Smartphone 'Scores' Can Help Doctors Track Severity of Parkinson's Disease Symptoms

04/06/2018

by Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins computer science students Srihari Mohan, left, and Andong Zahn, display the iPhone and Android smartphone apps they helped design to allow Parkinson's disease patients to measure the severity of their symptoms. Credit: Noam Finkelstein/Johns Hopkins U

Parkinson's disease, a progressive brain disorder, is often tough to treat effectively because symptoms, such as tremors and walking difficulties, can vary dramatically over a period of days, or even hours.

To address this challenge, Johns Hopkins University computer scientists, working with an interdisciplinary team of experts from two other institutions, have developed a new approach that uses sensors on a smartphone to generate a score that reliably reflects symptom severity in patients with Parkinson's disease.

In a study published recently online in the journal JAMA Neurology, researchers from Johns Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering, the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Aston University in the United Kingdom reported that the severity of symptoms among Parkinson's patients seen by neurologists aligned closely with those generated by their smartphone app.

Typically, patients with Parkinson's disease are evaluated by medical specialists during three or four clinic visits annually, with subjective assessments capturing only a brief snapshot of a patient's fluctuating symptoms. In their homes, patients may also be asked to fill out a cumbersome 24-hour "motor diary" in which they keep a written record of their mobility, involuntary twisting movements and other Parkinson's symptoms. The doctor then uses this self-reported or imprecise data to guide treatment.

In the new study, the researchers say patients could use a smartphone app to objectively monitor symptoms in the home and share this data to help doctors fine-tune their treatment.

E. Ray Dorsey, a University of Rochester Medical Center neurologist and a co-author of the research paper, said he welcomes the validation of Parkinson's patient severity scores produced by the smartphone tests.

"If you think about it, it sounds crazy," he said, "but until these types of studies, we had very limited data on how these people function on Saturdays and Sundays because patients don't come to the clinic on Saturdays or Sundays. We also had very limited data about how people with Parkinson's do at two o'clock in the morning or 11 o'clock at night because, unless they're hospitalized, they're generally not being seen in clinics at those times."

About six years ago, while doing medical research at Johns Hopkins, Dorsey was introduced to Suchi Saria, an assistant professor of computer science at the university. Saria, the corresponding author of the study and an expert in a computing technique called machine learning, had been using it to extract useful information from health-related data that was routinely being collected at hospitals. The two researchers, along with some of Saria's students, teamed up to find a way to monitor the health of Parkinson's patients as easily as people with diabetes can check their glucose levels with a pinprick blood test.

The team members knew that neurologists evaluated their Parkinson's patients by gathering information about how they moved, spoke and completed certain daily tasks. "Can we do this with a cellphone?" Saria wondered at the time. "We asked, 'What are the tricks we can use to make that happen?' "

Using existing smartphone components such as its microphone, touch screen and accelerometer, the team members devised five simple tasks involving voice sensing, finger tapping, gait measurement, balance and reaction time. They turned this into a smartphone app called 'HopkinsPD.' Next, using a machine learning technique that the team devised, they were able to convert the data collected with these tests and turn that into an objective Parkinson's disease severity score--a score that better reflected the overall severity of patients' symptoms and how well they were responding to medication.

The researchers say this smartphone evaluation should be particularly useful because it does not rely on the subjective observations of a medical staff member. Moreover, it can be administered any time or day in a clinic or within the patient's home, where the patient is less likely to be as nervous as in a medical setting.

"The day-to-day variability of Parkinson's symptoms is so high," Saria said. "If you happen to measure a patient at 5 p.m. today and then three months later, again at 5 p.m., how do you know that you didn't catch him at a good time the first time and at a bad time the second time?"

Collecting more frequent smartphone test data in a medical setting as well as in the home, could give doctors a clearer picture of their patients' overall heath and how well their medications are working, Saria and her colleagues suggested.

Summarizing the importance of their finding in the JAMA Neurology report, the researchers said, "A smartphone-derived severity score for Parkinson's disease is feasible and provides an objective measure of motor symptoms inside and outside the clinic that could be valuable for clinical care and therapeutic development."

Patients in the research project used Android smartphones to download the software, available through the Parkinson's Voice Initiative website. The team has now partnered with Apple and Sage Bionetworks to develop mPower, an iPhone version that is available at Apple's App Store.

The study's three co-lead authors included two of Saria's students from the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins: doctoral candidate Andong Zhan and third-year undergraduate Srihari Mohan.

