Category: Uncategorized

When SERCA goes berserker

~ Simon ~ 10 Comments

In a recent SoPD post, we discussed the importance of calcium and looked at how it interacts with the Parkinson’s-associated protein alpha synuclein, affecting the function and clustering of that protein.

During the writing of that post, another interesting research report was published on the same topic of calcium and alpha synuclein. It involved a different aspect of biology in the cell – a structure called the endoplasmic reticulum – but the findings of that study could also explain some aspects of Parkinson’s.

In today’s post, we will review the new research report, consider the biology behind the findings and how it could relate to Parkinson’s, and discuss how this new information could be used.

The original berserker. Source: Wikipedia

I can remember my father often saying “If you kids don’t be quiet, I’ll go berserk!”

Growing up, I never questioned the meaning of the word ‘berserk‘.

I simply took it as defining the state of mindless madness that my dad could potentially enter if we – his off-spring – pushed him a wee bit too far (and for the record, Dad actually ‘going berserk’ was a very rare event).

My father. But only on the odd occasion. Source: Screenrant

But now as I find myself repeating these same words to my own off-spring, I am left wondering what on Earth it actually means?

What is ‘berserk‘?

Continue reading “When SERCA goes berserker” →

On the importance of Calcium

~ Simon ~ 21 Comments

Recently researcher from the University of Cambridge reported that an imbalance in calcium and the Parkinson’s-associated protein alpha synuclein can cause the clustering of synaptic vesicles.

What does this mean? And should we reduce our calcium intake as a result?

In today’s post, we will review the research report, consider the biology behind the findings and how it could relate to Parkinson’s, and discuss what can or should be done.

Me and Brie. Source: Wikipedia

When I turned 25, I realised that my body no longer accepted cheese.

This was a very serious problem.

You see, I still really liked cheese.

A bottle of red wine, a baguette and a chunk of brie – is there any better combination in life?

So obviously my body and I had a falling out. And yes, it got ugly. I wanted things to keep going the way they had always been, so I tried to make things interesting with new and exotic kinds of cheeses, which my body didn’t want to know about it. It rejected all of my efforts. And after a while, I gradually started resenting my body for not letting me be who I was.

We sought help. We tried interventions. But sadly, nothing worked.

And then things got really bad: My body decided that it didn’t have room in its life for yogurt, milk or even ice cream anymore (not even ice cream!!!). Basically no dairy what so ever.

There’s something’s missing in my life. Source: Morellisices

OMG. How did you survive without ice cream?

Well, I’ll tell ye – it’s been rough.

All silliness aside though, here is what I know: It is actually very common to develop a lactase deficiency as we get older – lactase being the enzyme responsible for the digestion of whole milk. In fact, about 65% of the global population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy (Source: NIH). I am not lactose intolerant (one of the few tests that I actually aced in my life), but I do have trouble digesting a particular component of dairy products – which can result in discomfort and socially embarrassing situations (one day over a drink I’ll tell you the ‘cheese fondue story’). Curiously, that mystery ingredient is also present in products that have no dairy (such as mayonnaise – it absolutely kills me).

But spare me your tears, if one is forced to drop a particular food group, dairy is not too bad (if I am ever forced to give up wine, I swear I’ll go postal).

My biggest concern when I dropped dairy, however, was “where was I going to get my daily requirements of calcium?“.

Understand that calcium is really rather important.

Why is calcium important?

Continue reading “On the importance of Calcium” →

Monthly Research Review – April 2018

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

At the end of each month the SoPD writes a post which provides an overview of some of the major pieces of Parkinson’s-related research that were made available during April 2018.

The post is divided into five parts based on the type of research (Basic biology, disease mechanism, clinical research, other news, and a new feature: Review articles/videos). 

So, what happened during April 2018?

In world news:

  • April 4–15th – The 2018 Commonwealth Games were held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (New Zealand came 5th in the medals tally… not bragging, just saying).

Source: Vimeo

  • April 27th – Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the Demilitarised Zone since its creation in 1953. In initial small steps towards reconciliation, South Korea said it would remove loudspeakers that blare propaganda across the border, while North Korea said it would shift its clocks to align with its southern neighbour.

