Tag Archives: Parkinson’s disease

Health, Medical, Research, Science

A drug used for treating diabetes could combat Parkinson’s

RESEARCH

A DIABETES drug could be a breakthrough treatment for stopping Parkinson’s disease in its tracks, a new study suggests.

People with Parkinson’s who took Exenatide, which has been used to treat Type 2 diabetes since 2005, for around a year had better motor skills than those who took a placebo.

The results suggest the drug could halt decline in Parkinson’s patients rather than just relieving symptoms.

In the study, researchers from University College London followed 60 Parkinson’s patients who injected themselves once a week with either Exenatide or a placebo, in addition to their regular medications.

After the treatment, those who took the drug had improved their motor function – measures such as tremors, agility and speech – while those who took the placebo declined.

In diabetes, Exenatide works by activating hormone receptors in the pancreas to stimulate the release of insulin.

But the same receptors exist in the brain, and scientists believe activating them can boost dopamine function and stop inflammation. In Parkinson’s, dopamine-producing cells become damaged, so preventing this could help stop the progression of the disease.

The research, which has been published in The Lancet medical journal, was welcomed by Parkinson’s UK. A spokesperson for the organisation said: ‘These results could build upon an earlier, smaller trial and offer encouragement that diabetes treatments could provide new treatments for Parkinson’s.’

 

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Britain, Health, Medical, Research, Science

Findings suggest the use of pomegranate could halt Alzheimer’s…

MEDICAL RESEARCH

British scientists have said that pomegranates could help stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating illness of the brain.

They claim a chemical compound in the fruit could prevent inflammation which destroys brain cells.

The findings raise hope that punicalagin could now be used in a drug to prevent or treat the condition, while the hunt for a cure continues. Treatments could also benefit sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease in the future, because any resulting drug could help to combat inflammation involved in these conditions too.

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Pomegranates have been used for centuries in Middle Eastern folk medicine and are said to be effective against heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), and some cancers, including prostate. The breakthrough shows that punicalagin can inhibit inflammation in specialised brain cells known as micrologia. This inflammation triggers the destruction of brain cells, which makes Alzheimer’s progressively worse.

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield along with colleagues at the University of Freiburg in Germany used brain cells from rats to test their findings.

Study leader Dr Olumayokun Olajide, of Huddersfield’s Department of Pharmacy, is now looking into how much pomegranate extract would be effective in a drug. He pointed out that juice products which are 100 per cent pomegranate contain approximately 3.4 per cent punicalagin. Most of the antioxidant compounds are found in the outer skin of the fruit.

Dr Olajide, added: ‘We do know that regular intake and regular consumption of pomegranate has a lot of health benefits – including prevention of neuro-inflammation related to dementia.’

Although the link has yet to be scientifically proven, pomegranate may be useful for treating inflammation in other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and cancer, not just neuro-inflammation of the brain.

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Britain, Health, Medical, Research, Science

‘Teardrop’ MRI test for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease…

A BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY

Scientists are developing a ‘teardrop’ test that could help identify people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.

Powerful MRI scans reveal that patients with the disease do not have a distinctive teardrop mark in their brains – something observed in healthy people.

The discovery could help doctors to diagnose the degenerative brain disorder and track its progress.

Approximately 127,000 Britons, mostly aged 60 and over, are known to have Parkinson’s.

The condition destroys brain cells producing the chemical messenger dopamine in the part of the brain that controls movement. The disease can also cause memory loss.

Researchers at Nottingham University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust believe they have found a biological marker that shows the presence of the disease in the brain.

Using imaging techniques, they compared the brains of Parkinson’s patients with those of healthy people, focusing on nigrosomes, clusters of dopamine-rich cells in part of the brain.

The findings, first published in the journal Neurology, showed that a telltale teardrop mark in the brains of healthy people was missing in Parkinson’s sufferers.

Professor Penny Gowland, who was involved in the study, called it ‘a breakthrough discovery’.

Researchers plan to develop a test that could be adapted to standard MRI scans.

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