1st February 2010 - New research

THE WORLD'S HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Movement Disorders [2010] Jan 27 [Epub ahead of print] (J.Linder, H.Stenlund, L.Forsgren) Complete abstract

The incidence of Parkinson's Disease is the rate at which people are being newly diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. The world's highest incidence of Parkinson's Disease has been found to occur in Sweden. The incidence rate is 22.5 per 100,000. In a country the size of the U.S. this equates to 67,000 people being newly diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease every single year. Exceptionally high levels of Parkinson's Disease are usually found to be due to toxicity. However, in Sweden there is no such apparent cause. Sweden has a high life expectancy. Japan has the highest life expectancy. In both countries there has been a recent escalation in the rates of Parkinson's Disease, most probably due to people living longer in those countries. This suggests that there could soon be a major increase in the number of people with Parkinson's Disease due to increased life expectancy in other countries as well.  For every person that has Parkinson's Disease, 10 people alive right now were considered likely to develop it. With increasing life expectancies that number could be  far higher. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

23rd January 2010 - New research

THE AMERICAN PREVALENCE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Neuroepidemiology [2010] 34 (3) : 143-151 .Annals of  Neurology [2009] 66 (6) : 792-798 (Wright Willis A, Evanoff BA, Lian M, Criswell SR, Racette BA.) Complete abstract

The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in the U.S.A. has been found to differ enormously according to location, age and race. The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in some counties was found to be nearly 12 times higher than in other counties. Urban areas were more affected than rural areas. Elsewhere, the opposite is usually true. Parkinson's Disease is far from being evenly spread across the U.S.A.. The study revealed a concentration of Parkinson's Disease in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the U.S.A.. Nebraska was previously shown to be the worst affected Complete abstract. In the over 65s there was found to be a prevalence in some areas of 1 in 7, making it in those places a common medical disorder. Whites were affected with Parkinson's Disease about twice as much as Blacks and Asians, though this difference is progressively decreasing, especially between Blacks and Whites. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

19th January 2010 - New research

PYRIDOXINE FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Annals of  Neurology [2009] 66 (6) : 792-798 (Elstner M, Morris CM, Heim K, Lichtner P, Bender A, Mehta D, Schulte C, Sharma M, Hudson G, Goldwurm S, Giovanetti A, Zeviani M, Burn DJ, McKeith IG, Perry RH, Jaros E, Krüger R, Wichmann HE, Schreiber S, Campbell H, Wilson JF, Wright AF, Dunlop M, Pistis G, Toniolo D, Chinnery PF, Gasser T, Klopstock T, Meitinger T, Prokisch H, Turnbull DM.) Complete abstract

An increased risk of Parkinson's Disease has been found for the gene for Pyridoxal kinase. Pyridoxal kinase is an enzyme. Enzymes  are chemicals naturally produced by the body that turn one substance in to another in the body. Pyridoxal kinase  ultimately turns the Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) via pyridoxal in to pyridoxal phosphate. This is why people need to consume vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in order to produce pyridoxal phosphate. Pyridoxal phosphate (and therefore pyridoxine) is very important for Parkinson's Disease because it is essential for making use of L-dopa. So without pyridoxine and pyridoxal phosphate, L-dopa is virtually useless. L-dopa simply could not form dopamine. It is therefore not surprising that a disturbance in the gene that makes pyridoxal phosphate can make somebody more likely to develop Parkinson's Disease. Pyridoxine was actually one of the first means of treating Parkinson's Disease. In the 1940's pyridoxine was independently being used in the U.S.S.R. and in the U.S.A.. However, large quantities of pyridoxine (30mg or more) can have a detrimental effect, because it breaks down L-dopa in drug form before it is used. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

7th January 2010 - New research

WELL WATER AS A CAUSE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Environmental Health Perspectives [2009] 117 (12) : 1912-1918 (Gatto NM, Cockburn M, Bronstein J, Ritz B, Manthripragada AD) Complete abstract

Investigators have hypothesized that consuming pesticide-contaminated well water plays a role in Parkinson's Disease, and several previous epidemiology studies support this hypothesis. Researchers investigated whether consuming water from private wells located in areas with documented historical pesticide use was associated with an increased risk. They separately examined six pesticides (diazinon, chlorpyrifos, propargite, paraquat, dimethoate, and methomyl) from among 26 chemicals selected for their potential to pollute groundwater or for their relevance to Parkinson's Disease, and because at least 10% of their population was exposed to them. People with Parkinson's Disease were more likely to have consumed private well water and to have consumed it on average 4.3 years longer than normal. High levels of three of the pesticides (methomyl, chlorpyrifos, propargite) resulted in a 70% to 90% increase in the risk of Parkinson's Disease. The study demonstrated that consuming well water presumably contaminated with pesticides can increase the likelihood of Parkinson's Disease. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