Zahn, who is from Qujing, Yunnan, in China, described the project as "a unique experience of extracting data from the physical world to a digital world and finally seeing it become meaningful clinical information."

Mohan, who is from Redmond, Washington, added, "While not all research gets integrated tangibly into people's lives, what excites me most is the potential for the methods we developed to be deployed seamlessly into a patient's lifestyle and improve the quality of care."

https://www.rdmag.com/news/2018/04/smartphone-scores-can-help-doctors-track-severity-parkinsons-disease-symptoms

PARKINSON’S IN PLAIN ENGLISH

By Jessica Nicol Apr 04, 2018

April is a busy month for Parkinson’s awareness with World Parkinson’s Day April 11, an awareness seminar in Torquay April 26, and Mike Atkinson (pictured) from Young @ Park, conducting a monthly group session that provides peer support to young people in the region diagnosed with the neurological disease.

A SEMINAR designed to help better understand Parkinson’s disease will take place at the Torquay Senior Citizens Club on April 26.

The seminar will provide advice and insight into Parkinson’s (a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors) using “plain English” so guests leave understanding the disease, its treatments/ therapies and latest research.

The keynote speaker for the event, Parkinson’s Victoria clinical nurse consultant Victor McConvey, has been a nurse for 25 years and worked in neurology for the past 18 years.

In his role at Parkinson’s Victoria, Mr McConvey leads the Health Team, providing direction to the development and roll out of information and peer support education programs.

Parkinson’s Victoria raises awareness and funds for services and research to improve the quality of life for 27,000 people living with Parkinson’s in Victoria.

Every day through their multi-disciplinary health team they provide information, education, advice and peer support services to improve the quality of life of the Parkinson’s community.

There are several support groups geared specifically at providing guidance to those with Parkinson’s and their families across the region including the Geelong Peer Support Group, Bellarine ‘Parkinsong’ Peer Support Group and Young @ Park Barwon Region.

The Young @ Park have been running for over a decade and with the average age of diagnosis getting younger the group that meets monthly is dedicated to meeting the social and learning needs of young people with Parkinson’s, for more information visit yap.org.au

On a larger scale World’s Parkinson’s Day takes place April 11 and encourages those affected or touched by the disease to #UniteForParkinsons.

It kicks off the InSearch Parkinson’s Research Series which will return to Melbourne for the fourth year with regional lectures in Mildura and Bairnsdale scheduled for April 19 and 24.

With more than 80,000 Australians live with this debilitating neurological condition Parkinson’s provide a free confidential information line on 1800 644 189.

Lastly throughout April, Victorians are invited to host your own Party for Parkinson’s where you can wine, dine or morning tea-it-up to raise funds for Parkinson’s Victoria Research program, contact Craig at Parkinson’s Victoria on (03) 8809 0400 to find out more.

https://freelocalnews.com.au/surfcoasttimes/living/parkinsons-in-plain-english/

Pedaling 4 Parkinson’s — June 16

April 7, 2018

Spring is here, which means it’s bicycling season in Colorado. On Saturday, June 16, hundreds of cyclists and their supporters will gather in Lone Tree’s Sweetwater Park for the ninth annual Pedaling 4 Parkinson’s charity ride and expo. “P4P” gives 100% of the money raised to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and provides an opportunity for many to join the fight against this devastating disease. Since the first ride in 2010, P4P has raised over $350,000 to support people living with Parkinson’s and those searching for a cure.

Started by three Denver area women whose lives have been affected by Parkinson’s disease, Pedaling 4 Parkinson’s is quickly becoming a favorite ride for both serious and not-so-serious cyclists. “A lot of our riders are not hard-core cyclists,” said Laura Fiske, P4P’s president, “but they ride to support a family member with Parkinson’s.” Cyclists this year can choose among three routes: ten, forty, or sixty miles. Moreover, the expo has lots to offer the dozens of non-cyclists, with sponsors’ exhibits, food, live music and other activities for all ages.

Parkinson’s disease affects over one million people nationwide, and around 17,000 here in Colorado. Recent research has shown that cycling can have some amazing benefits for people with Parkinson’s, including reduced symptoms and a slower rate of progression. Increasing awareness of those benefits is an important goal of Pedaling 4 Parkinson’s.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has had an enormously positive influence on research and treatments for Parkinson’s disease, having raised over $700 million since 2000. Moreover, because of the relationship with the Foundation, 100% of the money raised by P4P cyclists goes straight to research. A representative from the Fox Foundation will also attend this year, with information about their work and Parkinson’s disease.

