http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have exposed the possible function, in the healthy brain, of a mysterious molecule that has been strongly implicated in Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. They made their discovery using a stripped-down experimental system that mimics key aspects of how nerve cells communicate with one another. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveals-probable-role-parkinson-protein.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 01 May 2013 09:09:48 EST news286618171 (Medical Xpress)—NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) and Mayo Clinic researchers have partnered on a study that shows genetic and clinical evidence that therapies targeting the expression of alpha-synuclein—a gene whose function is involved in the development and progression of Parkinson's disease—may accelerate disease progression and increase the risk of physical incapacitation and dementia. If replicated, the findings will have profound implications for therapies under development for Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-genetic-evidence-therapies-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:20:06 EST news283076397 Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered how the most common genetic mutations in familial Parkinson's disease damage brain cells. The study, which published online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could also open up treatment possibilities for both familial Parkinson's and the more common form of Parkinson's that is not inherited. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-scientists-clean-up-snafu-brain-cells.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:18 EST news281520529 Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say overexpression of a protein called alpha-synuclein appears to disrupt vital recycling processes in neurons, starting with the terminal extensions of neurons and working its way back to the cells' center, with the potential consequence of progressive degeneration and eventual cell death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-excess-protein-linked-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:52:55 EST news279471152 (Medical Xpress)—Rice University scientists have discovered a new way to look inside living cells and see the insoluble fibrillar deposits associated with Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rice-window-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:07:29 EST news274950435 (Medical Xpress)—In the battle against aging and age-related neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, a key factor has long appeared to be the toxicity of proteins which tend to aggregate. Recently, scientists at University of Groningen, The Netherlands identified the protein-coding gene TDO2 that encodes for tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase – the enzyme that degrades tryptophan and thereby reduces its levels – as a metabolic regulator of age-related protein toxicity and lifespan in the eukaryotic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The researchers also showed that the regulation of lifespan occurred through evolutionarily conserved genetic pathways. The study demonstrated that TDO2 depletion increases tryptophan levels, while feeding C. elegans with extra L-tryptophan also suppresses toxicity. The researchers conclude that their findings suggest that TDO2 regulates proteotoxicity through tryptophan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-enzymes-aging-tryptophan-metabolism-key.html Medical research Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:00:01 EST news268652991 Researchers in the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a mechanism that appears to underlie the common sporadic (non-familial) form of Parkinson's disease, the progressive movement disorder. The discovery highlights potential new therapeutic targets for Parkinson's and could lead to a blood test for the disease. The study, based mainly on analysis of human brain tissue, was published today in the online edition of Nature Communications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-mechanism-sporadic-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:19:02 EST news267797910 Two studies by neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center suggest that, in the future, colonic tissue obtained during either colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy may be used to predict who will develop Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder of aging that that leads to progressive deterioration of motor function due to loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential to executing movement. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-colonoscopy-flexible-sigmoidoscopy-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:01 EST news256299941 (Medical Xpress) -- Penn researchers have shown that brain tissue from a Parkinson's disease mouse model , as well as synthetically produced disease protein fibrils, injected into young, symptom-free PD mice led to spreading of PD pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-parkinson-protein-disease-animal.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:26:57 EST news253891518 Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson's disease, says a Michigan State University researcher. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-curcumin-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:41:54 EST news251462476 A new study in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease shows for the first time the effects of α-Synuclein (α-syn) gene multiplication on mitochondrial function and susceptibility to oxidative stress in human tissue. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been frequently implicated in the neurodegenerative process that underlies Parkinson's disease, but the basis for this has not been fully understood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-link-mitochondrial-dysfunction-alpha-synuclein-multiplication.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:00:01 EST news237129377 New research suggests that small "seed" amounts of diseased brain proteins can be taken up by healthy neurons and propagated within them to cause neurodegeneration. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 6 issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the mechanisms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and provides a model for discovering early intervention therapeutics that can prevent or slow the devastating loss of neurons that underlies PD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-seeds-destruction-parkinson-disease-diseased.html Neuroscience Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:37:04 EST news237037010 A new study finds that a protein key to Parkinson's disease has likely been mischaracterized. The protein, alpha-synuclein, appears to have a radically different structure in healthy cells than previously thought, challenging existing disease paradigms and suggesting a new therapeutic approach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-clue-parkinson-key-protein.html Medical research Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:01:28 EST news232544567 A small protein called SUMO might prevent the protein aggregations that typify Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study in the July 11, 2011, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-sumo-defeats-protein-aggregates-typify.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:50:22 EST news229607392 Massachusetts General Hospital investigators appear to have found the mechanism behind a previously reported link between the rare genetic condition Gaucher disease and the common neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease. In a report to appear in the July 8 issue of Cell and receiving early online release, they describe how disruption of the molecular pathway that causes Gaucher disease leads to the toxic neuronal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein (α-syn) found in Parkinson's and related disorders. In addition, rising α-syn levels further inhibit the Gaucher's-associated pathway, leading to even more α-syn deposition, a finding that indicates therapies targeting this pathway may be a new option for patients with Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-rare-genetic-disorder-unique-insight.html Genetics Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:14:03 EST news228053599 Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how copper induces misfolding in the protein associated with Parkinson's disease, leading to creation of the fibrillar plaques which characterize the disease. This finding has implications for both the study of Parkinson's progression, as well as for future treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-copper-protein-precursors-parkinson-plaques.html Medical research Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:10:07 EST news227266736