BFFs? Source: QZ

Source: Plus

  • And finally the city of Trier in Germany is already struggling to keep up with demand for ‘0-euro’ notes, bearing the face of its most famous son and communism’s creator Karl Marx. Sold for 3 euros each, the notes are part of celebrations for his 200th birthday (5th May 1818).

You get what you pay for. Source: DDR

In the world of Parkinson’s research, a great deal of new research and news was reported:

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – April 2018” →

IBD+TNF AB ≠ PD?

~ Simon ~ 22 Comments

The cryptic title of this post will hopefully make sense by the time you have finished reading the material present here.

This week, new research from the USA points towards an increased risk of Parkinson’s (PD) for people that suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 

That same research, however, also points towards a clinically available treatment that appears to reduce the risk of Parkinson’s in individuals affected by inflammatory bowel disease. That treatment being: anti–tumor necrosis factor antibodies (TNF AB). Is that title making sense yet? If not, read on.

In today’s post, we will outline what inflammatory bowel disease is, review what the new research found, and discuss what is known about TNF in Parkinson’s. 

Inflammatory bowel disease. Source: Symprove

Inflammatory bowel disease (or IBD) is one of these umbrella terms that is used to refer to a group of inflammatory conditions of the large and small intestine:

The large and small intestine. Source: Adam

The symptoms of IBD can include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, rectal bleeding, severe internal cramps/muscle spasms in the region of the pelvis, and weight loss.

The most common forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

There has been an increased incidence of IBD since World War II, which could be associated with increased awareness and reporting of the condition, but it could also be linked with increases in meat consumption (Click here to read more about this). For example, in 2015, an estimated 1.3% of U.S. adults (3 million) were diagnosed with IBD, which was a large increase on the levels in 1999 (0.9% or 2 million adults – Source: CDC).

This is delightful, but what does it have to do with Parkinson’s?

So this week, an interesting study was published on the Journal of the American Medical Association – Neurology edition website:

Continue reading “IBD+TNF AB ≠ PD?” →

BIIB054: An immunotherapy update

~ Simon ~ 14 Comments

Immunotherapy is an experimental treatment that is being tested in Parkinson’s in the hope that it will be able to slow down the progression of the condition.

This week the Pharmaceutical company Biogen provided an update regarding their immunotherapy program for Parkinson’s.

It involves a drug called BIIB054.

In today’s post we will look at what BIIB054 is, how it works, and review the results of Biogen’s first clinical trial with this treatment.

This week the 2018 American Academy of Neurology ANN Annual Meeting is being held in Los Angeles (California). The meeting is an opportunity each year for researchers to meet and share new discoveries. A lot of neuroscience-focused biotech companies use the meeting to release new clinical trial results.

And this year one result in particular has been rather encouraging.

At 3:30pm on 24th April, the pharmaceutical company Biogen made a presentation entitled “Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Single Ascending Dose Study of AntiAlpha-Synuclein Antibody BIIB054 in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” which provided some of the first insights into the companies immunotherapy program for Parkinson’s.

What is immunotherapy?

Continue reading “BIIB054: An immunotherapy update” →

Could heart failure medication be good for Parkinson’s?

~ Simon ~ 8 Comments

Bumetanide (Bumex) is a diuretic drug (a medication that removes water, by increasing the production of urine). It is used to treat swelling caused by heart failure or liver or kidney disease. 

Recently, researchers in France have been exploring its use in Parkinson’s, and their results are really interesting.

‘Interesting’ because they not only point towards a clinically available drug that could (potentially) be repurposed for the treatments of Parkinson’s, but they also help to explain how our brains control movement.

In today’s post we will review the new results, discuss what they suggest about our ability to move, and we will look at efforts to take this drug to the clinic for Parkinson’s.

Source: Timemail

Heart failure (sometimes referred to as congestive heart failure) occurs when the heart is unable to pump sufficiently enough to maintain the required blood flow to meet the body’s needs. The most common causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation,valvular heart disease, and lifestyle issues (such as excess alcohol use). Overall around 2% of adults have heart failure; in those over the age of 65, this percentage increases to 6–10%. In 2015, it was estimated to affected approximately 40 million people worldwide (Source).

