very common product could be a source.

James Parkinson, surgeon, geologist and palaeontologist first described what we now call Parkinson’s disease in his paper on Shaking Palsy in 1817. He was born on April 11, 1755, which is why April 11 is World Parkinson’s Day. Dr Parkinson described a condition which caused involuntary tremors when a limb is at rest, rigidity, slowness of movement and a propensity to bend forwards and slow gait when walking. There was no known cause or cure.

We now know that Parkinson’s is caused by the death of cells in our pars compacta – the part of our brain which controls motor function (the Substantia nigra pars compacta if you want to get all technical). That part of the brain is a central switching room for movement, attention, learning and reward-seeking (which makes sure we keep eating and having sex).

The pars compacta exerts its control using dopamine. When everything is working well, our bodies are inhibited from moving by the part of our brain, which contains the pars compacta (the basal ganglia for Latin freaks). When we decide to move something (our eyes or limbs etc), the pars compacta squirts out dopamine to take the brakes off.

If the neurons responsible for producing the dopamine are damaged, Parkinson’s disease is the result. Our brain is pretty durable, because we lose around 50% of our dopamine manufacturing neurons before there are any symptoms. But once they are gone, these neurons are gone forever. As the numbers decrease, a Parkinson’s sufferer has to exert greater and greater effort to produce movement.

The only effective treatment is medication which can increase dopamine production by squeezing a little more out of the remaining neurons (we can’t just give dopamine as it isn’t able to cross the blood-brain barrier).

Obviously, if the destruction of the neurons continues (as it does in most) that is only a temporary solution. Before medication was introduced in the 1970s a Parkinson’s patient was expected to live 9.5 years after diagnosis. The drug-assisted life expectancy is now 15 years.

Because the disease is the result of cumulative destruction, it is most prevalent in people over 50, but 20% of cases are diagnosed between 20 and 50. Michael J Fox was diagnosed when he was just 30.

The official position on the cause is that nobody has the slightest clue what causes the dopamine producing neurons to die. The only official risk factor is age. But I think some dots need joining.

There are very few places in the world where accurate long term statistics have been kept on the incidence of Parkinson’s disease, but they have done just that in Olmstead County, Minnesota (pop: 100,000). There, researchers have concluded annual new cases almost doubled between 1944 and 1984 (using consistent diagnostic rules). And like Type II Diabetes, other studies tell us that Parkinson’s occurs much less frequently in populations not exposed to a Western Diet (processed food).

The official position on the cause of Parkinson’s disease is that nobody has the slightest clue what causes the dopamine producing neurons to die. The only official risk factor is age. But I think some dots need joining and when that is done the culprit becomes very clear.

We know that a diet high in seed oils causes the levels of Omega-6 fats in our cell membranes to rise rapidly. Those fats react quickly with oxygen and push the body into a state of cascading cell damage called oxidative stress. We also know that a major product of the oxidation of omega-6 fats is something with the charming name of 4-Hydroxynonenal (I’ll just use its street name of 4-HNE). And we know that 4-HNE, whilst generally dangerous, is especially toxic to the neurons responsible for producing dopamine in our brain.

There, dots joined. Eating seed oils (or anything which contains large amounts of omega-6 fats) induces the production of a molecule which we know kills the neurons we depend upon for dopamine production. Kill enough of them and you have Parkinson’s disease.

Thanks to the efforts of the processed food industry (aided and abetted by the Heart Foundation), our diet is now completely saturated with omega-6 fats. Everything in a package uses it. Every deep frier uses it. Every baker uses it. And every little bite of it is taking out the neurons you depend on to keep you from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease.

Nothing I can say will restore the neurons you’ve already killed but I can stop you killing any more.

Stay away from seed oils.

http://thebigsmoke.com.au/2018/03/30/vegetable-oil-the-unheralded-enabler-parkinsons/

NDA Submitted for Sublingual Film to Treat OFF Episodes in Parkinson's Disease

March 30, 2018

Apomorphine is currently available as a subcutaneous injection for use in advanced Parkinson's disease

Sunovion announced the submission of its New Drug Application (NDA) for apomorphine sublingual (SL) film (APL-130277) for the treatment of motor fluctuations (OFF episodes) associated with Parkinson's disease.

Apomorphine SL film, a dopamine agonist, is intended for on-demand treatment of all types of motor OFF episodes, including morning OFF, unpredictable OFF and end-of-dose wearing OFF. The novel SL formulation may potentially be used to treat OFF episodes up to 5 times throughout the day. Apomorphine is currently available as a subcutaneous injection for use in advanced Parkinson's disease. 

