Tag: Parkinsons

Monthly Research Review – October 2024

~ Simon ~ 2 Comments

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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 October 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

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So, what happened during October 2024?

In world news:

October 2nd – Scientists announce the first ever complete mapping of the entire brain of a fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, with a detail of 50 million connections between more than 139,000 neurons (Click here to read more about this).

 

October 10th – The 14km Lower Thames Crossing to connect Kent and Essex (first proposed in 2009) was delayed by ministers again despite over £800m being spent on planning to date (Note: that the 25km Norwegian Laerdal tunnel, connecting Oslo and Bergen, only cost £140m total, adjusted for inflation – click here to read more about this).

 

October 13th – SpaceX achieved the first successful return and capture of a Super Heavy booster from Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly:

 

October 24th – Researchers have developed the world’s first non-electrical soft touchpad, sensing the force, area and location of contact without electricity (Click here and here to read more about this).

 

October 30th – The UK chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered the first budget of the new Labour government to the House of Commons, describing it as a budget to “rebuild Britain”, the budget focused mainly on raising public spending, taxation, and government borrowing. A budget for growth???

 

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

In October 2024, there were 991 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (9,963 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 5 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – October 2024” →

In the vacinity of a vaccine

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Researchers have been developing vaccines for Parkinson’s in the hope of not only treating individuals currently affected by the condition, but also limiting the incidence of the condition in future generations.

Some of these vaccines are being clinically tested and the results are encouraging.

In today’s post, we will review clinical trial results recently published by a biotech company called Vaxxinity and what comes next for the field.

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Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Source: NationalTrust

The return of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont) to England in 1721 represented a monumental – but little appreciated moment – in Western medical history.

Five years earlier, her husband Edward Wortley Montagu had been appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman empire, and they had moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul). In March 1717, the 27 year old Mary – whose only brother had died from smallpox – witnessed the practice of inoculation against smallpox called variolation, which she herself called “engrafting” when she wrote home about it in her letters.

Source: Guardian

Variolation was the method of inoculation used to immunize individuals against smallpox (Variola) with material taken from a patient (or a recently variolated individual), in the hope that a mild infection would result and provide protection. Only 1–2% of those variolated died from the induced infection, but this was much better than the >30% who contracted smallpox naturally.

In 1718, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu asked that her five-year-old son, Edward be inoculated against smallpox, and after the procedure, wrote to her husband:

“The boy was engrafted last Tuesday, and is at this time singing and playing, and very impatient for his supper” (Source)

And before they left Turkey in 1721, she had her daughter Mary inoculated as well. Mary and her brother were the first English people to be immunized against a disease. Upon her return to London, she enthusiastically promoted the idea of variolation. Unfortunately she encountered a great deal of resistance from the medical establishment, and the idea didn’t really catch on.

This is very interesting, but what does this have to do with Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “In the vacinity of a vaccine” →

Monthly Research Review – September 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 September 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during September 2024?

In world news:

3rd September – An analysis of 63 studies from 1994 to 2022 conducted by Australian researchers and commissioned by the World Health Organization found that mobile phones are not linked to brain and head cancers (Click here and here to read more about this).

 

12th September – The first commercial spacewalk is conducted by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as part of the Polaris Dawn mission, which also includes the highest altitude orbit by a human crew since the Apollo program.

 

20th September – UK debt hits 100% of GDP, the highest level since 1960s (and that figure doesn’t include the unfunded pension schemes of teachers, police, nurses/doctors, and other public sector workers – click here to read more about this).

 

26th September – Hurricane Helene, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Maria in 2017, makes landfall in Florida as a category four hurricane.

September 30 – The UK becomes the first G7 country to phase out coal power for electric generation, after 142 years of using the energy source (Source).

 

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

In September 2024, there were 1,044 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (8,972 for all of 2023 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 5 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – September 2024” →

Monthly Research Review – August 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 August 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during August 2024?

In world news:

11th August – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that the Ukrainian military is conducting a cross-border offensive inside Russia’s western Kursk Oblast. Russia says that 76,000 people have been evacuated from the region.

 

12th August – Liquid water is confirmed below the surface of Mars at depths of 10 to 20 km (6.2 to 12.4 miles), based on a new analysis of data from NASA’s InSight lander (Click here to read more about this).

 

14th August – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares mpox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time in two years, following the spread of the virus in African countries.

 

23rd August – BNT116, the world’s first mRNA lung cancer vaccine, begins a Phase I clinical trial in seven countries (Click here to read more about this).

 

28th August – The 2024 Summer Paralympics begin in Paris, France.

 

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

In August 2024, there were 1,088 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (7,928 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 5 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – August 2024” →

Monthly Research Review – July 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 July 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during July 2024?

In world news:

1st July – The “Supreme Court” of the United States of America ruled in a 6–3 decision that US presidents have absolute immunity for acts committed as president within their core constitutional purview, at least presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of their official responsibility, and no immunity for unofficial acts (What could possibly go wrong with this…)

 

4th July – 2024 United Kingdom general election: Sir Keir Starmer lead the Labour Party to a landslide victory, returning the party to government for the first time in 14 years. Incumbent Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resigned as the leader of the party the next day, with Starmer taking office.

 

5 July – The first mouse model with a complete, functional human immune system is demonstrated (Click here to read more about this).

 

19th July – A global IT outage occurred, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices and causing widespread disruptions to businesses and governments. The outage was caused by a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike

 

21st July – Incumbent United States President Joe Biden ends his candidacy in the 2024 United States presidential election.

 

26th July – The 2024 Summer Olympics started with a bang in Paris, France.

 

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

In July  2024, there were 901 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (6,840 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 7 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – July 2024” →

Monthly Research Review – June 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 June 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

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So, what happened during June 2024?