For many people with Parkinson’s, cycling more than short distances can be very difficult. To enable them to participate in P4P, the “Tandem Bike Project” was introduced a few years ago. This initiative pairs a strong “captain” on the front of a tandem bike, with a person with Parkinson’s on the back. For people with PD who thought their cycling days were over, the Tandem Bike Project gives them an opportunity to join the fight against the disease they deal with every day. And in keeping with the goal to support these people, they ride for free.

Each P4P cyclist commits to raise $150 for PD research, but many greatly exceed that goal. The entire event and organization is run by volunteers, and supported by generous sponsors. For anyone interested in riding, volunteering, sponsoring, or just attending the expo to show your support, more information can be found at www.Pedaling4Parkinsons.org.

http://www.myprimetimenews.com/pedaling-4-parkinsons-june-16/

Fitness Platform BurnAlong Offering Free Classes to Raise Awareness for World Parkinson’s Day

APRIL 6, 2018 BY CAROLINA HENRIQUES IN NEWS.

BurnAlong, an exercise and wellness platform, is inviting Parkinson’s disease patients, caregivers, family members, and advocates to join a special awareness day and participate in free online fitness classes.

In connection with World Parkinson’s Day on April 11, BurnAlong, together with its partners, is offering a free membership for the month of April to raise awareness of the importance of exercise for Parkinson’s patients.

“We are excited about the ability to enable anyone anywhere affected by Parkinson disease to exercise. Together, we can improve the health of those with the disease and perhaps even prevent it,” Ray Dorsey, MD, David M. Levy Professor of Neurology and director of the Center for Health + Technology at the University of Rochester, said in a press release.

The online platform offers hundreds of classes at all fitness levels, including classes specifically geared toward individuals with Parkinson’s at various stages of the disease.

Classes can be accessed through a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and friends or family can be invited to join in private sessions with the opportunity to share the experience live.

Exercise has been shown to help improve some Parkinson’s symptoms and even delay symptom onset. BurnAlong believes that having the ability to exercise when they want, where they want, and with whom they want through online video fitness classes could motivate these patients to exercise more.

Parkinson’s patients are known to be at a higher risk of falling due to changes in the brain caused by the disease. Studies have found that exercise may help prevent falls, and researchers believe that, in combination with new medicines, exercise could significantly benefit Parkinson’s patients.

For example, one study showed that tai chi, a low-impact Chinese martial art, could help Parkinson’s patients improve balance and prevent falls. Routines that strengthen the lower limbs were also found to be helpful as well as balance-boosting exercises, such as yoga or pilates.

“BurnAlong was created because our founding team all had family members with different health challenges and for whom exercising, and the motivation to exercise, would have made a big difference. Driving awareness of the importance of exercising for those with Parkinson’s is core to our mission, and we’re grateful to be working with such great partners,” said Daniel Freedman, co-founder of BurnAlong.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2018/04/06/burnalong-offering-free-online-fitness-classes-parkinsons-patients/

Acorda Campaign Aims to Help Parkinson’s Patients Explain Their Challenges

APRIL 6, 2018  BY MARY CHAPMAN IN NEWS.

An initiative called Live Well. Do Tell is trying to help Parkinson’s patients do a better job of letting others know about the manifestations of their disease, particularly the return of movement problems during periods when standard treatments wear off.

In addition to these off periods, many people are unaware of the non-movement symptomsof Parkinson’s, including depression or anxiety.

One feature of the Acorda Therapeutics initiative is a downloadable action guide designed to help patients and caregivers do better at identifying and communicating symptoms.  The guide grew out of a meeting of patients, healthcare professionals and others on Sept. 17, 2017. The main thrust of the gathering was finding ways of both addressing the disease’s  challenges and letting others know about them.

Suggestions included broadening people’s understanding of off periods, helping caregivers  do a better job of describing the symptoms they are seeing to healthcare professionals, and coming up with a better way of measuring off periods.

“This disease can be a hard disease, but there’s a whole lot of hope right now, too, because of a growing understanding of how it manifests,” said Sarah Jones, chief executive of the Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance, and a member of the initiative’s steering committee. “This group balances truth-telling with power. Information is power, along with knowing what to do with it.”

