#91: Movement Disorder Quarter, Installment #2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (421)

Steadying Guidance on Motor Disturbances

Hear these reports:

• Gene Therapy Showed Promise for Parkinson Disease
• NIH Examines Creatine for Parkinson’s Therapy
• Tips for Calming Motor Fluctuations
• Parkinson’s Drug Permax Withdrawn from Market
• Parkinson’s Rotigotine Patch Treatment Approved
• Safinamide Enhances Control of Parkinson’s: Combining the drug with dopamine enhanced the latter’s efficacy, which can lessen over time
• Simvastatin Found to Reduce Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Risk
  

We also reviewed these reports from previous STAT! episodes:

• sNNOO31 neural stem cell differentiator protein for Parkinson’s (from episode #7)
• Stereotactic implantation of human cadaveric dopamine-producing retinal pigment epithelial cells into the striatum of Parkinson’s patients shows promise. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study underway (from episode #7)
• Parkinson’s may improve when H. pylori infections eradicated (from episode #73)

Weblinks to:

• Genomic Pathway Approach to a Complex Disease
• Coenzyme Q10 supplementation may slow disease progression in early-stage Parkinson’s disease.

Citations (other): Depletion of CoQ10 by Statin Drugs:

• Langsjoen PH, Langsjoen AM. The clinical use of HMG CoA-reductase inhibitors and the associated depletion of coenzyme Q10. A review of animal and human publications. Biofactors 2003;18:101-11.
• Jula A, Marniemi J, Huupponen R, Virtanen A, Rastas M, Ronnemaa T. Effects of diet and simvastatin on serum lipids, insulin, and antioxidants in hypercholesterolemic men: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2002;287:598-605.

Next week’s show: Our 4th installment of Nerve University – Education, Research And Scholarship In Neurology. We’ll continue our discussion on genetics and gene therapies - their potential for diagnosing and treating a number of neurological disorders.