The NDA submission included data from Phase 3, 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study (CTH-300) that enrolled patients with levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease complicated by OFF episodes. The primary endpoint was a mean change from pre-dose in Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part III Motor Examination at 30 minutes after dosing at the 12-week visit of the Maintenance Treatment Phase. The key secondary endpoint was the percentage of people with a patient-rated full ON response within 30 minutes at the 12-week visit of the Maintenance Treatment Phase. 

The study met its primary and key secondary endpoint as treatment with apomorphine SL film led to superior efficacy compared with placebo for the on-demand treatment of OFF episodes associated with Parkinson's disease. The clinical effect was observed until the last time point at 90 minutes. The study drug was also generally well-tolerated by the patients. 

Apomorphine SL film has been granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA.

For more information call or visit Sunovion.com.

https://www.empr.com/drugs-in-the-pipeline/apomorphine-sublingual-sl-motor-fluctuations-parkinsons-disease-off-episodes/article/754915/

Drinking Water Remains A Concern At Norfolk Prison In Mass.

March  30, 2018

For years, the water at one of Massachusetts' largest prisons — MCI-Norfolk — has been described by prisoners as smelly and looking like black tea.

Massachusetts Department of Correction officials say the water meets state standards for potability. But they acknowledge there's a problem in at least some of the samples collected from the prison's well: elevated levels of the mineral manganese, which can cause health problems including a Parkinson's disease-like neurological disorder.

DOC is constructing a $5 million water treatment system at the prison, which is slated to go online in May. The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered DOC to install the system and later said it would fine DOC because of delays.

A DOC spokesman, Christopher Fallon, says delays in constructing the treatment system were due to funding issues and the project bidding process, and no fines were assessed.

In the meantime, a coalition of prisoner advocates, called Deeper Than Water, has formed. It's been raising money for MCI-Norfolk prisoners to buy cases of bottled water from the prison commissary and distribute it.

"People in the community shouldn't have to be put in a position to raise funds to provide water for people incarcerated in our state prison system," says Greg Diatchenko, who served almost 30 years at MCI-Norfolk for murder and was paroled in 2014. "You're in the care and custody of the Department [of Correction], they're supposed to provide health care, dental, nutritional food. Anywhere, people will tell you that you need clean drinking water to survive."

"The folks inside are human, you know? And so they deserve the basic human rights that we all have out here, too," adds Christine Mitchell, a Harvard doctoral student in public health and member of Deeper Than Water. "We know [DOC has] the money and the resources to provide clean water, and they haven't done it."

Coalition members say their efforts to distribute bottled water hit a snag because a prisoner who was handing out the water, Wayland Coleman, was put in solitary confinement last week for doing so.

Fallon, the DOC spokesman, says state law prohibits him from discussing whether any inmate was placed in solitary confinement, but adds, "I can tell you generally that no one would ever be placed into segregation for hoarding water." He says there would have to be more extenuating circumstances, such as refusing orders to vacate an area or attempting to incite other prisoners.

According to Fallon, many outside groups work with the prison administration to distribute items such as socks, toiletries and holiday care packages to prisoners. He says advocates should have worked with prison officials to do the same thing with bottled water.

"We can't allow an inmate to have power over other inmates and say, 'I'm going to be the one' " to distribute an item, Fallon says.

Mitchell says she and other members of the advocacy coalition wouldn't have trusted prison administrators to distribute bottled water, because they haven't taken care of the water problem for years.

Coleman's family tells WBUR he was released from solitary confinement Friday.

You can listen to our All Things Considered conversation with Diatchenko and Mitchell via the audio button atop the post on the following:

http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/03/30/drinking-water-norfolk-prison

Neurology and Women's Health, Part 5: Parkinson's and Movement Disorders

Friday, March 30, 2018

Not all neurological diseases pose a greater risk for women. For Parkinson’s disease, women are less likely to develop the diseases and usually do so at a  later age. Still, Parkinson’s and other movement disorders pose unique concerns for women, including lower access to home care and a higher risk for some side effects. In our final entry in our Women’s Health and Neurology series, Anna Bjornsdottir, MD, discusses possible reasons for these discrepancies, which range from different environmental exposures between men and women to possible neuroprotective effects of estrogen. She also discusses concerns about movement disorders during pregnancy and the biggest unanswered questions about movement disorders for men and women.

