Tag: Parkinson’s

The seeds of change

~ Simon ~ 1 Comment

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The diagnostic process for Parkinson’s has been problematic for a long time. Individuals presenting the symptoms often need several clinical evaluations, and confirmation using a brain imaging technique.

A biological test for the condition has been lacking and would help tremendously.

Recently, however, research (supported by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research) has indicated that this could be about to change.

In today’s post, we will explore recently published research highlighting a new potential biomarker test for Parkinson’s.

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On the 27th June, 1997, a research report was published in the prestigious scientific journal ‘Science’ that would change the world of Parkinson’s forever.

And I am not exaggerating or overstating here. I know I can sometimes be a little over the top, but the research report in question very much changed the world of Parkinson’s research.

The discovery that tiny variations in a region of DNA that scientists refer to as “alpha synuclein” could increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s gave researchers their first real insights into some of the biology that could potentially be underlying the condition (Click here to read a previous SoPD post on this discovery):

Science

Title: Mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene identified in families with Parkinson’s disease.
Authors: Polymeropoulos MH, Lavedan C, Leroy E, Ide SE, Dehejia A, Dutra A, Pike B, Root H, Rubenstein J, Boyer R, Stenroos ES, Chandrasekharappa S, Athanassiadou A, Papapetropoulos T, Johnson WG, Lazzarini AM, Duvoisin RC, Di Iorio G, Golbe LI, Nussbaum RL.
Journal: Science. 1997 Jun 27;276(5321):2045-7.
PMID: 9197268

And then – remarkably just two months later – the results of another study were published in the journal ‘Nature’, and these would further cemented alpha synuclein’s place in Parkinson’s research.

In this second research paper, the investigators showed that alpha synuclein was present in “Lewy bodies” – densely packed spheres of protein inside of cells that are one of the characteristic features of the Parkinsonian brain:

Title: Alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies.
Authors: Spillantini MG, Schmidt ML, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ, Jakes R, Goedert M.
Journal: Nature. 1997 Aug 28;388(6645):839-40.
PMID: 9278044

And very suddenly, this poor little protein became public ‘enemy number one’ for the Parkinson’s research community and everyone started digging into the biology associated with it with the hope of finding new avenues for therapeutic intervention and biomarkers for Parkinson’s.

What exactly is alpha synuclein?

Continue reading “The seeds of change” →

A preamble for prebiotics

~ Simon ~ 8 Comments

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For a long time it has been known that the microorganisms in our intestinal system play an important role in our overall health and wellbeing. 

Recently, researchers have been exploring how these tiny creatures and entities may be influencing Parkinson’s, and whether manipulation of them may impact the progression of the disease.

In today’s post, we will review a new pilot clinical study that investigated the effects of a prebiotic fiber intervention in a group of people with Parkinson’s.

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Adam and Eve were not alone. Source: Metode

You should never feel alone, because you most definitely are not.

I do not wish to alarm you, but there is approximately 2kg (4.4 pounds) of microorganisms in your gut.

And to put that into context, the “microbiota” of the gut is actually heavier by weight than your brain (1.5kg – 3.3 pounds).

What does “the microbiota” mean?

The microbiota refers to microorganisms that colonise various defined parts of the body (such as our skin or gastrointestinal tract). The human microbiota consists of the 10-100 trillion symbiotic microbial cells harbored by each person. By mass, the microbiota of the human body make up about 1 to 3 percent of our overall weight (weighing approximately two to three kilograms in an adult – Source). Collectively, it is one of our heaviest organs.

And whether you like it or not, you definitely need these little passengers. They serve a wide variety of necessary functions.

Source: The conversation

The microorganisms in the human gut, for example, perform all manner of tasks for you to make your life easier. From helping to break down food, to aiding with the production of certain vitamins (in particular B and K) that you do not make yourself.

So, as I said, you are never alone. And please remember that you are responsible for more than just yourself.

And the microbiota should not be confused with the microbiome, which refers to the collection of different genomes (DNA) from all the microorganisms in these microbiota.

Source: Twitter

Ok, understood. What do they have do with Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “A preamble for prebiotics” →

Just a lysosomal enzyme…

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About 5% of individuals affected by Parkinson’s carry a genetic variation in a region of their DNA called the GBA1 gene.

This area of DNA provides the instructions for making an enzyme called GCase, which is known to be involved in cellular waste disposal.

Recently, however, researchers have discovered that GCase might have additional functions in cells, particularly in the mitochondria.

In today’s post, we will discuss what GCase is, how it is associated with Parkinson’s, and review the new research indicating other roles in cellular biology.

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Source: Createvalue

Isn’t it funny how things change.

And I mean, properly change.

Something will start off in life as one thing, and then a new perspective or a conflicting idea is provided and suddenly it becomes something else entirely – changing how we view that thing and its place in the world.

A truly exaggerated example of this is the wonderous story of Adam Rainer.

Born in Austria (1899), Adam was always a small child and by the time he reached 18 years of age he measured just 138 cm (or 4 foot 5 inches). Due to his height, he was technically considered a dwarf (less than 147 cm or 4 foot 10 inches). As result of this designation, he was refused entry into the Austro-Hungarian Army and thus missed out on serving in the First World War.

