WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) — Four indicators, or “biomarkers,” found in cerebrospinal fluid can help differentiate patients with Alzheimer’s disease from those with other forms of dementia, and a different biomarker can distinguish patients with Parkinson’s disease from those with parkinsonian disorders, researchers say.

Overlapping symptoms, especially in the early stages, can make it difficult to distinguish between regular Parkinson’s disease and atypical Parkinsonism, and also between Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, the study authors explained.

The investigators identified the five biomarkers by analyzing cerebrospinal fluid samples from 453 patients with Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s disease with dementia, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

“Together with earlier published data, our results indicate that these five [cerebrospinal fluid] biomarkers might have clinical value in the differential diagnosis of dementia and/or parkinsonism,” concluded Dr. Sara Hall, of Skane University Hospital in Sweden, and colleagues.

The study was published online Aug. 27 in the journal Archives of Neurology.

The findings represent “a significant step forward, demonstrating how a relatively modest panel of robust [cerebrospinal fluid] protein biomarkers can categorize dementias and parkinsonian syndromes on the basis of pathology rather than clinical/behavioral changes,” Dr. Richard Perrin, of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

The use of these indicators in cerebrospinal fluid could improve the efficiency of clinical trials and speed up the development and evaluation of new treatments for neurological diseases, Perrin concluded.

— Robert Preidt

Copyright 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Archives of Neurology, news release, Aug. 27, 2012

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Discovery May Improve Diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

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PHILADELPHIA Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine will receive $11.9 million over the next five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for the Penn Udall Center for Parkinsons Disease (PD) research. This grant is a renewal of an NINDS funded PD center that successfully completed its research program over the last five years.

Parkinsons is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, second only to Alzheimer’s disease in the number of people affected. Estimates suggest that approximately 1,000,000 Americans have PD.

Cognitive impairment, executive dysfunction and dementia add to the burden of PD and increase mortality, but the underlying basis of dementia in PD is unclear. There are no effective disease modifying therapies. Despite important research advances, the exact causes of PD, Parkinsons with dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) are unknown. To address this, a NINDS Morris K. Udall Parkinsons Disease Research Center of Excellence was launched at Penn in 2007.

This renewal for years six through ten of the Penn Udall Center builds on recent progress advancing researchers understanding of the progression of PDD from normal cognition to cognitive impairment, executive dysfunction and dementia in PDD, and disease progression in DLB, in addition to central nervous system degeneration mediated by progressive accumulations of pathological alpha-synuclein.

Recent Penn Udall Center studies raise the provocative, but highly plausible possibility that the progression of PD/PDD/DLB is linked to the cell-to-cell spread of pathological alpha-synuclein. Therefore, the overarching goals of the Penn Udall Center are to explore mechanisms of disease progression and alpha-synuclein transmission through collaborations between basic and translational research projects that work with each of the cores to implement the mission of the Penn Udall Center in the renewal period.

“The Penn Udall Center will elucidate mechanisms of cognitive impairment, executive dysfunction and dementia in Parkinsons Disease as well as mechanisms of neurodegeneration that are mediated by the transmission of alpha-synuclein pathologies, said Center Director John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, director of Penn’s Institute on Aging and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine. By using new approaches and model systems to achieve its goals, the Penn Udall Center will investigate novel disease mechanisms in Parkinsons and advance efforts to develop new interventions and better diagnostics for this disorder.

The Penn Udall Center is based on 20 years of basic research on neurodegenerative diseases within the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and clinical programs at the Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders Center, both within Penn Medicine.

The Udall Centers of Excellence were developed in honor of former Congressman Morris K. Udall, who died in 1998 after a long battle with Parkinsons disease. The first center was named in 1997.

The Udall Center renewal grant (P50 NS053488) will include four core groups focusing on clinical care: neuropathology, biomarker and genetics; data management, biostatistics and bioinformatics; and administration. Planned projects will look for an immune therapy to block PD transmission in animal models, biomarkers to evaluate and predict cognitive decline in Lewy Body spectrum disorders, language and executive dysfunction in PD, and how transmission of alpha-synuclein occurs in neurons. The Penn Udall Center team includes John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, Howard Hurtig, MD, Dan Weintraub, MD, Vivianna Van Deerlin, MD, PhD, Edward B. Lee, MD, PhD, Sharon Xie, PhD, Li-San Wang, PhD, Alice Chen-Plotkin, MD, Murray Grossman, MD, PhD, Rachel Gross, MD, Kelvin Luk, PhD, and Virginia M-Y Lee, PhD, MBA.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation’s top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

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Perelman School of Medicine Granted $11.9 Million Renewal of NINDS Support for Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease …

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Posted on: 7:20 pm, August 31, 2012, by Kelley Hoskins, updated on: 07:14pm, August 31, 2012

ST. LOUIS (KPLR)-A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis doesnt happen to just one person, it affects the whole family. Its a life long disease , and an unpredictable We take a closer look a two ordinary people dealing with life and the ups and downs of the disease. Two very different people with two very different life styles. MS affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other effectively

One is aprominent St. Louis Pastor the other a local nurse . But what they do have is in common they both are battling multiple sclerosis. Pastor Charles Roach is very active at Trinity Mount Carmel Baptist Church in St. Louis County .He also served his country in the United States Air Force as Staff Sergeant.