Others are invited to join the conversation by signing up for initiative updates and news.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that predominately affects dopamine-producing nerve cells in an area of the brain called substantia nigra. Experts estimate that it affects a million people in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide.

Because of the variety of symptoms, patients usually see a number of specialists over the course of their disease, including neurologists and movement-disorder experts.

Dr. Matthew Stern, a neurologist, was chair

of the Live Well.Do Tell steering committee.

(Photos courtesy of Acorda Therapeutics)

Too often, physicians focus on visible symptoms such as tremors, slow or jerky movements, limb rigidity, and walking and balance problems, said Matthew Stern, a professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. Meanwhile, doctors often focus on depression and constipation in  judging quality of life. Stern was chair of the Live Well. Do Tell steering committee.

“It’s no longer about just walking into an exam room. It’s about you taking control of your own health care,” said Stern, former director of the Penn Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. “But a byproduct will be increased doctor awareness as well. There’s a disconnect between what a patient is saying and what the doctor is hearing.”

Although off times can cause movement problems and complications such as difficulty swallowing, they also can lead to bouts of anxiety and sadness — less-evident symptoms that often go undiagnosed. Up to 80 percent of Parkinson’s patients experience off times daily, Jones said.

Because movement and other difficulties return during off times, patients can find it hard or embarrassing to discuss these periods. Often, they aren’t sure how to explain what they feel about them.

“The complications of off times really lend themselves to misunderstandings, and can also really overwhelm people dealing with the disease,” Jones said. “This organization raises a voice in terms of understanding what off time is, and the fact that it varies.”

These periods can also leave patients with feelings of inadequacy or failure. “They feel like they aren’t managing as well as they want to,” Jones said. “It can be tied to stress or not sleeping well. So, normalizing it is very helpful. If there’s no way to talk about it, it can be seen as a criticism or can create challenges, as opposed to being a part of living.”

Options for managing off times include diet and medication adjustments and, for some, surgical approaches such as implanting deep brain stimulation devices.

Acorda has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve a treatment it developed for off times. Inbrija is an inhaled powder formulation of levodopa designed to act quickly when the effects of oral levodopa and carbidopa wear off. 

The FDA is expected to decide whether to approve inbrija by Oct. 5. Acorda’s application for approval was based partly on the benefits seen in a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT02240030).

“Off periods greatly disrupt the lives of people living with Parkinson’s, and there is significant need for new treatments in this community,” Dr. Burkhard Blank, Acorda’s chief medical officer, said in a press release.

Most Parkinson’s patients are diagnosed between the ages of 55 and 60 while still employed, leading to panic and fear. That’s when doctors need to reassure them, Stern said.

“Patients think they’ll be in a wheelchair in five years,” he said. “So, step one is educating a diagnosis. When I was in clinical practice, I spent a lot of time undoing what they’re told and what they’ve learned on the internet.”

Steve DeWitte of Connecticut had no idea of “how to react” when diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2005.

Steve DeWitte was 48 and a Special Olympics regional director when he received his diagnosis. Two years earlier, his symptoms had begun with a shaky left pinky finger. The tremors spread to more fingers and then his entire left arm. He eventually also had bouts of fatigue, sleeping difficulties and constipation.

“I didn’t know what Parkinson’s was, so I didn’t know how to react or not react,” said DeWitte, a resident of New Preston, Connecticut, who founded Connecticut Advocates for Parkinson’s. “Then I said, ‘OK, I’ll accept it.’ After that, I did my own research and joined support groups to find out what steps I had to take to live a quality life.”

Now 61, DeWitte said how he feels about his situation can change hourly. Overall, he said, he is able to manage his disease, including off times, with medicine, diet and exercise. He’s been involved with the Live Well. Do Tell effort from the beginning.

“It’s a great program for individuals as they start examining how to live with Parkinson’s, and how doctors can better communicate with you,” said DeWitte, who is married and has an adult child. “I give my interpretation of how we’re living with this condition, how we talk to physicians and how they listen, and how they can be more clear with us.”

He thinks the initiative has helped create a more honest dialogue between patients and physicians. “Patients feel more comfortable coming out with what they experience,” he said. “We’ve had wonderful sessions leading us through how to prepare for our visits, and getting helpful hints about how to make each visit more impactful. It makes it easier on the physicians, too.”

Insights into these sessions are available for downloading.

