November 26, 2007 by mike.

Dr. Pahan and colleagues from Rush, along with researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, and Yale University, New Haven, have successfully used a peptide to reverse biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes in mice with Parkinson’s Disease and have had success in preventing the disease from progressing.

Pahan explained that after intraperitoneal injection (injection into the abdomen of the mouse) this peptide enters into the brain and blocks protein NF-kB and other associated toxic molecules, and goes on to protect neurons, normalize neurotransmitter levels, and improve motor functions in mice with PD. Peptides, proteins and certain drugs usually do not enter into the brain after crossing the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, at present, peptides, proteins or genes are injected into the brain, which is risky and painful. “To overcome this problem, we have added a tag in front of that peptide that is helping the peptide enter into the brain. Therefore, there is no need to inject these peptides into the brain. This is an important discovery.

Understanding how the disease works is important to developing effective drugs that protect the brain and stop the progression of PD,” Pahan said. “Now we need to translate this finding to the clinic and test this peptide in patients with PD. If these results can be replicated in PD patients, it would be a remarkable advance in the treatment of this devastating neurodegenerative disease.”

Approximately 1.2 million Americans and Canadians suffer from Parkinson’s, a a chronic, progressive and degenerative disease of the central nervous system that affects motor skills and speech.. The study was supported by grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the National Institutes of Health.

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November 18, 2007 by mike.

Turns out the folks from the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida know their way around a kitchen as well as they know their way around the nervous system.

Continue to 2nd paragraph Karen Voyles/The Gainesville Sun A member of the Chrome Divas women’s motorcycle riding organization dishes up a bowl of chili Saturday afternoon during the 6th Annual Chili Cookoff at Gainesville Harley-Davidson and Buell for charity. enlarge On Saturday, UF’s Team Neuro won the 6th Annual Chili Cookoff for charity at Gainesville Harley-Davidson and Buell. It was a fitting win for the first-time team because the proceeds from this year’s contest will go to benefit research and education for Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system.

Chuck Dalba, marketing director for the Harley dealership, said the chili cook-off is a fun way for Harley-Davidson enthusiasts to raise money, and that the benefiting charity changes each year. So does the judge. This year it was Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, who was asked to sample each entry and determine a winner.

Among the 10 teams that entered the cook-off this year was the defending champion, the Chrome Divas - an international all-female riding organization. Their entry this year was Naked Chili, “but we aren’t going to tell you how we made it or how we think it should be eaten,” said local Chrome Divas director Karen Chandler.

Each team was instructed to make at least three gallons of their favorite chili. The public was invited to buy samples and participate in other fundraisers, like a raffle for a new Harley worth about $7,000 that the dealership donated.

Mark Hanson, who rode over from Jacksonville to sample chili before heading to a post-football game party with friends, said there is a reason why he and other bikers go out of their way to participate in fundraisers like the chili cook-off. “It could be us or someone we love that needs help one day from one of the groups that gets the money from these fundraisers,” Hanson said.

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November 18, 2007 by mike.

Los Angeles — A U.S. study suggests over-the-counter medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, may reduce a person’s risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The study involved 579 men and women, half of whom had Parkinson’s. The participants were asked if they had taken aspirin and if they had taken non-aspirin NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, once a week or more at any point in their life for at least a month.

The study found regular users of non-aspirin NSAIDs reduced their risk of Parkinson’s disease by as much as 60 percent compared with non-regular users and non-users. Women who were regular users of aspirin reduced their risk of Parkinson’s disease by 40 percent.

“Our findings suggest NSAIDs are protective against Parkinson’s disease, with a particularly strong protective effect among regular users of non-aspirin NSAIDs, especially those who reported two or more years of use,” said study author Angelika Wahner of the UCLA School of Public Health. “Interestingly, aspirin only benefited women. It may be that men are taking lower doses of aspirin for heart problems, while women may be using higher doses for arthritis or headaches.”

The study is reported in the journal Neurology.

© 2007 United Press International.

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November 18, 2007 by mike.

Researchers have successfully used a peptide to reverse biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and report success in preventing the disease from progression.

“This could be a new approach to halt disease progression in PD patients,” said study author Kali Pahan, PhD, professor of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Pahan and colleagues from Rush, along with researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, and Yale University, New Haven, published these findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, November 13, 2007.

The authors have shown that one protein, NF-kB, is increased in the midbrain of PD patients and mice with PD pathology, and the researchers used a novel peptide (small proteins) to block this protein in mice with PD-like symptoms.

Pahan explained that after intraperitoneal injection (injection into the abdomen of the mouse) this peptide enters into the brain and blocks protein NF-kB and other associated toxic molecules, and goes on to protects neurons, normalizes neurotransmitter levels, and improves motor functions in mice with PD. Peptides, proteins and certain drugs usually do not enter into the brain after crossing the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, at present, peptides, proteins or genes are injected into the brain which is risky and painful. “To overcome this problem, we have added a tag in front of that peptide that is helping the peptide enter into the brain. Therefore, there is no need to inject these peptides into the brain. This is an important discovery.