19th December 2009 - New research

THE EFFECT OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE ON DRIVING ABILITY

Neurology [2009] 73 (24) : 2112-2119 (Uc EY, Rizzo M, Johnson AM, Dastrup E, Anderson SW, Dawson JD.) Complete abstract

Overall, drivers with Parkinson's Disease had poorer road safety when driving, when compared to people that did not have Parkinson's Disease. However, there was found to be considerable variability among the drivers with Parkinson's Disease. Some of them performed normally, or even better than normal. Drivers with Parkinson's Disease committed more safety errors compared to controls. Over three quarters of people with Parkinson's Disease committed more errors. However, the number of errors was not much greater (only 1.26 times more).  Lane violations were the most common error category, but that was the same for people that did not have Parkinson's Disease. Older age made errors more likely in Parkinson's Disease.  Familiarity with the local driving environment made differences in some error categories insignificant. Although it is often assumed that Parkinson's Disease makes driving more difficult, overall it does not reduce driving ability by much in most people, and in some not at all. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

18th December 2009 - New book

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Anthony D.Mosley, Deborah S.Romaine, Ali M.D.Samii

Publisher's description : This encyclopedia by a neurologist specializing in Parkinson's disease and a medical writer provides an overview of the illness. More than 600 alphabetical entries with cross-references describe all aspects of the disease. Entries range in length from one paragraph to several pages and include drugs used in treatment, surgical procedures, anatomy and physiology, related conditions, practical considerations such as coping with diagnosis, home safety, biographies, and organizations. Two appendixes list organizations and resources and state Medicaid offices. A bibliography of books and articles and an index complete the work. Click here for more details.  For more books concerning Parkinson's Disease go to Parkinson's Disease Books.

3rd December 2009 - New research

PARKINSON'S DISEASE WAS DESCRIBED IN 1690

Parkinsonism Related Disorders [2009] (D.Bereczki) Complete abstract

A detailed description of Parkinson's Disease has been discovered that dates from 1690. That is over a century before the first claimed formal description in 1817 by James Parkinson, after whom Parkinson's Disease was subsequently named. Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, most frequently tremor, have been described since ancient times and throughout history. For more information go to The History of Parkinson's Disease. However, the first systematic description of Parkinson's Disease is usually attributed to James Parkinson in 1817. 127 years before James Parkinson described it, the Hungarian doctor Ferenc Pápai Páriz (1649-1716) described in his medical text Pax Corporis not only individual signs of Parkinson's Disease, but all four cardinal signs : tremor, bradykinesia, rigor and postural instability. The book was published in Hungarian, which because it is understood by so few people, has resulted in his description of Parkinson's Disease being ignored in the medical literature all this time. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

26th November 2009 - New research

DOPAMINERGIC TRANSPLANTS FAIL IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Annals of Neurology [2009] 66 (5) : 591-596 (Olanow CW, Kordower JH, Lang AE, Obeso JA.) Complete abstract

For years, cell-based therapies that involve the transplantation of dopaminergic cells in to the brain have attracted considerable interest as possible treatments for Parkinson's Disease. However, all of the double-blind, sham-controlled, studies have failed to meet their hoped for efficacy. Transplantation of dopamine cells derived from the fetal mesencephalon is also associated with a potentially disabling form of dyskinesia that persists even after withdrawal of L-dopa. In addition, disability in advanced patients primarily results from features that are not primarily due to insufficient dopamine. These features are not adequately controlled with dopaminergic therapies and are thus unable to respond to dopaminergic transplants. Implanted dopaminergic neurons have also recently been found to contain Lewy bodies, which are signs of cell damage, suggesting that even after transplantation they are dysfunctional and may have been affected by the Parkinson's Disease process. Although stem cell therapies have been tried in Parkinson's Disease based on the claim that there is a massive loss of dopamine producing cells in Parkinson's Disease, not a single study has ever shown this to be true. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