Jones said the bottom line with Live Well. Do Tell is that it challenges everyone in the Parkinson’s community to do a better job at explaining the disease and its symptoms, and it challenges patients to advocate for themselves.

“It feels like this is the first time that a large organization has pulled together a really diverse multidisciplinary team of people to have a conversation about more than motor symptoms,” she said.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2018/04/06/parkinsons-live-well-do-tell-initiative-communication-to-improve-patients-lives/

New blood test useful to detect people at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

April 6, 2018, European Molecular Biology Organization

There is, as yet, no cure for Alzheimer's disease. It is often argued that progress in drug research has been hampered by the fact that the disease can only be diagnosed when it is too late for an effective intervention. Alzheimer's disease is thought to begin long before patients show typical symptoms like memory loss. Scientists have now developed a blood test for Alzheimer's disease and found that it can detect early indicators of the disease long before the first symptoms appear in patients. The blood test would thus offer an opportunity to identify those at risk and may thereby open the door to new avenues in drug discovery. The research is published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques in the patient's brain. The blood test, developed by Klaus Gerwert and his team at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, works by measuring the relative amounts of a pathological and a healthy form of amyloid-β in the blood. The pathological form is a misfolded version of this molecule and known to initiate the formation of toxic plaques in the brain. Toxic amyloid-β molecules start accumulating in the patients' body 15-20 years before disease onset. In the present study, Gerwert and colleagues from Germany and Sweden addressed whether the blood test would be able to pick up indications of pathological amyloid-β in very early phases of the disease.

The researchers first focused on patients in the early, so called prodromal stages of the disease from the Swedish BioFINDER cohort conducted by Oskar Hanson. They found that the test reliably detected amyloid-β alterations in the blood of participants with mild cognitive impairment that also showed abnormal amyloid deposits in brain scans.

In a next step, Gerwert and colleagues investigated if their assay was able to detect blood changes well ahead of disease onset. They used data from the ESTHER cohort study, which Hermann Brenner started in 2000 at DKFZ, comparing blood samples of 65 participants that were later in the follow-up studies diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease with 809 controls. The assay was able to detect signs of the disease on average eight years before diagnosis in individuals without clinical symptoms. It correctly identified those with the disease in almost 70 percent of the cases, while about 9 percent of true negative subjects would wrongly be detected as positive. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 86 percent.

Currently available diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease either involve expensive positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans, or analyze samples of cerebrospinal fluid that are extracted via lumbar puncture. The researchers suggest that their blood test serves as a cheap and simple option to pre-select individuals from the general population for further testing by these more invasive and costly methods to exclude the falsely positive subjects.

The blood test developed by Gerwert and colleagues uses a technology called immuno-infrared sensor to measure distribution of pathological and healthy structures of amyloid-β. The pathological amyloid-β structure is rich in a sticky, sheet-like folding pattern that makes it prone to aggregation, while the healthy structure is not. The two structures absorb infrared light at a different frequency, allowing the blood test to determine the ratio of healthy to pathological amyloid-β in the sample.

The blood test will be extended to Parkinson disease by measuring another disease biomarker – α-synuclein − instead of amyloid-β.

More information: Andreas Nabers et al. Amyloid blood biomarker detects Alzheimer's disease, EMBO Molecular Medicine (2018). DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201708763 

Journal reference: EMBO Molecular Medicine

Provided by: European Molecular Biology Organization

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-blood-people-alzheimer-disease.html

Columbia scientists build better way to decode the genome

April 5, 2018     THE ZUCKERMAN INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

New computer algorithm deciphers DNA's most well-kept secrets; may help find the links between genes and disease

Gradually eliminating low-affinity binding sites identified by NRLB (from left to right) results in a gradual reduction of gene expression (white).

The genome is the body's instruction manual. It contains the raw information -- in the form of DNA -- that determines everything from whether an animal walks on four legs or two, to one's potential risk for disease. But this manual is written in the language of biology, so making sense of all that it encodes has proven challenging. Now, Columbia University researchers have developed a computational tool that shines a light on the genome's most hard-to-translate segments. With this tool in hand, scientists can get closer to understanding how DNA guides everything from growth and development to aging and disease.

The researchers recently published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The genomes of even simple organisms such as the fruit fly contain 120 million letters worth of DNA, much of which has yet to be decoded because the cues its provides have been too subtle for existing tools to pick up," said Richard Mann, PhD, a principal investigator at Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and a senior author of the paper. "But our new algorithm lets us sweep through these millions of lines of genetic code and pick up even the faintest signals, resulting in a much more complete picture what DNA encodes."

