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Creatine, Minocycline "Not Futile" for Further Study in PD
A randomized, double-blind, futility clinical trial of creatine and minocycline in early Parkinson disease

Male-Specific Gene May Explain High Rate of Parkinson's Disease in Men
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 02 - The male-specific gene Sry regulates dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra, an area of the brain that deteriorates in patients with Parkinson's disease, according to a report in the February 21st issue of Current Biology.

Parkinson's Patients Test Low on Sensation-Seeking Behaviors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 23 - Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) score lower on an impulsive sensation-seeking scale than control subjects, investigators report. This may be why PD patients are less likely to smoke and consume less caffeinated beverages and alcohol, which in turn may underlie "the hypothetical protective effect of cigarette smoking and caffeine consumption on PD."

Brain Stimulation in PD May Disturb Emotional Information Processing
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 02 - Bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation for Parkinson's disease appears to decrease patients' ability to decode emotional facial expressions, according to a report in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry for February

Selective elimination of glutamatergic synapses on striatopallidal neurons in Parkinson disease models
Dopamine depletion dysregulates calcium signaling in D2 receptor-bearing medium spiny neurons and thereby reduces glutamatergic signaling in the indirect, but not the direct, output pathways from the striatum, according to this report.

Dopamine covalently modifies and functionally inactivates parkin
Dopamine inactivates parkin in vitro, in cell culture, and in brain, according to this study.
Treatment of dopaminergic neuronal cell lines with dopamine led to increase of insoluble parkin monomers and development of high-molecular-weight aggregates, without reducing the level of soluble parkin monomers. Similar results followed treatment with methamphetamine, which triggers dopamine release. No effect was seen in non-dopaminergic cells. Aggregates also formed in cell-free extracts of dopaminergic cells when treated with dopamine quinone, an oxidized product of dopamine, known to bind covalently to a variety of proteins.

Homocysteine a Risk Factor for Hip Fracture in Parkinson's Patients on Levodopa
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 22 - The risk of hip fracture rises in tandem with serum homocysteine levels in elderly women with Parkinson's disease on levodopa, a new study shows. The researchers say levels of homocysteine appear to have a greater effect on bone fragility in women with Parkinson's than in healthy women.

Parkinson's Disease risk linked to occupation and education
The investigators, led by Walter Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist, discovered the highest increase in Parkinson's risk in people with nine or more years of education. They also found that risk level rises as years of schooling increase. Occupationally, physicians had the greatest increased risk for Parkinson's compared to the general population, while those employed as construction and extractive workers (e.g., miners, well drillers), production workers (e.g., machine operators, fabricators), metalworkers and engineers had the lowest risk increase. The researchers also note that this study did not find farmers and other agricultural workers at increased risk for Parkinson's.

Neurologix announces positive results of gene therapy clinical trial in Parkinson's disease
FORT LEE, N.J., Sept. 26, 2005 -- Neurologix, Inc. (OTCBB:NRGX) today announced positive interim results of its landmark gene therapy clinical trial for patients with Parkinson's disease. Neurologix's 12-patient, dose-escalating Phase I trial is the world's first study to use a viral vector (the non-pathogenic adeno-associated virus, or AAV) for the treatment of an adult neurological disease. In the Neurologix-funded trial, the vector was injected into a specific target site in the brain in order to transfer a gene to treat Parkinson's disease. The gene encodes glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), an enzyme which synthesizes the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, (gamma)-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Mirror Movements Common on Less Affected Side in Parkinsonism
Among patients with mild asymmetric Parkinson's disease, mirror movements are a typical clinical feature of the unaffected or less affected side, according to findings published in the October issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

Prognosis of Parkinson disease: risk of dementia and mortality: the Rotterdam Study.
Increased mortality risk in Parkinson disease is dependent on disease duration and is only modest in the absence of dementia.

Gentherapie Parkinson op goede weg
De interim resultaten van een gentherapiestudie tegen de ziekte van Parkinson zijn zeer bemoedigend. Eén jaar na de start van de therapie zijn er geen bijwerkingen en de voortgang van de aandoening wordt afgeremd.

Deep Brain Stimulation Does Not Stop Parkinson's Disease Progression
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Sept 02 - While providing symptom relief in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus does not prevent a continuing decline in brain dopaminergic function, investigators in Germany and the Netherlands report.

Postmenopausal Estrogen Use May Increase Risk of Parkinson's Disease
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 30 - Postmenopausal therapy with estrogen may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease among women who have had a hysterectomy, according to new findings. Hormone replacement therapy in women with natural menopause, however, does not increase the risk.

5-HT1A Agonist Reduces Dyskinesias
Effect of serotonin 5-HT1A agonist in advanced Parkinson’s disease W Bara-Jiminez, F Bibbiani, MJ Morris, T Dimitrova, A Sherzai, MM Mouradian, TN Chase Movement Disorders 2005;20:932-936

Dopamine Agonists Increase Risk of Sudden Uncontrollable Somnolence
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 24 - Dopamine agonists may significantly increase the risk of sudden uncontrollable somnolence in Parkinson's disease (PD), affecting about 22% of patients.

Moederkoorn voor Parkinson
Eeuwenlang veroorzaakte de parasitaire zwam Claviceps purpurea massaal psychose. Hij maakte tienduizenden doden doordat hij graansoorten met schimmels besmette. Maar farmaceutische bedrijven halen uit het besmette graan ook medicijnen, onder meer tegen postnatale bloedingen, migraine en de ziekte van Parkinson, weet De Tijd.

Treating Parkinson's Amphetamine derivatives, MDMA in particular, reverse disease symptoms in mice
In a study to screen potential therapies for Parkinson’s disease, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have produced the first strong evidence that amphetamine derivatives such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, also known as the street drug Ecstasy) play a direct role in signaling muscles to move (PloS Biol., published online Aug. 1,

Enhancement of Neurogenesis May Help in Parkinson's Disease
Neural reconstruction is involved with Parkinson's disease (PD), suggest studies of the substantia nigra of animal brains and those of humans with the illness, Japanese researchers report in the July issue of Annals of Neurology.

Anti-Parkinson Dopamine Agonisten in verband gebracht met impulsieve gedragingen
Dopamine agonist drugs, especially pramipexole, may cause pathological gambling and other compulsive behaviors, according to a new report. Discontinuing or reducing the dose of the drug leads to cessation of the compulsions.

Inname van onverzadigde vetzuren zou kunnen beschermen tegen de Ziekte van Parkinson
Unsaturated fatty acids have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties that may help stave off neurodegenerative diseases, senior author Dr. M. M. B. Bretelar, from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues note.

Parkinson Centrum Nijmegen krijgt predikaat ’excellent’
Het Parkinson Centrum Nijmegen (ParC) is door de National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) uitgeroepen tot “Center of Excellence”. ParC voldoet hiermee officieel aan de hoge kwaliteitseisen van de NPF en is vooralsnog het enige centrum in Nederland dat door deze organisatie wordt erkend.

Spectaculair herstel hersenweefsel bij overleden patiënt

Continuous Levodopa Dosing May Reduce PD Motor Complications

Vaccine Reduces Alpha-Synuclein Build-Up in Murine Parkinson's Model

Nieuwe neurologische en psychologische inzichten Universiteit Gent

Novartis and Orion Pharma Launch First Parkinson's Disease Study to Explore Potential of Delaying Motor Complications With Stalevo (29-10-04)

Clinics in Germany, the United States and Spain are testing a promising new cell treatment for Parkinson's that has eradicated major symptoms of the disease in eight patients. (22-10-03)