Parkinson’s podcast: stopping disease progression

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Author: Geoffrey ChangPublished: 9 July 2015

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In the second episode of the Portland Countdown podcast series, Dr Patrik Brundin and Dr Kimberley Gannon discuss how to stop ‘bad’ proteins attacking brain cells

Stopping disease progression: alpha synuclein

Special Guests: Patrik Brundin, MD, PhD and Kimberley Gannon, PhD

Basic researchers are hard at work trying to understand the pathology of Parkinson’s and discover new drug targets. One likely bad actor is a protein called alpha-synuclein.

Hosted by Dave Iverson and Jon Palfreman, Emmy award-winning journalists living with Parkinson’s disease, this episode looks into what we know about how alpha-synuclein kills brain cells and what might be done to stop it, with Dr Patrik Brundin and Dr Kimberley Gannon on hand to offer their expert opinions.

The aim of the Portland Countdown series is to give listeners new perspectives on the latest advances in Parkinson’s research and treatment.

The shows, developed by the World Parkinson Coalition, are aired online on the first Tuesday of every month from June 2015 to September 2016 – when the 4th World Parkinson Congress takes place in Portland, Oregon, USA. The entire series of podcasts will also be downloadable for free.

The full schedule of show topics and guest speaker profiles is available here

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Can overuse of antibiotics cause Parkinson’s?

Researchers at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland, have found that the overuse of antibiotic drugs could increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s. The study – published in medical journal ‘Movement Disorders’ – compared data on antibiotic exposure in 13,976 people with Parkinson’s and 40,697 people without. The researchers found that overuse of some antibiotic drugs can cause Parkinson’s, that it can take up to 15 years before any symptoms emerge – and that the connection to Parkinson’s could be due to the drug’s effects on the gut. Filip Scheperjans, neurologist and lead researcher of the study, said: “The link between antibiotic exposure and Parkinson’s disease fits the current view that in a significant proportion of patients the pathology of Parkinson’s may originate in the gut, possibly related to microbial changes, years before the onset of typical Parkinson’s symptoms such as slowness, muscle stiffness and shaking of the extremities.”

New Parkinson’s health app to track symptoms more accurately

Health app SleepFit could be used to track Parkinson’s symptoms in real time, providing clinicians with a more accurate view of patients’ condition, according to a new study. As part of the research – published in ‘Journal of Parkinson’s Disease’ – 42 people with Parkinson’s recorded their symptoms on the app four times a day for a period of two weeks. After the study, to test the data against patients’ own recollection of their symptoms, those participating completed a questionnaire – recording symptoms such as walking difficulty and hand dexterity. The results showed that 16.7% of those who took part tended to over or underestimate their symptoms when completing the questionnaire, therefore providing inaccurate information. Dr Pietro Luca Ratti, lead researcher of the study, said: “The importance of accurately assessing motor symptoms is pivotal in the clinical follow-up of patients with Parkinson’s Disease.”

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Parkinson’s podcast: stopping disease progression

Resources & Tools

Author: Geoffrey ChangPublished: 9 July 2015

Prep: Cook: Serves:

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Parkinson’s podcast: stopping disease progression

Resources & Tools

Author: Geoffrey ChangPublished: 9 July 2015

Prep: Cook: Serves:

Last Month

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Share this story

Comments

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