Geneticists have long looked for ways to decipher the mysteries hidden in DNA. One such mystery has involved a particularly pervasive class of genes known as the Hox genes.

"Hox genes are the body's master architects; they drive some of the earliest and most critical aspects of growth and differentiation, such as where in a developing embryo the head and limbs should be positioned," said Dr. Mann, who is also the Higgins Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (in Systems Biology) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "Hox genes do this by producing proteins called transcription factors, which bind to DNA sequences in order to turn large cohorts of genes on or off; like flipping thousands of switches in exactly the right order."

But decades of research into Hox genes uncovered a paradox: Even though each individual Hox gene guided a different feature of growth, the Hox transcription factors were all binding strongly and visibly to the same set of easily identifiable DNA sequences.

In 2015, Dr. Mann and his team discovered that the Hox transcription factors were also binding at many other locations -- just more discretely at so-called 'low-affinity sites.' The scientists believed these low-affinity binding sites to be key to the Hox transcription factors being able to drive one aspect of development versus another. The problem remained how to decipher these sites from the genome.

To address this challenge, Dr. Mann and his lab joined forces with the lab of Harmen Bussemaker, PhD, a Professor in Columbia's Department of Biological Sciences and Systems Biology and an expert in building computational models of genetic activity. 

A few years ago, the two labs developed a genetic sequencing method called SELEX-seq to systematically characterize all Hox binding sites. But their approach still had limitations: It required the same DNA fragment to be sequenced over and over again. With each new round, more pieces of the puzzle were revealed, but information about those critical low-affinity binding sites remained hidden.

"It was akin to running the same paragraph through Google translate multiple times, but in the end still only ten percent of the words are accurately translated," said Dr. Mann.

To overcome this challenge, Dr. Bussemaker and his team developed a sophisticated new computer algorithm that was able to explain -- for the first time -- the behavior of all DNA sequences in the SELEX-seq experiment. They called this algorithm No Read Left Behind, or NRLB. 

"In simple terms, NRLB allows us cover the entire spectrum of binding sites -- from the highest to the lowest affinity -- with a much greater degree of sensitivity and accuracy than any existing method, including state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms" said Dr. Bussemaker, who was the paper's other senior author. "Building on that foundation, we now hope to develop more in-depth biological and computational models to help answer the most complicated questions about the genome."

"For example, diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and autism have been mapped to particular DNA regions that do not appear to have a clear function," said Dr. Mann. "With NRLB, scientists could potentially piece together how transcription factors bind to and activate those regions. This will be critical for finding ways to manipulate that activity to one day reduce one's risk of disease."

###

This paper is titled: "Accurate and sensitive quantification of protein-DNA binding affinity." Additional contributors include first author Chaitanya Rastogi, H. Tomas Rube, PhD, Judith Kribelbauer, Justin Crocker, PhD, Ryan Loker, Gabriella Martini, Oleg Laptenko, PhD, William Freed-Pastor, MD, Carol Prives, PhD, and David Stern, PhD.

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01HG003008, R35GM118336, CA87497, CA196234, T32GM08279707, G20RR030893) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The authors report no financial or other conflicts of interest.

Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute brings together a group of world-class scientists and scholars to pursue the most urgent and exciting challenge of our time: understanding the brain and mind. A deeper understanding of the brain promises to transform human health and society. From effective treatments for disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression and autism to advances in fields as fundamental as computer science, economics, law, the arts and social policy, the potential for humanity is staggering. To learn more, visit: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu.

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/2018-04/tzia-csb040518.php

NIH awards MR-Link $228,325 to advance development of its magnetic resonance-compatible bio-recording system

April 5, 2018

https://youtu.be/pWFPBTyX2B8

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University-affiliated startup that is developing an affordable device to allow researchers and medical professionals to conduct MRI scans with increased efficiency, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

MR-Link LLC of West Lafayette has secured the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant of $228,325. The goal of the program is to use federal funds to support scientific excellence and increase private sector commercialization of technological innovation.

“This grant is validation for us that our idea is on the right track and there is a need for these kind of technologies that may help researchers to understand human physiology more accurately,” said Ranajay Mandal, one of three MR-Link co-founders.