18th November 2009 - New research

THE EFFECT OF MOBILE PHONE USE ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Ugeskrift for laeger [2009] 171 (45) : 3268-3271 (Schüz J, Waldemar G, Olsen JH, Johansen C.) Complete abstract

Researchers assessed the effect of the use of mobile phones on neurological disorders including Parkinson's Disease. It has long been suspected that mobile phones have a detrimental effect on the nervous system. In a huge study, they found that mobile phone use increased the likelihood of migraine and vertigo by 10% to 20%. However,  long term use of mobile phones actually reduced rather than increased the likelihood of Parkinson's Disease and dementia by 30% to 40%. The researchers offer no reason why this might be. Mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiation. The use of electromagnetic radiation has recently been introduced for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. It involves the use of a low level electromagnetic field in order to lessen the symptoms. For more information go to Magnetic Therapy. If long term mobile phone use causes any lessening of Parkinson's Disease, given the similarity of their effects, mobile phone use is likely to be acting unintentionally by precisely the same means as magnetic therapy. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

13th November 2009 - News release

MICHAEL J.FOX FOUNDATION FUNDS FOUR NEW APPROACHES FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

The Michael J.Fox Foundation has funded four novel approaches for dealing with problems caused by Parkinson's Disease. (1) Anders Björklund is assessing the  hypothesis that the brain’s Serotonin system plays a role in dyskinesia, the excessive movements brought on by long-term dopamine replacement therapy. The team is initiating a pilot study of Eltoprazine, a medicine capable of blocking inappropriate release of dopamine from serotonin terminals. (2) Daniel Weintraub will conduct the first placebo-controlled trial of an agent to treat impulse control disorders associated with the use of dopamine agonists. Naltrexone, which blocks opioid receptors, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of alcohol dependence. It has been shown to be beneficial for pathological gambling. (3) Alvaro Pascual-Leone and his colleagues will test the potential of non-invasive repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation in order to improve symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease symptoms. (4) Daniel Tarsy is investigating whether group singing can improve the decreased voice volume experienced by many people who have Parkinson's Disease. For more information go to the News release. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

3rd November 2009 - News release

STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE TREMORS

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) is claimed to offer a less invasive way to eliminate tremors caused by Parkinson's Disease than Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to a long-term study. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a precise form of radiation therapy used primarily to treat tumors and other abnormalities of the brain. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a non-surgical procedure that delivers a single high-dose of precisely-targeted radiation using highly focused gamma-ray or x-ray beams that converge on the specific area or areas of the brain where the abnormality resides. For more information go to Stereotactic Surgery. In a long term study amongst hard-to-treat tremors caused by Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremors, 84% of patients had significant or complete resolution of tremors. In patients with Parkinson’s disease, 83% had near or complete tremor resolution, while those with Essential Tremor had 87% tremor resolution. For more information go to the News release. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

2nd November 2009 - New book

THE MUHAMMAD ALI PARKINSON CENTER 100 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT PARKINSON DISEASE

Abraham Lieberman

Publisher's description : Whether you're a newly diagnosed patient, or are a friend or relative of someone suffering from Parkinson Disease, this book offers help. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center 100 Questions & Answers About Parkinson Disease, Second Edition gives you authoritative, practical answers to your questions about treatment options, quality of life, and sources of support. Written by an internationally recognized expert on Parkinson Disease, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the physical and emotional turmoil of this devastating disease. All the books royalties are donated to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. Click here for more details. For more books concerning Parkinson's Disease go to Parkinson's Disease Books.

24th October 2009 - New research

GAUCHER'S DISEASE AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE

New England Journal of Medicine [2009] 361 (17) : 1651-1661 (Sidransky et al) Complete abstract

Gaucher's Disease has been found to make Parkinson's Disease five times more likely.  Gaucher's Disease is an inherited metabolic disorder in which harmful quantities of a substance called glucocerebroside can accumulate in the spleen, liver, lungs, bone marrow, and the brain. Glucocerebroside accumulates because glucocerebrosidase (the chemical that breaks it down) is deficient in Gaucher's Disease. It is named after the French doctor Philippe Gaucher, who originally described it. For more information go to Gaucher's Disease. A lot of people are carriers for Gaucher's Disease without realising it. Around 1 in 100 people are a carrier for Gaucher's Disease. In Ashkenazi Jews as many as 1 in 15 are a carrier. Those people that had Gaucher's Disease and Parkinson's Disease developed Parkinson's Disease at an earlier age, were more likely to have affected relatives, and were more likely to have atypical clinical manifestations. Although it is known what causes Gaucher's Disease, it is not known how that can also cause the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

