http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-deep-brain-drugs-dont.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 May 2013 09:29:38 EST news288001707 Parkinson's experts across the world have been reporting a remarkable phenomenon—many patients treated with drugs to increase the activity of dopamine in the brain as a therapy for motor symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity are developing new creative talents, including painting, sculpting, writing, and more. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-parkinson-treatment-trigger-creativity.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:15:06 EST news277384495 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time identified why a patient who appears outwardly healthy may develop Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-silent-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:01:21 EST news275047252 A study by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers adds further support to the possibility that increasing levels of the antioxidant urate may protect against Parkinson's disease. In their report published in PNAS Early Edition, the investigators report that mice with a genetic mutation increasing urate levels were protected against the kind of neurodegeneration that underlies Parkinson's disease, while the damage was worse in animals with abnormally low urate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genetic-urate-neurodegeneration-mouse-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:00:01 EST news274959162 Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty walking. It is caused by loss of the neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine (known as dopaminergic neurons). One of the primary goals in Parkinson's disease research is to develop a replacement for dopaminergic neurons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-stem-cell-derived-dopaminergic-neurons-motor.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:00:13 EST news273754334 (HealthDay)—Depression is the most important determinant of the health status of people with Parkinson's disease, according to early findings from a large study of Parkinson's patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-depression-key-factor-health-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:40:01 EST news273339135 (Medical Xpress)—Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson's disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-method-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:52:33 EST news272645528 (HealthDay)—People with Alzheimer's disease who take the antipsychotic drug risperidone (Risperdal) to help curb their agitation and aggression may see a return of these troublesome symptoms if they stop taking the medication, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-alzheimer-antipsychotics.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:50:01 EST news269790397 Walking to a beat could be useful for patients needing rehabilitation, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. The findings, highlighted in the August issue of PLOS One, demonstrate that researchers should further investigate the potential of auditory, visual, and tactile cues in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from illnesses like Parkinson's Disease—a brain disorder leading to shaking (tremors) and difficulty walking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-patients-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:03:52 EST news267372222 Use of the antioxidant urate to protect against the neurodegeneration caused by Parkinson's disease appears to rely on more than urate's ability to protect against oxidative damage. In the May issue of the open-access journal PLoS One, researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MGH-MIND) describe experiments suggesting the involvement of a novel mechanism in urate's protection of cultured brain cells against Parkinson's-like damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-urate-parkinson-disease-hints-mechanism.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 23 May 2012 11:51:36 EST news256992690 Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken, associated with VIB and KU Leuven, succeeded in undoing the effect of one of the genetic defects that leads to Parkinson's using vitamin K2. His discovery gives hope to Parkinson's patients. This research was done in collaboration with colleagues from Northern Illinois University (US) and will be published this evening on the website of the authorative journal Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-vitamin-k2-parkinson-patients.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 11 May 2012 09:42:05 EST news255948107 Persistent ocular tremors that prevent eye stability during fixation appear to be common among patients with Parkinson disease (PD) suggesting that precise oculomotor testing could provide an early physiological biomarker for diagnosing PD, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-persistent-ocular-tremors-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:01 EST news253189649 An agent under consideration for use in PET imaging combats neuronal death to relieve Parkinsonian symptoms in animal models, according to a study published on April 2nd in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-heart-gray-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:00:03 EST news252584374 New research suggests weight training for two years significantly improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease compared to other forms of exercise such as stretching and balance exercises. The clinical trial, which compared two forms of exercise for Parkinson's disease, was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-weight-parkinson-symptoms.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:05:41 EST news248634319 (AP) -- The two things that have brought Michael and Roslyn Lieb closer together couldn't be more different: Parkinson's disease and dance, one slowly taking away, the other giving back in ways they never imagined. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-parkinson-unusual-partnership.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:17:45 EST news242464634 A panel of federal medical specialists has unanimously voted that a drug for Parkinson's disease from Teva Pharmaceuticals has not been shown to slow progress of the debilitating neurological disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-fda-panel-unanimously-votes-parkinson.html Medications Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:37:57 EST news238088261 Parkinson disease (PD) is a devastating incurable disease in which degeneration of dopamine neurons in the brainstem leads to tremors and problems with movement and coordination. An increasing proportion of patients appear to be genetically predisposed to disease. Now, two independent research groups have identified a mutation associated with an inherited form of PD. The papers, published by Cell Press in the July 9 issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, provide new insight into the pathogenesis of late-onset PD and present compelling evidence that implicates a novel protein-recycling pathway in neurodegeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-mutation-protein-sorting-gene-linked-parkinson.html Genetics Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:44:14 EST news229868305 (Medical Xpress) -- New data offer hints to why Parkinson's disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-disruption-nerve-cell-chain-contribute.html Neuroscience Thu, 12 May 2011 16:35:13 EST news224436895