http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The earliest signs of Parkinson's disease can be deceptively mild. The first thing that movie star Michael J. Fox noticed was twitching of the little finger of his left hand. For years, he made light of the apparently harmless tic. But such tremors typically spread, while muscles stiffen up and directed movements take longer to carry out. Research groups led by Armin Giese of LMU Munich and Christian Griesinger at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have developed a chemical compound that slows down the onset and progression of Parkinson's disease in mice. The scientists hope that this approach will give them a way to treat the cause of Parkinson's and so arrest its progress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-parkinson-anle138b-clumping-synunclein-protein.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:06:54 EST news285923169 (Medical Xpress)—Muscular dystrophy is caused by the largest human gene, a complex chemical leviathan that has confounded scientists for decades. Research conducted at the University of Missouri and described this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified significant sections of the gene that could provide hope to young patients and families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-needle-haystack-muscular-dystrophy.html Medical research Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:11:27 EST news278089867 Usually, results from a new study help scientists inch their way toward an answer whether they are battling a health problem or are on the verge of a technological breakthrough. Once in a while, those results give them a giant leap forward. In a preliminary study in a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), University of Missouri scientists showed exactly such a leap using gene therapy to treat muscular dystrophy. The results of the study will be published in the journal Molecular Therapy on Jan. 15, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-quantum-gene-therapy-duchenne-muscular.html Medical research Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:46:25 EST news277469173 Approximately 250,000 people in the United States suffer from muscular dystrophy, which occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, bony or fatty tissue and loses function. Three years ago, University of Missouri scientists found a molecular compound that is vital to curing the disease, but they didn't know how to make the compound bind to the muscle cells. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, MU School of Medicine scientists Yi Lai and Dongsheng Duan have discovered the missing pieces to this puzzle that could ultimately lead to a therapy and, potentially, a longer lifespan for patients suffering from the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-muscular-dystrophy-mystery-mu-scientists.html Medical research Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:04:55 EST news274118671 Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed a key factor controlling damage to brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The discovery could lead to new targets for Parkinson's that may be useful in preventing the actual condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-potential-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:51:33 EST news272566120 The Huntington Study Group (HSG), under the leadership of Ray Dorsey, M.D. with Johns Hopkins Medical and Diana Rosas, M.D. with Massachusetts General Hospital, is conducting a clinical trial in Huntington's disease (HD) throughout the United States and Australia, "A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, study to assess the safety and tolerability, and efficacy of PBT2 in patients with early to mid-stage Huntington's disease" comparing a 100 mg dose or 250 mg dose versus placebo. The HSG is a not-for-profit group of physicians and other clinical researchers who are experienced in the care of HD patients and dedicated to clinical research of the disease. This trial is sponsored by Prana Biotechnology Limited (Melbourne, Australia) and is being managed by the University of Rochester Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-reach2hd-phase-ii-huntington-disease.html Neuroscience Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:51:36 EST news258303082 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from several institutions in the Philadelphia area have banded together to form a team to look into the possible impact a certain type of MicroRNA (miRNA) may have on the neurological aging process in fruit flies. They have, as they report in their paper published in Nature, found that when the miRNA, miR-34 is more active, neuron degradation due to aging is less pronounced than when it is less so or absent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-link-microrna-neurological-aging-fruit.html Medical research Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:30:04 EST news248601098 Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDCs) have been recognized as a source for transplantation because they can contribute to different cell populations in a variety of organs under both normal and pathological conditions. Many BMDC studies have been aimed at repairing damaged brain tissue or helping to restore lost neural function, with much research focused on BMDC transplants to the cerebellum at the back of the brain. In a recent study, a research team from Spain has found that BMDCs, can contribute to a variety of neural cell types in other areas of the brain as well, including the olfactory bulb, because of a mechanism of "plasticity". http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-bone-marrow-derived-cells-differentiate-brain.html Medical research Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:06:43 EST news243533185