23rd October 2009 - New book

DEEP WITHIN THE BRAIN : LIVING WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Helmut Dubiel, Hubert H. Fernandez

Publisher's description : At the age of forty-six, philosopher and university professor Helmut Dubiel was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In the early stages of his sickness, fearing censure and ostracism, Dubiel did his utmost to conceal his condition. But when his symptoms became too obvious to camouflage, he was obliged to admit defeat and decided to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery. In this fascinating book, Dubiel describes the course of his illness with a philosopher's aplomb, ennobling his personal experience with intellectual flair and scientific insight as he makes connections between his own medical drama and some of today's most significant global tendencies.  Click here for more details.  For more books concerning Parkinson's Disease go to Parkinson's Disease Books.

19th October 2009 - New research

THE EFFECT OF MAO INHIBITORS ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE
                                                                                                                                                                       Cochrane Database of systematic reviews [2009] 4 : CD006661 (R.Caslake, A.Macleod, N.Ives, R.Stowe, C.Counsell) Complete abstract

Researchers compared the effect of MAO-B inhibitors on Parkinson's Disease with the use of dopaminergic drugs. MAO-B inhibitors that are commonly used with Parkinson's Disease are Selegiline (Deprenyl) and Rasagiline (Azilect). MAO-B inhibitors help to sustain the levels of dopamine. For more information go to MAO inhibitors. Those people taking MAO-B inhibitors were far more likely to require additional treatments than those taking L-dopa or dopamine agonists. MAO-B inhibitors were sufficient on their own in very few people. MAO-B inhibitors caused far fewer motor fluctuations than L-dopa, but a bit more than dopamine agonists. Withdrawals due to adverse events were far less common with MAO-B inhibitors than with dopamine agonists. The authors concluded that MAO-B inhibitors are one option for the early treatment of Parkinson's Disease, but that they have weaker symptomatic effects than L-dopa and dopamine agonists. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

15th October 2009 - News release

THE EFFECT OF COGANE ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Phytopharm have claimed that Cogane has reversed the effects of Parkinson's Disease. However, the study did not measure the long term effects, and the full details of the clinical trial have not been made available for analysis. For more information go to their News release. Cogane, which can be taken orally, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to stimulate the release of GDNF. GDNF can indirectly stimulate the formation of dopamine, the substance whose insufficiency causes Parkinson's Disease.  For more information go to Cogane.  However, GDNF deficiency has never been shown to be the cause of Parkinson's Disease. GDNF was found to be ineffective in clinical trials in humans. Although Phytopharm claim that Cogane can reverse the effects of Parkinson's Disease, Cogane has never reversed the effects of Parkinson's Disease in anyone. The efficacy study was only carried out on Macaque monkeys. Macaque monkeys do not have Parkinson's Disease. What is described as Parkinson's Disease in monkeys is usually only drug induced. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

14th October 2009 - News report

AGENT ORANGE ACCEPTED AS A CAUSE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  has acknowledged Agent Orange as a cause of Parkinson's Disease.  For more information go to the News report. Agent Orange is the name given to a herbicide used by the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War as a means of warfare. For more information go to Agent Orange. In practical terms, those Veterans who served in the Vietnam War and who have Parkinson's Disease will not have to prove an association between their Parkinson's Disease and their military service in Vietnam. This acknowledgement simplifies and speeds up any application they make for benefits. For their web site go to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Their acknowledgement of an association is based entirely on the "Veterans and Agent Orange Update 2008", which can be read here. Although the report claims to "link" Agent Orange to Parkinson's Disease, it fails to provide any evidence at all showing that Agent Orange had caused Parkinson's Disease. There have been over 300 published studies on the effects of Agent Orange, yet none of them have shown that Agent Orange has ever caused Parkinson's Disease. Toxic exposure can not begin to have an effect on Parkinson's Disease years or decades after toxic exposure as is often claimed. It can occur in almost anyone without toxicity being the cause. In order to refer to this article on its own click here.

11th October 2009 - New research

DUAL LAYER L-DOPA FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Clinical Neuropharmacology [2009] 32 (4) : 189-192 (Hinson VK, Goetz CG, Leurgans S, Fan W, Nguyen T, Hsu A.) Complete abstract