Common symptoms include:

  • shortness of breath
  • excessive tiredness
  • leg swelling.

A common treatment option for heart failure are diuretics.

What are diuretics?

Diuretics (sometimes called water pills) are medications that have been designed to increase the amount of water and salt expelled from the body as urine.

There are three types of diuretic medications. They are:

  • Thiazide
  • Loop
  • Potassium-sparing

Thiazide diuretics are the most commonly prescribed, generally for the treatment of high blood pressure. This class of drugs not only decreases the level of fluids in your body, they also cause your blood vessels to relax. Potassium-sparing diuretics reduce fluid levels in your body without – as the label suggests – causing you to lose potassium. The other types of diuretics can cause you to lose potassium, which can result in other health complications such as arrhythmia.

And then there are loop diuretics, which also decrease the level of fluid in the body.

But some loop diuretics have additional properties. And today we are going to have a look at one of them in the context of Parkinson’s.

It is called Bumetanide.

Why is Bumetanide interesting for Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “Could heart failure medication be good for Parkinson’s?” →

Diabetes and Parkinson’s

~ Simon ~ 13 Comments

A reader recently asked for an explanation of some recent research regarding diabetes and Parkinson’s.

You see, a significant proportion of the Parkinson’s community have glucose intolerance issues and some live with the added burden of diabetes. That said, the vast majority of diabetics do not develop PD. Likewise, the vast majority of people with Parkinson’s do not have a diagnosis of diabetes.

There does appear to be a curious relationship between Parkinson’s and diabetes, with some recent research suggests that this association can be detrimental to the course of the condition. 

In today’s post we will look at what what diabetes is, consider the associations with Parkinson’s, and we will discuss the new research findings.

Foreman and Ali. Source: Voanews

1974 was an amazing year.

On October 30th, the much-hyped heavyweight title match – the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali took place in Kinshasa, Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Stephen King. Source: VanityFair

A 26-year-old author named Stephen King published his debut novel, “Carrie” (April 5, with a first print-run of just 30,000 copies).

Lucy. Source: Youtube

The fossil remains of a 3.2 million years old hominid skeleton was discovered in Ethiopia (November 24th). It was named ‘Lucy’ – after the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles which was played repeatedly in the expedition camp the evening after the team’s first day of work on the site (Source).

And Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to resign from office (August 9th).

President Richard Nixon. Source: Fee

In addition to all of this, in December of 1974, a small study was published in the Journal of Chronic Diseases.

It dealt with Parkinson’s and it presented a rather startling set of findings:

Continue reading “Diabetes and Parkinson’s” →

Ibudilast: A Phosphodiesterase inhibitor

~ Simon ~ 5 Comments

A reader recently asked me about an experimental drug called Ibudilast.

It is a ‘Phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor’.

Recently there was a very interesting result in a clinical trial looking at Ibudilast in a specific neurodegenerative condition. Sadly for the reader that condition was not Parkinson’s, in fact very little research has been done on Ibudilast in Parkinson’s

In today’s post we will look at what Phosphodiesterase inhibitors are, how they work, and discuss why Ibudilast may not be such a good experimental treatment for Parkinson’s.

On April 21-27th, 2018, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) will hold their 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles (California).

I will not be at the meeting, but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any news regarding the results of one particular clinical trial. At the meeting, a biopharmaceutical company called MediciNova Inc. will be presenting data regarding one of their clinical trials.

The presentation, entitled “Ibudilast – Phosphodiesterase Type 4 Inhibitor – Bi-Modal Therapy with Riluzole in Early Cohort and Advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Patients – Final Report and Future Directions“ (Source) will be presented by principal investigator of the clinical study, Dr. Benjamin Rix Brooks, of the Carolinas HealthCare System’s Neuromuscular/ALS-MDA Center at Carolinas HealthCare System Neurosciences Institute.