Each and every Sunday he delivers a powerful message to his congregation. Pastor Roach says multiple sclerosis runs in his family and he wants to empower , equip and educate others about the disease. Its important that all of us to share an experience of some types of difficulty . It may not be physical as mine but it could be mental or emotional . But one has to learn how to conquer that. We have enough tenacity in us to conquer any difficut situation, said Pastor Roach.

Now we take a look a Michelle Keating a health care provider. a phenomenal women and volunteer with the St. Louis Gateway Area Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis. Keating says the diagnosis changed his life forever. Together they both have learned to adjust in different ways as MS affects what they can do .My first reaction was of denial and worry , what would my future be like?But my future has been very beautiful. I have two children I have raised and I continue my career as a nurse and wife.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially debilitating disease in which your bodys immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers your nerves. This interferes with the communication between your brain and the rest of your body. Ultimately, this may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process thats not reversible.

Symptoms vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and which nerves are affected. People with severe cases of multiple sclerosis may lose the ability to walk or speak. Multiple sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose early in the course of the disease because symptoms often come and go sometimes disappearing for months.

Like anyone else in the MS movement, they actively volunteer and seek effective means to move closer to a world free of MS.

At this point theres no cure for multiple sclerosis. If you would like to join the movement with over 3,000 other cyclists riding towards a world free of MS, you can team up for the Bike MS Gateway Getaway Ride September 8&9 2012 in Columbia Missouri.

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Fighting Back -Ordinary People Battling The Everyday Effects Of MS

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects approximately 400,000 people in the United States. Caused by damage to the myelin sheath the protective coating of the nerves in the brain MS is marked by an array of symptoms, including muscle spasms, loss of vision and difficulty moving arms and legs.

While there is no cure for MS, there are various treatments available for those suffering from the disease. Dr. Michael Devereaux, a neurologist for University Hospitals Case Medical Center, spoke with FoxNews.com about the many options for MS patients looking for symptom relief. According to him, there are two main goals when it comes to treating MS.

One is treating the acute attacks, Devereaux said. And then, what youre really interested in even more is reducing the frequency of attacks and reducing overall disability over time. Thats been a harder to question to answer from studies and the like, because all the drugs are promoting the idea that they can reduce frequency and overall disability, but theres been some debate about that.

Modifying the disease

During MS, white blood cells, called T-cells, become activated and cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain. While there, they cause an inflammatory response, ultimately damaging the myelin sheath and destroying the axons of the nerves.

Various drugs, called immunologeratory agents, have been developed to dampen the inflammatory response for those with relapsing-remitting MS. The main injectable drugs include beta interferons (Avonex, Betaseron, Extavia), glatiramer acetate (Copaxone), and the somewhat controversial drug, natalizumab (Tysabri)

Tysabri has been in the news a lot because it led to breakouts of another condition progressive multifocal encephalopathy (PML), Devereaux said. Its a very small percentage of cases. Its often given to people not doing well. Its highly effective, but it has this significant, but small, real risk.

The last agent is an oral agent called fingolimod (Gilenya), and is the most convenient for patients, according to Devereaux.

Treating MS attacks

MS is marked by periods of remission, alternating with periods of mild to severe exacerbations. While the agents are used to prevent these flare-ups, there are also treatment options for when exacerbations do occur. The main treatment is to give patients a high dose of glucocorticosteroids

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Current treatment options for multiple sclerosis

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Re: Dementia case puts Senate on the spot, Aug. 29

Dementia to the point of being declared incompetent does not happen overnight? Didnt any of Joyce Fairbairns colleagues notice that something was not quite right? Then again, I guess that its all relative.

Claude Gannon, Markham

So a Senator declared mentally incompetent continued for four months to perform her duties, and none of her colleagues noticed? Or worse, perhaps, noticed but said or did nothing? Makes you wonder about their mental competence.

Stephen Whitzman, Toronto

I suspect Prime Minister Stephen Harpers promise of Senate reform has slipped his mind until the next election. Since our country is foolish enough to reduce corporate taxes for greedy banks, insurance and gas companies, I may still have a shot at becoming a senator.

Although I am not a good fighter, I could drink a lot at lunch and be abusive to my staff in the afternoon. Do not worry about how I vote on bills because I will not show up very often anyway. With the generous salary and quarter million dollar plus expense account, I could probably attract a wife over 40 years my junior and take her on government-paid business-class flights, but I promise not to fight with her until we land.

Although I was never in the NHL I did not get hit too often in peewee so I am sure I could be a wise member of the upper chamber well into my old age. I hear government pensions are very generous and it will take Mr. Harper a few more elections to make insignificant changes to the plan.

My main qualification as a Conservative senator would be that I would support all of their bills no matter how harmful they are to the environment or how much pressure it puts on the working class.

Jim Ypma, Georgina

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Nobody noticed dementia?

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