Why are women less likely to get Parkinson’s disease, and why do they seem to have less severe symptoms?

For every two women, there are three men diagnosed with Parkinson´s disease.  Women also present on average about two years later with their symptoms. The reason for this difference is largely unknown but some pre-clinical data suggests neuroprotective effects of estrogens within the striatal dopaminergic system.

There might also be a difference in exposure to environmental factors amongst men and women which may contribute, such as traumatic brain injury and exposures to pesticides that are associated with increased risk of PD while cigarette smoking and caffeine are associated with decreased risk. Interestingly women are at a higher risk of developing dyskinesias [involuntary muscle movements] as a side effect of levodopa treatment, but they are less likely to undergo DBS surgery which is generally the best way of treating dyskinesias.

 They are less likely to develop cognitive impairment but nevertheless more likely than men to use long-term care facilities. This may be in part because fewer women with Parkinson’s disease have access to caregiving support from spouses and have a faster rate of using a paid caregiver, as shown in a recent study published in Neurology.

What are the most common movement disorders in pregnancy?

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has been reported in up to a third of pregnant women. Women that have RLS during pregnancy have a fourfold increase in risk of developing RLS later in life. Treatment usually consists of iron supplementation in case of iron deficiency since the safety of conventional treatment for RLS has not been established in pregnancy.

Chorea gravidarum is simply a chorea that presents during pregnancy.  In the past the most common cause was Sydenham’s chorea but with increasing use of appropriate antibiotics for group A streptococcal infections, systemic lupus erythematosus and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies are the most common cause. This form of chorea seems to be triggered by increased levels of estrogens during pregnancy and can also be seen with oral-contraceptive use. The treatment is focused on the underlying issue, and most cases resolved on the third trimester or within a few weeks after delivery.

Fortunately, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease amongst women of childbearing age is very low. The safety of the dopaminergic agents in pregnancy are not well established, currently carbidopa/levodopa is category C.

Do hormones at other stages of the life cycle (such as menarche, the use of birth control pills, or menopause) affect symptoms or disease progression in Parkinson’s disease?

Although pre-clinical data suggests neuroprotective effects of estrogens in Parkinson’s disease, clinical data is less convincing. Data on whether post-menopausal estrogen replacement therapy is contradictory and concerns about the safety of such treatment in women over 60 years of age limits the ability to do randomized trials. Currently there is no role for estrogen replacement therapy in Parkinson’s disease.

What are the biggest unanswered questions that we have regarding women and movement disorders?

Most movement disorders affect men and women to a similar extent. The biggest unanswered questions in the field are related to the etiology (i.e., causes) of movement disorders in general and curative treatment.

The fact that women with Parkinson’s disease have greater difficulties finding a caregiver within their family or support network and need to turn to a paid-aide or nursing facilities sooner than men is puzzling to me. The support network around a patient with Parkinson’s disease is essential for the patient’s quality of life, so it is of great importance to try understand this disparity.

https://neurology.duke.edu/about/news/neurology-and-womens-health-part-5-parkinsons-and-movement-disorders

Telemedical home monitoring solution to analyze gait and fall in Parkinson's patients

March 28, 2018

A groundbreaking project for Parkinson's patients from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Health (EIT Health) titled 'MoveIT' has now been launched under the lead of the Molecular-Neurological Department at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen in collaboration with researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and other European partners. Using telemedicine based on sensors placed in patients' shoes and attached to their upper body, researchers aim to analyze specific characteristics in the patient's gait and when they fall. 'In future, patients or carers will be able to be warned in time if a certain gait pattern indicates that a fall is likely', says lead researcher Prof. Dr. Jochen Klucken from the Molecular-Neurological Department at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen. The data gathered as part of the telemedical home monitoring solution is also to be made available for use in further research projects for the interdisciplinary care of Parkinson's patients based on medical engineering approaches. The project is planned to run for one year and has received funding of 500,000 euros from EIT Health.

'MoveIT' is just one of a number of research projects conducted by the consortium led by Prof. Klucken from the Molecular-Neurological Department at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and Prof. Dr. Björn Eskofier from the Chair for Machine Learning and Data Analysis (Heisenberg professor) at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg aimed at designing new digital care concepts for Parkinson's. These include another two EIT projects and a project funded by the Medical Valley Award (FallRiskPD) for assessing the risk of falls. The new EIT health project is to be run in close collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) Erlangen, headed by Christian Weigand, in order to create the required IT infrastructure for improved communication between doctors, therapists, patients and technology and provide the best possible patient care. Other regional and European partners involved in the project are the University of Luxembourg, Radboudumc university medical center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Philips Research ITTM S.A. and Portabiles HealthCare Technologies GmbH (HCT). 'By working with various partners we are able to incorporate experience from other EU countries and the private sector into the digital medicine we are developing as part of our project', explains Prof. Klucken.

