Latest Dopamine Stories

Metabolism management could be key Abraham Kovoor was studying a brain protein, called RGS9 2, that he had previously related to the involuntary, random and repetitive body movements that are side effects of drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. While studying these side effects, which are called dyskinesia, Kovoor, an assistant professor in the University of Rhode Island's College of Pharmacy, discovered that RGS9 2 also plays a role in regulating body weight....

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – A new strategy in treating Parkinson patients may help calm tremors and help people live a more normal life. The key -- stabilizing the cell’s power-generating center, the mitochondria. Mitochondria are damaged in Parkinson’s Disease (PD), leading to loss of dopaminergic neurons and degeneration of brain function. Taking advantage of the fact that viruses often stabilize mitochondria in order to ensure survival of the cells they infect, a team led by John...

A brain cell type found where habits are formed and movement is controlled has receptors that work like computer processors to translate regular activities into habits, researchers report. "Habits, for better or worse, basically define who we are," said Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, Co-Director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at Georgia Health Sciences University. Habits also provide mental freedom and flexibility by enabling many activities to be on autopilot while the brain focuses...

Stabilizing the cell's power-generating center protects against Parkinson's disease (PD) in a rat model, according to a report published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org). Mitochondria—the energy production center of cells—are damaged in PD, leading to loss of dopaminergic neurons and degeneration of brain function. Taking advantage of the fact that viruses often stabilize mitochondria in order to ensure survival of the cells they infect, a team led...

Researchers convert astrocytes directly into dopamine-producing nerve cells of the midbrain In efforts to find new treatments for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have directly reprogrammed astrocytes, the most plentiful cell type in the central nervous system, into dopamine-producing neurons. PD is marked by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Dopamine is a brain chemical important in...

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceregene, Inc. reported today that it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2b trial of CERE-120, a gene therapy product expressing the neurturin (NRTN) gene for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This Phase 2b study enrolled 51 patients at 11 medical centers throughout the United States. CERE-120 is comprised of an AAV vector intended to provide constant, sustained expression of neurturin (NRTN), a neurotrophic factor shown to...

[ Watch the Video ] Test is based on the difficulty that these parkinsonian C. elegans worms have in switching from swimming to crawling Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a simple test, using dopamine-deficient worms, for identifying drugs that may help people with Parkinson's disease. The worms are able to evaluate as many as 1,000 potential drugs a year. The researchers have received federal funding that could increase that to one million drug tests a...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- No drug has been shown to improve the loss of the ability to move muscles voluntarily, until now. A new drug called pridopidine stabilizes dopamine signaling in areas of the brain that control movement and coordination. The findings were published online in the November 7 issue of The Lancet Neurology. "Pridopidine has the potential to complement available treatments by improving a different range of motor deficits," study authors were quoted as saying....

[ Watch the Video ] Eliminating specific neurotransmitter may improve motor function A team of researchers at The University of Western Ontario has demonstrated that elimination of one of the neurotransmitters in the part of the brain associated with Parkinson's disease may improve brain function without major adverse effects. The research has been published in the November edition of the prestigious journal PLoS Biology. Marco Prado, Vania Prado and a team of researchers at the...

A team of researchers at The University of Western Ontario has demonstrated that elimination of one of the neurotransmitters in the part of the brain associated with Parkinson's disease may improve brain function without major adverse effects. The research is published November 8 in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology. Marco Prado, Vania Prado and a team of researchers at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Robarts Research Institute used unique genetically modified...