Dr Brooks will be presenting the results of a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clnical trial which was conducted to evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical endpoint responsiveness of a drug called Ibudilast (or MN-166) in subjects with the neurodegenerative condition, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (or ALS – also known as motor neuron disease; Click here to read a previous SoPD post about ALS and Click here to learn more about this clinical trial).

What is Ibudilast?

Ibudilast is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor.

What is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor?

Continue reading “Ibudilast: A Phosphodiesterase inhibitor” →

UDCA 2.0 = TUDCA?

~ Simon ~ 11 Comments

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has been proposed as a drug that could be repurposed for Parkinson’s. As a medication, it is called ‘Ursodiol‘ and it is used to treat gallstones.

But there are absorption issues with UDCA: The passage of UDCA through the wall of the small intestine is slow and incomplete (Source).

There may be a solution, however, called Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Think of it as UDCA-2.0. It is more easily absorbed by the gut. And there is also good evidence to suggest that it has the same beneficial neuroprotective properties as UDCA.

In today’s post we will discuss what exactly UDCA and TUDCA are, review the Parkinson’s research for both, and discuss why one of these drugs should be tested in the clinic for PD.

Gallstones – ouch! Source: Healthline

Let me introduce you to your gallbladder:

It is one of the less appreciated organs; a pear-shaped, hollow organ located just under your liver and on the right side of your body. Its primary function is to store and concentrate your bile. Bile is a yellow-brown digestive enzyme – made and released by the liver – which helps with the digestion of fats in your small intestine (the duodenum).

Source: Mayoclinic

Now, let me introduce you to your gallstones:

Gallstones are hardened deposits that can form in your gallbladder. About 80% of gallstones are made of cholesterol. The remaining 20% of gallstones are made of calcium salts and bilirubin. Bilirubin is the yellow pigment in bile. When the body produces too much Bilirubin or cholesterol, gallstones can develop.

About 10-20% of the population have gallstones (Source), but the vast majority experience no symptoms and need no treatment.

Interesting intro, but what does any of this have to do with Parkinson’s?

One of the treatments for gallstones is called UDCA. And this compound is being considered for “repurposing” as a treatment for Parkinson’s.

What is UDCA?

Continue reading “UDCA 2.0 = TUDCA?” →

The aggregating antics of (some) anaesthetics

~ Simon ~ 7 Comments

This is one of those posts that I am reluctant to write because there is the very real possibility of it being taken out of context and causing someone to panic. But several readers have asked me to address a new piece of research that was published this week which has them concerned.

Anaesthetics are very useful agents in medicine, but they have long been known to have biological effects beyond simply numbing/sedating individuals. Some of those effects are beneficial, while others….mmm, not so beneficial. And the new research published this week leans towards the latter: Certain anaesthetics apparently induce mutant protein aggregation in neurons and cause stress responses in those brain cells.

In today’s post, we will discuss what anaesthetics are, how (we think) they work, and what the results of this new research actually mean.

William Morton’s first public demonstration. Source: Pinterest

On Friday 16th October 1846, history was made.

On that date, an American dentist named William T. G. Morton (1819-1868) made the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anaesthetic.

William Morton. Source: Wikipedia

At this demonstration Dr. John Collins Warren painlessly removed a tumor from the neck of a Mr. Edward Gilbert Abbott. After finishing the operation and Abbott had regained consciousness, Warren asked Abbott how he felt.

John Collins Warren. Source: General-anaesthesia

Abbott replied, “Feels as if my neck’s been scratched.”

Warren then turned to the medical audience and said:

“Gentlemen, this is no Humbug”

This was an obvious shot at an unsuccessful demonstration of nitrous oxide as a anaesthesia the year before (by Horace Wells in the same theatre), which ended with the audience shouting “Humbug!” after they heard the patient groaning with pain during the procedure.

The important thing to appreciate here is the magnitude of Morton’s achievement within in the history of medicine.

Before 16th October 1846, surgical procedures were not very pleasant affairs.

After 16th October 1846,… well, to be honest, they are still not very pleasant affairs, but at least the patient can skip most of the painful parts of an operation.

Interesting. But what does this have to do with Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “The aggregating antics of (some) anaesthetics” →