With more than 140 partners from 17 European countries, EIT Health is one of the largest health initiatives in the world. FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg is a core partner in the EIT Health consortium. The Fraunhofer IIS is also involved as an associate member. The aim of EIT Health is to promote research, entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in the areas of healthy living and active aging, thereby improving the quality of life, medical care and the health sector throughout Europe. The EIT Health initiative aims to develop innovative products, education services and other services to contribute to solving demographic challenges and optimizing healthcare in Europe. With a total project volume of more than 2 billion euros, up to 700 million of which comes from funding, ETI Health is one of the largest publicly funded health initiatives in the world. The project is set to receive 80 million euros of annual funding over the next seven to fifteen years.

Source:

https://www.fau.eu/2018/03/14/news/research/sensors-to-prevent-parkinsons-patients-from-falling/

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180328/Telemedical-home-monitoring-solution-to-analyze-gait-and-fall-in-Parkinsons-patients.aspx

Researchers find ways to impede progress of neurodegenerative diseases

March 30, 2018    KAZAN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY

A new paper in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters talks about the mechanism of influence of methanofullerenoles on hyperpolarized mitochondria

Heavily protonated methanofullerenols become positively charged and move into the mitochondrial matrix.

Kazan University's partner in this research is the Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry.

The joint team proved that water-soluble polyol-methanofullerenes C60[C9H10O4(OH)4]6 and C60[C13H18O4(OH)4]6 can decrease mitochondrial transmembrane potential. This makes them promising in the creation of targeted mitochondrial medications and composites based on them.

As the paper posits, there is currently no doubt that hyperpolarization of mitochondria and concomitant oxidative stress are associated with the development of serious pathologies, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune syndromes, some cancers, and other conditions. Hyperpolarized mitochondria have an elevated transmembrane potential because of the excess of H+ ions in the intermembrane space in comparison with the matrix (pH 8). Protonophores decrease the mitochondrial potential by facilitating electrogenic transport of protons through inner mitochondrial membrane. The most useful of them are soft protonophores which only remove the excess of the potential but don't decrease it below the necessary limit.

Natalia Kalacheva et al. state that the researched methanofullerenoles can accept protons in acidic medium characteristic for intermembrane space of hyperpolarized mitochondria. Protonated molecules transfer protons into the mitochondrial matrix. As a consequence, the proton gradient is dissipated, which causes a decrease in mitochondrial transmembrane potential and reduction in ROS production.

In the publication, the authors describe water-soluble polyol-methanofullerenes as soft protonophores because they can accept H+ ions only in hyperpolarized mitochondria and cannot penetrate normally polarized mitochondria.

The research was based at the KFU Gene and Cell Technologies Lab and funded by Project 5-100.

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Disclaimer: 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.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/kfu-rfw033018.php

Duopa Can Help Parkinson’s Patients Manage Impulse Control Disorders, Study Shows

 MARCH 29, 2018 BY ALICE MELÃO IN NEWS.

AbbVie’s Duopa can reduce impulse control disorders in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease and mild-to-moderate neuropsychiatric problems, a study shows.

The research, “Improvement of impulse control disorders associated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel treatment in advanced Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the Journal of Neurology.

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the death of brain cells that produce the signaling molecule dopamine — a chemical that facilitates communication between nerve cells.

Dopamine replacement agents can reduce movement symptoms of the disease. The treatments can lead to side effects, however. One is impulse control disorders, such as compulsive gambling, buying, sexual behavior, and eating.

Duopa is an intestinal gel formulation of the carbidopa-levodopa combo that AbbVie developed to help manage Parkinson’s symptoms. It reduces the time when standard levodopa treatment wears off — periods known as off times.

Little is known about its non-movement side effects, however.

Spanish researchers wanted to know if Duopa would increase impulse control disorders in Parkinson’s patients. Their study involved 62 patients with an advanced form of the disease who received Duopa for six months. The patients had had symptoms a median of 13.5 years and movement problems a median of five years.