Understanding how the disease works is important to developing effective drugs that protect the brain and stop the progression of PD,” Pahan said. “Now we need to translate this finding to the clinic and test this peptide in patients with PD. If these results can be replicated in PD patients, it would be a remarkable advance in the treatment of this devastating neurodegenerative disease.”

Parkinson’s is a slowly progressive disease that affects a small area of cells within the mid-brain known as the substantia nigra. Gradual degeneration of these cells causes a reduction in a vital chemical neurotransmitter, dopamine. The decrease in dopamine results in one or more of the classic signs of Parkinson’s disease that includes: resting tremor on one side of the body; generalized slowness of movement; stiffness of limbs; and gait or balance problems. The cause of the disease is unknown. Both environmental and genetic causes of the disease have been postulated.

Parkinson’s disease affects about 1.2 million patients in the United States and Canada. Although 15 percent of patients are diagnosed before age 50, it is generally considered a disease that targets older adults, affecting one of every 100 persons over the age of 60. This disease appears to be slightly more common in men than women.

This research was supported by grants from Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and National Institutes of Health.

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November 18, 2007 by mike.

A Swedish expert has predicted that the use of stem cells in curing the brain-wasting Parkinson’s disease will be possible within five years.

The Korea Times reported that Olle Lindvall, a professor of Lund University in Sweden and a brain cell therapist, made the prediction on Thursday in Seoul. Lindvall is in the South Korean capital attending a symposium on stem cell research at the Korea University.

Lindvall said Parkinson’s disease, which impairs physical movement and speech, is among the diseases where stem cells can be applied as treatment. He said the clinical trial of this approach can be started within five years as many institutions in the world are now trying to produce dopamine cell from different types of stem cells, including those from animals.

The professor said he has tried transplanting dopamine cells extracted from human fetuses into the brain and saw they can survive. In the technique, the injected stem cells will grow and replace or reinforce damaged cells.

The Swedish professor said there had been previous stem cell research involving Parkinson’s disease patients. The human tissues transplanted to the brain eased the effects of the disease, but did not completely cure it.

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November 2, 2007 by mike.

02 Nov 2007 - Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson’s disease - a breakthrough finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders.

Currently, the main approach for treating Parkinson’s disease is to replace dopamine that’s lost when the cells that produce it die off and cause the disorder. With this new research, however, scientists can better work toward ‘neuroprotective’ therapies - those that actually block dopamine cells from dying off in the first place.

“We believe this work represents a very significant breakthrough in understanding the complicated chemical process that results in Parkinson’s disease,” said William J. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “For the first time, we’ve identified the chemical that triggers the events in the brain that cause this disorder,” Burke added. “We believe these findings can be used to develop therapies that can actually stop or slow this process.”

Parkinson’s disease occurs when some nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce dopamine - a vital chemical that allows smooth, coordinated function of the body’s muscles and movements.

When about 80 percent of these dopamine-producing cells die or are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease begin to appear. These include tremors and shaking, slowness of movement, rigidity and stiffness, and difficulty with balance.

Scientists have long known that a key protein called alpha-synuclein plays a role in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Alpha-synuclein is found throughout the brain - but in some people, the protein clumps together. This causes the death of the dopamine-producing cells, which in turn causes Parkinson’s to develop. The SLU researchers discovered that dopamine itself actually plays a role in destroying the cells that produce it.

In the process that leads to Parkinson’s disease, dopamine is converted into a highly toxic chemical called DOPAL. Using test-tube, cell-culture and animal models, the researchers found that it is DOPAL that causes alpha-synuclein protein in the brain to clump together, which in turn triggers the death of dopamine-producing cells and leads to Parkinson’s.

“This is very exciting,” Burke said. “This is the first time that anyone has ever established that it is a naturally occurring byproduct of dopamine that causes alpha-synuclein to aggregate, or clump together. It’s actually DOPAL that kicks this whole process off and results in Parkinson’s disease.”

Original publication: Acta Neuropathologica 2007.

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November 2, 2007 by mike.

ST. LOUIS (UPI) — U.S. medical scientists said they have identified the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine said their finding might lead to new and far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating of neurological disorders.

Currently, the main approach for treating Parkinson’s disease is to replace dopamine that’s lost when the cells that produce it die, thereby causing the disorder. The researchers said their finding will lead to “neuroprotective” therapies — those that actually block dopamine cells from dying.

“We believe this work represents a very significant breakthrough in understanding the complicated chemical process that results in Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. William Burke, a professor of neurology and the study’s lead author.

“For the first time, we’ve identified the chemical that triggers the events in the brain that cause this disorder,” he said. “We believe these findings can be used to develop therapies that can actually stop or slow this process.”

The research is reported in the early online edition of the journal Acta Neuropathologica.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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