There is a new ray of hope for the one million people who suffer from Parkinson's disease. At the University of Iowa, distinguished professor of biomedical sciences Anumantha Kanthasamy has been working for more than ten years to gain a deeper understanding of Parkinson's disease and its
causes. Now, Dr. Kanthasamy has discovered a protein which could be an important key in the search for a treatment and cure for this debilitating disease.
The protein, called kinase-C, targets the dopamine-producing cells in the brain, killing them and causing a drop in dopamine levels. Low dopamine levels are one of the causes of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Kanthasamy states, "We have millions of cells in our brains. In Parkinson's, about 10,000 of these brain cells die; no one knows why." Dopamine is the link in the communication system between our brains and our muscles. Without dopamine, nerves function improperly and the communication breaks down causing a loss in our ability to control our body's movements.
The level of dopamine in our brains drops gradually as we age. In fact, Dr. Kanthasamy states that "everybody has a little Parkinson's in theory." In any older adult, dopamine levels that drop below 60-70 percent will create some Parkinson's-like symptoms. In adults diagnosed with Parkinson's, the dopamine levels continue to drop well below 40 percent causing a marked increase in symptoms such as shakiness, stiffness, fidgeting and jerking.
Kanthasamy states that a patient suffering from Parkinson's could be a "functioning, normal person," if their dopamine levels could be raised back to the 40-50 percent level. They would not need to bring their dopamine levels back to 100 percent. Currently there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, only therapies and medications to treat the symptoms.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Parkinson’s Disease Patients Treated with Autologous Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Improve Their Quality of Life
Eight Parkinson’s Disease patients were treated with their own bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) injected via minimally invasive non-surgical routes and discharged the next morning without complications.
“We show the clinical use of autologous BMSC in PD patients, not in animal tests” leader investigator Dr. Luis Geffner said.
Evaluations with UPDRS, Hoehn & Yahr scale and Schwab & England score showed encouraging improvements such as the graphologic tests performed before and after the trasplant that demonstrated significant differences.
Additionally the total L-dopamine dose could be decreased suggesting that stem cells may enhance endogenous dopamine synthesis. He also explained that they are very cautious and prudent emphasizing that they are not talking about cure but stem cells may possibly be a new tool to complement current treatments and delay the progress either of the illness or its complications such as the side effects of some medication.
This study showing safety and feasibility of autologous adult BMSC transplant in PD patients was presented in Baltimore on October 11th 2009 in the 23rd Annual Symposium of Etiology, Pathogenesis and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and other Movement Disorders organized by the Parkinson Study Group in affiliation with the American Neurological Association and published in September 2009 issue of Movement Disorders, a peer -review journal.
Geffner's team has already transplanted 144 patients suffering from different illnesses or trauma states and many of them have been followed up 5 years showing that autologous adult BMSC neither provoke tumors, immunologic rejection, infections nor arise ethical or religious controversies.
Dr. Geffner has been working in the field of clinical application of stem cells since 2001 and is author and co-author of several papers, lecturer in many meetings and has also founded the stem cells research in Ecuador in July 2004.
He is in charge of the Clinical Research & Regenerative Medicine Department of the University Hospital SHDUG of the state University of Guayaquil, Ecuador (www.stemcellsecuador.com).
Programs in various diseases and trauma states are currently being performed by his team and they expect to have new data to publish in the near future.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
“We show the clinical use of autologous BMSC in PD patients, not in animal tests” leader investigator Dr. Luis Geffner said.
Evaluations with UPDRS, Hoehn & Yahr scale and Schwab & England score showed encouraging improvements such as the graphologic tests performed before and after the trasplant that demonstrated significant differences.
Additionally the total L-dopamine dose could be decreased suggesting that stem cells may enhance endogenous dopamine synthesis. He also explained that they are very cautious and prudent emphasizing that they are not talking about cure but stem cells may possibly be a new tool to complement current treatments and delay the progress either of the illness or its complications such as the side effects of some medication.
This study showing safety and feasibility of autologous adult BMSC transplant in PD patients was presented in Baltimore on October 11th 2009 in the 23rd Annual Symposium of Etiology, Pathogenesis and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and other Movement Disorders organized by the Parkinson Study Group in affiliation with the American Neurological Association and published in September 2009 issue of Movement Disorders, a peer -review journal.
Geffner's team has already transplanted 144 patients suffering from different illnesses or trauma states and many of them have been followed up 5 years showing that autologous adult BMSC neither provoke tumors, immunologic rejection, infections nor arise ethical or religious controversies.
Dr. Geffner has been working in the field of clinical application of stem cells since 2001 and is author and co-author of several papers, lecturer in many meetings and has also founded the stem cells research in Ecuador in July 2004.
He is in charge of the Clinical Research & Regenerative Medicine Department of the University Hospital SHDUG of the state University of Guayaquil, Ecuador (www.stemcellsecuador.com).
Programs in various diseases and trauma states are currently being performed by his team and they expect to have new data to publish in the near future.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Ghrelin hormone "can boost resistance" to Parkinson's
Ghrelin can boost a person's resistance to Parkinson's disease, it has been discovered.
The importance of dopamine in regards to Parkinson's disease has been addressed by researchers in the US.
It is a widely-held understanding that the degeneration of dopamine neurons in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra - which is responsible for dopamine production - leads to a worsening of conditions.
This can lead to an increased difficulty in walking, restricted movements, a lack of appetite, periods of motionlessness and notable head and limb tremors, according to scientists on the project at the Yale School of Medicine.
Tamas Horvath, the chair of the facility and professor of comparative medicine, explained that he and his team discovered that ghrelin is responsible for directly activating the brain's dopamine calls.
He continued: "Because this hormone originates from the stomach, it is circulating normally in the body, so it could easily be used to boost resistance to Parkinson's or it could be used to slow the development of the disease."
Earlier this month, it was discovered that red tomatoes contain a lot of ghrelin, as well as making a person feel fuller quicker.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
The importance of dopamine in regards to Parkinson's disease has been addressed by researchers in the US.
It is a widely-held understanding that the degeneration of dopamine neurons in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra - which is responsible for dopamine production - leads to a worsening of conditions.
This can lead to an increased difficulty in walking, restricted movements, a lack of appetite, periods of motionlessness and notable head and limb tremors, according to scientists on the project at the Yale School of Medicine.
Tamas Horvath, the chair of the facility and professor of comparative medicine, explained that he and his team discovered that ghrelin is responsible for directly activating the brain's dopamine calls.
He continued: "Because this hormone originates from the stomach, it is circulating normally in the body, so it could easily be used to boost resistance to Parkinson's or it could be used to slow the development of the disease."
Earlier this month, it was discovered that red tomatoes contain a lot of ghrelin, as well as making a person feel fuller quicker.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
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