In world news:

1st June – The 2024 Indian general election, which began on April 19, concludes with the  BJP party losing its outright majority, but its electoral alliance, the National Democratic Alliance, retains its majority. 642 million voters participated in the election.

 

4th June – Two days after the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft lands on the far side of the Moon, it lifts off carrying samples of lunar soil and rocks to bring back to Earth (the samples successfully reached Earth on the 25th June).

 

14th June – The UEFA Euro 2024 start in Germany, and is ultimately won by Spain on the 14th July.

 

20th June – Following a surge in population of the Iberian lynx – from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022 – the International Union for Conservation of Nature removes the animal from its “endangered” list, classing the animal as “vulnerable” instead.

 

24th June – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves the United Kingdom after being freed from prison in a plea deal with the United States. He returns to his native Australia two days later.

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

In June 2024, there were 1098 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (5,939 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 6 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – June 2024” →

Monthly Research Review – April 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during April 2024?

In world news:

April 1st – An entirely new class of antibiotics with potent activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria is discovered. These compounds target a protein called LpxH, and are shown to cure bloodstream infections in mice (Click here to read more about this and click here to read a press summary).

 

April 4th – A study in Nature reported that global CO2 emissions increased by only 0.1% in 2023, suggesting that a plateau may have been reached (Click here to read more about this).

 

April 8th – A total solar eclipse was visible across North America.

 

April 23rd – The world’s largest 3D printer, dubbed Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0), was presented by the University of Maine. Using thermoplastic polymers, the machine can print objects as large as 96 feet (29 m) long by 32 feet (9.8 m) wide by 18 feet (5.5 m) high, at a rate of 500 pounds (230 kg) per hour.

 

April 24th – Researchers created synthetic diamond at 1 atmosphere of pressure in approximately 150 minutes without needing seeds (Click here to read more about this and click here to read a press summary).

 

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

In April 2024, there were 861 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (3,889 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 6 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – April 2024” →

Monthly Research Review – March 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 March 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during March 2024?

In world news:

March 4th – Astronomers report that the surface of Europa, a moon of the planet Jupiter, may have much less oxygen than previously inferred, suggesting that the moon has a less hospitable environment for the existence of lifeforms than may have been considered earlier.

 

March 6th – The first creation of induced pluripotent stem cells for the Asian elephant is reported by Colossal Biosciences, a key step towards de-extinction of the woolly mammoth.

 

March 7th – As the final Nordic country to join the alliance, Sweden officially joins NATO, becoming its 32nd member after Finland a year earlier.

March 13th – The Artificial Intelligence Act, the world’s first comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, is passed by the European Union.

 

March 14th – SpaceX successfully launched their Starship spacecraft, but lost the rocket upon re-entering the atmosphere.

 

March 25th – The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2728  calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza during Ramadan and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages (14 votes in favour with the United States abstaining).

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

In March 2024, there were 1,002 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (3,028 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 5 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – March 2024” →

The Science of Sci-comms

~ Simon ~ 3 Comments

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During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, I was asked to speak to a group of medical students at the University of Cambridge about the communication of science. I was a little bemused by the invitation. Big university and little old me maintaining a small website (read: collection of typos and poor gramma). I did not feel like any kind of authority on the topic of science communication.

Feeling ridiculously unprepared for such a task, I naturally accepted the invitation and I decided to do a deep dive into the topic – delving into the history and the various formats. The content of my presentation probably put my young audience to sleep, but I found it interesting.

And at the risk of putting you to sleep, I thought I would post some of the contents here. 

In today’s post, we will discuss Sci-comms.

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Tom Hardy. Source: Theresident

After receiving a honorary fellowship at the University of the Arts London, actor Tom Hardy addressed the graduating class of 2015. In his speech, he said “My father told me that my job is to observe and reflect. And anything that gets in the way of the telescope has to go including the self” (Source).

And evidently Tom has taken his novelist father (Chips Hardy)’s words to heart as he has “II O&R” (“To Observe and Reflect”) tattooed on his right shoulder and claims this is his motto for life:

Source: Bodyartguru

Now, I’m not comparing myself to Tom (we can’t all be as good looking as me), but I really like his philosophy. And I used this to start my presentation on science communication (“Sci-comms”) to a group of undergraduate medical students at the University of Cambridge during the COVID pandemic.

My approach to Sci-comms is to observe and reflect.

Continue reading “The Science of Sci-comms” →

Monthly Research Review – February 2024

~ Simon ~ Leave a comment

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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 February 2024.

The post is divided into 10 parts based on the type of research:

# # # #

So, what happened during February 2024?

In world news:

1st February – A group of patients with hereditary angioedema (a genetic disorder characterised by severe, painful and unpredictable swelling attacks) have had their lives transformed by a single treatment of NTLA-2002 – a breakthrough gene-editing therapy (CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the KLKB1 gene) being developed by Intellia Therapeutics (Click here to read more about this).

 

7th February – A calcium-based battery – able to charge and discharge fully 700 times at room temperature – was presented by Chinese scientists. It is described as a potential alternative to lithium, being 2,500 times more abundant on Earth (Click here to read more about this).

 

8th February – Google renames AI chatbot Bard to Gemini, and makes it available on mobile.

 

23rd February – Three new moons within the Solar System were discovered, one around Uranus and two around Neptune, bringing their total known satellites to 28 and 16, respectively.

 

28th February – A study in the British Medical Journal links ultra-processed foods to 32 negative health impacts, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health, and early death (no mention of Parkinson’s – click here to read more about this).

 

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

In February 2024, there were 1,024research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (2,026 for all of 2024 so far). In addition, there was a wave to news reports regarding various other bits of Parkinson’s research activity (clinical trials, etc).

The top 7 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – February 2024” →