Monkey study could lead to new Parkinson’s therapies

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 13 September 2018

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, US, are using marmosets – a small monkey species that can mimic the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s – to better understand brain changes caused by the condition.

The study – published in science journal ‘PLOS ONE’ – induced the monkeys with Parkinson’s motor symptoms such as tremors and used devices similar to Fitbits to monitor their activities.

Researchers hope that further analysis will lead to new therapies for people living with the condition.

Marcel Daadi, associate scientist at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and lead author of the study, said: “There are some complex aspects of this disease you simply cannot investigate using rodents in a way that is relevant to human patients.

“Nonhuman primates are critical in [this] aspect because we can see these symptoms clearly whether it is the dyskinesia (abnormality or impairment of voluntary movements), or the sleep disturbances that you can monitor.”

To read more on this topic click here.

For information on the latest Parkinson’s research please visit the EPDA website.

Last Month

Next Month

Go Back

Share this story

Comments

Europe

Parkinson’s UK urges British government to change stance on disability assessments

Parkinson’s UK urges government to change disability allowance

Parkinson’s disease and loneliness: “people are hungry for some connection”

Dr Indu Subramanian on the how and why of staying socially connected

Apple says new CareKit platform will ‘empower’ Parkinson’s patients

Open-source platform to transform the way we think about health

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Researchers in Taiwan have found that osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint condition, may significantly increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease for older adults. As part of the study, the researchers analysed the health records of 33,360 people living with osteoarthritis, aged between 50 and 64. They compared the records with data from a second group of 33,360 people, in the same age range, without osteoarthritis. The results suggested that those with osteoarthritis have a 41% higher risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s – and that individuals with knee or hip osteoarthritis are more at risk than those with joint pain in other areas. Shin-Liang Pan, senior author of the study, said: “Coexisting osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease can additively increase the risk of falling. Moreover, osteoarthritis-related mobility impairments may mask early motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Health professionals need to be alert to the potential link between these two diseases.”

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Parkinson’s research is “hampered by inefficient recruitment and burdensome in-person assessments”, according to researchers in the US and Canada. But could virtual research have the potential to help solve some of these problems? Recruiting 203 participants from Fox Insight – an online clinical study sponsored by The Michael J Fox Foundation – the team assessed the validity of the participants’ self-reported Parkinson’s health information, and their willingness to take part in video-based research. Participants completed online questionnaires and attended two virtual visits, with a movement disorder specialist determining the likely diagnosis compared to the self-reported diagnosis. The study revealed that the participants’ self-reported diagnosis of Parkinson’s was accurate – and that 98.5% of participants would consider participating in a future study with virtual visits. The researchers concluded: “Our study demonstrates the promise of a much-needed novel model for conducting Parkinson’s research and highlights the potential of such a model for ……

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

Gait and tremor may be the most identifiable early signs of Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers from the US, France and Germany. The researchers analysed data from two large health-record databases, including an insurance company’s de-identified administrative claims. Selecting 8,382 participants with Parkinson’s disease, the scientists evaluated individual occurrences of reported symptoms over time – and how these corresponded to their Parkinson’s diagnosis. The analysis revealed a “pre-diagnostic window” in which symptoms were reported but no diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was made. The most dominant symptoms in this pre-diagnostic window were abnormal gait and tremor, highlighting “the existence of a population of [Parkinson’s] patients whose diagnoses can be accelerated”. The researchers concluded: “Accurate, prospective identification of high-risk individuals would allow for earlier diagnosis, intervention and more effective large-scale evaluation of potential therapeutics.”

All fields required

First name*
Last name*
Email address*
Enter Email Confirm Email
Country of residence*
About me*
- I have Parkinson's disease
- I am a partner / carer / family / friend of someone who has Parkinson's
- I am a healthcare professional with an interest in Parkinson's
- I work for a Parkinson's disease organisation
- Other
CAPTCHA
*
- By proceeding you agree to our
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Monkey study could lead to new Parkinson’s therapies

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 13 September 2018

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Europe

Parkinson’s UK urges British government to change stance on disability assessments

Special reports

Parkinson’s disease and loneliness: “people are hungry for some connection”

Advances

Apple says new CareKit platform will ‘empower’ Parkinson’s patients

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

{title}

Subscribe

Monkey study could lead to new Parkinson’s therapies

News

Author: Simge Eva DoganPublished: 13 September 2018

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

Next Month

Share this story

Comments

Related articles

Europe

Parkinson’s UK urges British government to change stance on disability assessments

Special reports

Parkinson’s disease and loneliness: “people are hungry for some connection”

Advances

Apple says new CareKit platform will ‘empower’ Parkinson’s patients

Osteoarthritis may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, researchers find

Could virtual studies support Parkinson’s disease research?

Gait and tremor may be the best early predictors of Parkinson’s disease

{title}

Subscribe

Sign in