But then something really strange happened…

From 21 years of age to 32, while everyone else stopped growing, Adam suddenly started to grow.

And when I say grow, I mean grow!

Adam Rainer (far left). Source: Twitter

By the time Adam was 32, he had grown to the height of 218 cm (or 7 foot 2 inches). At that time, a benign tumor (a pituitary adenoma) was discovered and removed, slowing Adam’s growth. He died in 1950 at the age of 51, having reached a final height of 234 cm (7 foot 8 inches).

He is the only person in recorded history who started out in life with dwarfism and end it with gigantism (source).

Like I said, a rather exaggerated form of how something can change.

Intriguing, but what does this have to do with Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “Just a lysosomal enzyme…” →

Monthly Research Review – March 2023

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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 2023.

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

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So, what happened during March 2023?

In world news:

March 10th – 2023 People’s Republic of China presidential election: The National People’s Congress unanimously re-elects Xi Jinping as the President of the People’s Republic of China to an unprecedented third term.

 

March 10th – Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the United States, failed, creating then the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, affecting tech companies around the world.

 

March 13th – Researchers reported at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that Martian dirt may have all the necessary nutrients for growing rice (Click here to read more about this).

 

March 19 – In a deal brokered by the Swiss government, the investment bank UBS agreed to buy perennial financial disaster site Credit Suisse for CHF 3 billion (US$3.2 billion) in an all-stock deal.

 

March 28th – Researchers at the Pan-STARRS telescope at Hawaii discovered that Earth has a “new moon”, and the strangest part of this story is that it has been with us since 100 B.C… and nobody noticed it until now! But before you get too excited, this quasi-moon “2023 FW13” as it has been named, is only a small asteroid (about 20 meter in diameter) and it will leave us around the year 3700 (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 March 2023, there were 903 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (2753 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 – March 2023” →

Monthly Research Review – February 2023

~ Simon ~ 1 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 2023.

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

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So, what happened during February 2023?

In world news:

February 2nd – The European Central Bank and Bank of England raise their interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to combat inflation, one day after the US Federal Reserve raised its federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points.

 

February 5th – Cyclone Freddy formed in the Indian Ocean. It would become the longest lasting tropical cyclone in history and cause over 1,400 deaths and countless injuries and property damage across southeastern Africa (Click here to read more about this).

 

February 14 – The European Parliament approves a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the European Union from 2035, citing the need to combat climate change in Europe and promote electric vehicles.

 

February 16th – Blockbuster action movie star Bruce Willis announced that he has received a new diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (Click here to read more about this)

 

February 25th – A rare supermassive black hole – 1 billion times the mass of our sun – was discovered at the center of the galaxy COS-87259. This ancient galaxy formed just 750 million years after the Big Bang, and the black hole was spotted by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile (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 2023, there were 853 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (1850 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 4 pieces of Parkinson’s news

Continue reading “Monthly Research Review – February 2023” →

Monthly Research Review-January 2023

~ 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 January 2023.

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

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So, what happened during January 2023?

In world news:

January 1st – Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area, becoming the 20th member state of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen Area.

 

January 10th – Researchers reported the discovery of a second potentially Earth-like planet in the TOI 700 system is reported using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS – click here to read more about this).

 

January 12th – Two groups of researchers present data in mice demonstrating the manipulation of the aging process (Click here to read more about this).

 

13 January – A study of ancient DNA supports or confirms that recent human evolution which led to increased resistance to infection of pathogens also resulted in increased risk of inflammatory disease in post-Neolithic Europeans over the last 10,000 years (Click here to read more about this and click here to read a press summary).

 

January 27th – This day was declared the wettest day on record for Auckland (New Zealand) with 258 mm (10.2 in) of rain exceeding the previous record of 161.8 mm (6.37 in). A “tropical atmospheric river” parked itself over the city and caused widespread catastrophic flooding:

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

In January 2023, there were 997 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached. 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-January 2023” →

Being ABL to make a strong case for Inhibikase

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At the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in October 2015, the results of a small phase 1 clinical study were presented and the Parkinson’s community got rather excited by what they saw.

The study had investigated a cancer drug called ‘nilotinib’ (also known as Tasigna) on 12 people with advanced Parkinson’s or Dementia with Lewy bodies. After 6 months of treatment, the participants reported that they were functioning better on nilotinib.

Two larger, more carefully controlled phase 2 clinical trials of nilotinib in people with Parkinson’s were conducted, and both studies could not replicate the original findings (worse: the drug was barely detected in the brain). But now a biotech company called Inhibikase has developed a nilotinib-like agent that can access the brain and they are clinically testing it. This week they published preclinical data on their lead agent, IkT-148009.

In today’s post, we will look at the history of this story, review the recently published preclinical research from Inhibikase, and discuss the current clinical trial.

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Source: Wiki

Cancer.

There’s a happy topic to start a post with.