Duopa reduced patients’ off periods by almost six hours a day, or 79 percent. It failed to reduce the duration of patients’ uncontrolled movements, however. Duopa also improved patients’ ability to perform daily activities. In general, the treatment reduced the severity of the disease’s symptoms by 25 percent.

The treatment also led to signficant improvements in patients’ scores on an impulse control disorder index known as the Questionnaire for Impulsive–Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson’s disease. Patients’ scores fell by 54 percent over three months and by 64 percent over six months.

In terms of type of disorder, there were significant reductions in compulsive eating, in taking medication compulsively, in becoming compulsive hobby enthusiasts, and in compulsive punding, or engaging in repetitive mechanical tasks like assembling and disassembling things.

In contrast, Duopa led to no changes in compulsive gambling, sex, or buying.

Another finding was that the therapy led to significant reductions in psychosis, improved sleep quality and better social interactions.

“Currently, there is no consensus regarding treatment of impulse control disorders,” the researchers wrote. Key reasons are the variability of impulsive behavior symptoms and lack of clinical trials addressing the issue, they said.

As a whole, the study indicated that Duopa could be a good way to help people with advanced Parkinson’s disease manage their impulse control disorders.

Importantly, Duopa can significantly improve patients’ movement symptoms and sleep quality without a significant increase in levodopa dosage, the researchers wrote.

But additional studies are necessary to compare Duopa’s impact with that of other commonly used Parkinson’s treatment, the team added.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2018/03/29/parkinsons-therapy-duopa-can-help-manage-impulse-control-disorders/

New AI Model May Improve Use of Touchscreens by Patients with Parkinson’s, Other Disabilities

MARCH 29, 2018   BY JOSE MARQUES LOPES, PHD

Finnish and Japanese researchers have developed a new algorithmic approach to user interface optimization that takes individual differences into account. This approach could be beneficial for patients with Parkinson’s disease or other disabilities.

The research, “Ability-Based Optimization of Touchscreen Interactions,” was published in the journal IEEE Pervasive Computing.

Among the limitations presented by users with disabilities are essential tremors, characterized by involuntary and rhythmic shaking, most often when using the hands for simple tasks, dyslexia, which impairs the ability to read words of the interface, and dementia.

Strategies to overcome these limitations could involve increasing the size of user interface elements and grouping functions together, reducing the amount of text in the screen and making sure it is correct,  creating designs that require as little previous knowledge as possible, and prioritizing frequent tasks.

“The majority of available user interfaces are targeted at average users. This ‘one size fits all’ thinking does not consider individual differences in abilities — the aging and disabled users have a lot of problems with daily technology use, and often these are very specific to their abilities and the circumstances,” Jussi Jokinen, one of the study’s co-authors, said in a press release.

Approaches to improve the user interface require an accurate model of the user, Jokinen observed. “Previously, designers did not have detailed models that are based on psychological research and can be used to predict how different individuals perform in interactive tasks,” he said.

The scientists developed a new model of interaction, which combines psychological research on finger pointing and eye movements to predict limitations in text entry speed, typing, and proofreading.

By simulating a user with essential tremors, the researchers predicted that using the common Qwerty keyboard is almost impossible, because more than half of all typed keys are typos. “We chose to simulate and optimize for essential tremor, because it makes text entry very difficult,” Jokinen said.

“We connected the text entry model to an optimizer, which iterates through thousands of different user interface designs. No real user could of course try out all these designs. For this reason it is important that we could automatize the evaluation with our computational model,” he added.

This resulted in an interface predicted to be superior for individuals with essential tremors; the simulated user did not make any entry errors. The optimized layout was then tested with a person with essential tremors, who was able to type almost error-free messages.

“This is of course just a prototype interface, and not intended for consumer market,” Jokinen said. “I hope that designers pick up from here and with the help of our model and optimizer create individually targeted, polished interfaces.”

“While more empirical work is needed to evaluate the results, the first evidence acquired in this paper is promising,” the researchers wrote. Future work should test the design for dyslexics, they said.

Beyond the confirmed validity of the model in essential tremor and text entry, scientists also may use it for other disabilities and tasks. “For example, we have models for simulating how being a novice or an expert with an interface impacts users’ performance,” Jokinen said.

The effects of memory impairment in learning and everyday use of interfaces also may be addressed, he added.

“The important point is that no matter the ability or disability, there must be a psychologically valid theory behind modeling it. This makes the predictions of the model believable, and the optimization is targeted correctly,” Jokinen said.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2018/03/29/new-ai-model-may-improve-use-touchscreens-parkinsons-patients/