The coin-sized device works simultaneously with an MRI system to record electro-physiological signals and perform various imaging scans. The device allows researchers to record, stimulate and image the brain and other organs in synchronization the MRI system, allowing them and in the future, medical professionals, to understand patient's physiology more effectively.

The company was founded by Mandal, a graduate student in Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering; Nishant Babaria, a graduate student in the Purdue School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Zhongming Liu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering. The company is scheduled to open offices later this month in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette, which is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation and is the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country.

MR-Link is a Purdue-affiliated startup that is developing a coin-sized, affordable device that can be inserted into existing MRI machines to allow researchers and medical professionals to perform multiple imaging scans at once. The devise has potential to significantly improve the safety, efficacy and precision of medical diagnostics for patients who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and many more diseases.

More than a thousand startups nationwide applied for Phase I STTR grants. MR-Link was one of only 169 startups to receive funding. A total of 32 startups from Indiana applied for STTR funding this fiscal year and MR-Link was the only one selected.

“We will use this funding to further develop our device and software into a user-friendly system, so that MR-Link can begin to distribute its beta testing units to MRI researchers,” Babaria said. “We hope to also use the money to enrich our research team with new professionals to help us package the software and hardware.”

The researchers say the device has great potential to significantly improve the safety, efficacy and precision of medical diagnostics for patients who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, depression and many other diseases. They also say it is more affordable than other options and could eliminate health risks and provide better imaging.

The researchers will be presenting their research in June at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine in Paris. A video about MR-Link is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWFPBTyX2B8.

Technology used by MR-Link has been licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization. MR-Link plans to target the research market before moving into the clinical market.

“We are open to partnerships with other laboratories and device manufacturers so we could soon deliver devices to more people and to benefit their research and to hopefully soon deliver to clinicians for them to better treat patients,” Liu said.

The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders And Stroke of the National Institutes of Health and Elevate Ventures.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org.

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Tom Coyne, 765-588-2044, tjcoyne@prf.org

Sources:   Ranajay Mandal, rmandal@purdue.edu

Nishant Babaria, nbabaria@purdue.edu

Zhongming Liu, zmliu@purdue.edu

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q2/nih-awards-mr-link-228,325-to-advance-development-of-its-magnetic-resonance-compatible-bio-recording-system.html

“I joined to understand research”

Dr Beckie Port -April 5, 2018

In this series, we hear from some of our Research Support Network members about why they joined, and what they have been up to. This is Lesley’s story.

“Diagnosed in 2004 at the age of 43, and with two sons aged 11 and 13, I was desperate to find out what the future held. Yet the volume of ‘information’ available online was misleading, inaccurate and terrifying, and I soon resigned myself to the fact that there were no answers.

“Since then, I have realised that the main source for realistic, down to earth and reliable information is Parkinson’s UK. Their commitment to improving the lives of patients and carers, while searching for the elusive cure, was apparent.

“With symptoms increasingly affecting my ability to perform everyday tasks, resulting in ill-health retirement in 2015, I was determined to take part in research. Following many smaller studies, I discovered the GDNF trial in November 2014 and had brain surgery to insert the delivery device that would infuse an experimental protein with the potential to slow down, stop or even reverse cell death.

“My last infusion took place in December 2016 and despite feeling more alive than for some time, the trial has struggled to demonstrate that the treatment works. It is my firm belief that this is not because GDNF does not work, but that the assessments carried out are artificial, open to misinterpretation and judged against a standard scale that has not evolved in decades.

“While the inability to tap our noses or the way we walk without swinging an arm may indicate the presence of Parkinson’s, they have little impact on our everyday lives. Yet in clinical trials these tests and measures form the basis of our overall ‘score’ — whereas severe cramps, which can render us immobile, are not assessed.

"Joining the Research Support Network has given me an insight into the tireless efforts made by Parkinson’s UK to improve lives, and the opportunity to understand current methods of assessment. It has also given me opportunities to become involved in shaping more relevant and realistic tests, which could turn inconclusive trials into real hope for the future.

“There is no regular commitment, no pressure to contribute, just the opportunity to voice an opinion. Singularly we will struggle to be heard but as a group we can demand change. The failure to find that elusive cure has to be addressed and while scientists know the in depth structure and workings of the brain, patients know what living with this condition really means. Until these two unique perspectives are working in harmony, trials will continue to fail.

https://medium.com/parkinsons-uk/i-joined-to-understand-research-6a91f94fe396