Cancer is a condition where cells in a specific part of the body start to grow and reproduce uncontrollably. There are lots of different types of cancers, but I would like to draw your attention to one in particular: Leukemia 

Leukemia is a particular branch of cancer. It is a broad term used for cancers of the body’s blood-forming tissues (these include the bone marrow and the lymphatic system).

The type of leukemia diagnosed depends entirely on the type of blood cell that becomes cancerous and on whether it grows quickly or slowly. Leukemia occurs most often in adults older than 55, but it is also the most common cancer in children younger than 15.

There are approximately 10,000 new cases of leukemia (that’s 27 every day), and ~5000 deaths associated with the condition in the UK (Click here for the source of these figures).

Interesting, but why are you starting this post by talking about leukemia? 

Continue reading “Being ABL to make a strong case for Inhibikase” →

The “What would I do” post? Part 3

~ Simon ~ 1 Comment

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Given the broad range of topics covered on the SoPD, I am very regularly asked “what would you do if you were diagnosed with Parkinson’s tomorrow?”

As a research scientist I am not comfortable answering this question, but I can see how it is a fair one to ask. I have previously attempted to address it (Click here and here to read those posts), and I point folks who do ask in the direction of those posts.

And as new research and more tools become available, I can see some value in revisiting this question.

So in today’s post, we will do the 2023 version of “what would I do if I were diagnosed with Parkinson’s tomorrow?”. 

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Source: BBC

Before starting, I would just like to thank readers for their kind words of support regarding my personal situation (see this previous post to understand what I am talking about).

My ward is now in full time care. But the guardianship order is still not in place which makes things rather problematic.

Source: EducationLawyers

The UK deputyship system seems to have become glacial in its process. I was advised that it would take 4-6 months, but we are now almost 12 months into the wait… and the care home bills are piling up very quickly. The resources to pay the bills are available, but without the deputyship being in place I am powerless to do anything about it.

Very frustrating. And certainly preventable.

And this is probably a good place to start this particular post.

What do you mean?

Continue reading “The “What would I do” post? Part 3” →

Year in review: 2022

~ Simon ~ 3 Comments

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At the end of each year, it is a useful process to take stock and review what we have learnt over the last 12 months.

2022 has been an extremely busy year for Parkinson’s research, with a lot of clinical trial results and new insights. As the world continues to re-open from the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a continually rising tide of new research results and interesting new developments.

In today’s post, we will consider three big Parkinson’s-related research takeaways of 2022 (based on our humble opinions here at the SoPD), and then we will provide an extended overview of some of the important pieces of news from the last 12 months (Be warned: this will be a rather long post).

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Knatchbull-Hugesse. Source: Getty

Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the British Ambassador to China between 1936-1937 wrote in his memoir that before he left England for China, a friend told him of a Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times” (Source).

I never really understood why this quote was considered “a curse”. Surely living in boring times would be more tortuous.

But the noise and chaos of recent years have really hammered home the nature of this curse. There were many days this year where I was wishing for less interesting times.

2022. Source: Wikipedia

That said, 2022 has been a fascinating experience. The full spectrum of human emotions has been elicited: From the highs of the football world cup to the horrors and catastrophic consequences of Russia’s ignominious invasion of Ukraine.

From the glorious achievements (such as the James Webb space telescope and a net energy gain from a fusion reaction), to the unfathomable idiocies of the UK and US political class (seriously, in the UK we had 3 prime ministers, 4 chancellors, and one gut wrenching “mini budget” disaster that showed the true fragility of our underfunded pension schemes) – 2022 had it all.

There were also an amazing array of new discoveries and insights in Parkinson’s research. And while such a statement may not bring much solace to those living with condition, it is tremendously encouraging to see the furious rate at which these findings are announced.

In this, the last SoPD post of 2022, we will look back and review the last 12 months by providing an overview of those pieces of research news that we here at SoPD HQ thought were most interesting. We apologise to any researchers who do not get a mention here (by all means feel free to berate us in the comments section below if you think we missed something key), but these were the announcements that really grabbed our attention.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The author of this blog is the director of research at the medical research charity Cure Parkinson’s. For the purpose of transparency and to eliminate any sense of bias, where Cure Parkinson’s is a funder of the research it shall be noted.

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The 3 main SOPD highlights in Parkinson’s-related research for 2022

(in no particular order)

Continue reading “Year in review: 2022” →

Monthly Research Review – December 2022

~ Simon ~ 9 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 December 2022.

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

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So, what happened during December 2022?

In world news:

December 5th – The US National Ignition Facility achieved fusion ignition, a major milestone in the development of nuclear fusion power

 

December 7th – After substantial protests against China’s Zero-COVID policies, the Chinese government finally eased its COVID19 restrictions.

 

December 15th – Astronomers find that a pair of exoplanets orbiting the red dwarf star Kepler-138 are likely to be water worlds.

 

December 19th – At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), nearly 200 countries agree a “new” landmark deal to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 (more blah-blah as Greta would say)

December 19th – A new world record solar cell efficiency for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell was achieved, with scientists in Germany converting 32.5% of sunlight into electrical energy.

 

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

In December 2022, there were 964 research articles added to the Pubmed website with the tag word “Parkinson’s” attached (10749 for all of 2022 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 – December 2022” →