PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers debunk myth about Parkinson's disease

2014-09-16
(Press-News.org) Using advanced computer models, neuroscience researchers at the University of Copenhagen have gained new knowledge about the complex processes that cause Parkinson's disease. The findings have recently been published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.

The defining symptoms of Parkinson's disease are slow movements, muscular stiffness and shaking. There is currently no cure for the condition, so it is essential to conduct innovative research with the potential to shed some light on this terrible disruption to the central nervous system. Using advanced computer models, neuroscience researchers at the University of Copenhagen have gained new knowledge about the complex processes that cause Parkinson?s disease.

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter which affects physical and psychological functions such as motor control, learning and memory. Levels of this substance are regulated by special dopamine cells. When the level of dopamine drops, nerve cells that constitute part of the brain's 'stop signal' are activated.

"This stop signal is rather like the safety lever on a motorised lawn mower: if you take your hand off the lever, the mower's motor stops. Similarly, dopamine must always be present in the system to block the stop signal. Parkinson's disease arises because for some reason the dopamine cells in the brain are lost, and it is known that the stop signal is being over-activated somehow or other. Many researchers have therefore considered it obvious that long-term lack of dopamine must be the cause of the distinctive symptoms that accompanies the disease. However, we can now use advanced computer simulations to challenge the existing paradigm and put forward a different theory about what actually takes place in the brain when the dopamine cells gradually die," explains Jakob Kisbye Dreyer, Postdoc at the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen.

Read the article in Journal of Neuroscience

A thorn in the side

Scanning the brain of a patient suffering from Parkinson's disease reveals that in spite of dopamine cell death, there are no signs of a lack of dopamine – even at a comparatively late stage in the process.

"The inability to establish a lack of dopamine until advanced cases of Parkinson's disease has been a thorn in the side of researchers for many years. On the one hand, the symptoms indicate that the stop signal is over-activated, and patients are treated accordingly with a fair degree of success. On the other hand, data prove that they are not lacking dopamine," says Postdoc Jakob Kisbye Dreyer.

Computer models predict the progress of the disease

"Our calculations indicate that cell death only affects the level of dopamine very late in the process, but that symptoms can arise long before the level of the neurotransmitter starts to decline. The reason for this is that the fluctuations that normally make up a signal become weaker. In the computer model, the brain compensates for the shortage of signals by creating additional dopamine receptors. This has a positive effect initially, but as cell death progresses further, the correct signal may almost disappear. At this stage, the compensation becomes so overwhelming that even small variations in the level of dopamine trigger the stop signal – which can therefore cause the patient to develop the disease."

The new research findings may pave the way for earlier diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

INFORMATION: Contact:

Jakob Kisbye Dreyer
Mobile: +45 29 61 19 78


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Dental and nutrition experts call for radical rethink on free sugars intake

2014-09-16
Sugars in the diet should make up no more than 3% of total energy intake to reduce the significant financial and social burdens of tooth decay, finds new research from UCL (University College London) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The study, published in the open-access journal BMC Public Health, analysed the effect of sugars on dental caries, also known as tooth decay. They show that sugars are the only cause of tooth decay in children and adults. Free sugars are defined by the World Health Organisation Nutrition Guidance Adivisory Group as follows: ...

Collaboration drives achievement in protein structure research

Collaboration drives achievement in protein structure research
2014-09-15
When this week's print issue of the journal Science comes out, a collective cheer will go up from New Mexico, Montana and even the Netherlands, thanks to the type of collaborative effort that is more and more the norm in these connected times. Yes, the research was brilliant, and if we're lucky, it will produce innovations in biology, medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. It could save lives, and it happened because this scientist talked with that one, that one knew another one, and brilliant minds overcame geographic distance to advance human understanding. "It is ...

Certain form of baldness at age 45 linked to higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer

2014-09-15
A new, large cohort analysis from the prospective Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, indicates that men who had moderate baldness affecting both the front and the crown of their head at age 45 were at a 40% increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer (usually indicates a faster growing tumor resulting in poorer prognosis relative to non-aggressive prostate cancer) later in life, compared to men with no baldness. There was no significant link between other patterns of baldness and prostate cancer risk. The study, published September ...

Researcher develops and proves effectiveness of new drug for spinal muscular atrophy

Researcher develops and proves effectiveness of new drug for spinal muscular atrophy
2014-09-15
COLUMBIA, Mo. – According to recent studies, approximately one out of every 40 individuals in the United States is a carrier of the gene responsible for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disease that causes muscles to weaken over time. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have made a recent breakthrough with the development of a new compound found to be highly effective in animal models of the disease. In April, a patent was filed for the compound for use in SMA. "The strategy our lab is using to fight SMA is to 'repress the repressor,'" said ...

EEG study findings reveal how fear is processed in the brain

2014-09-15
DALLAS, TX – September 12, 2014 - An estimated 8% of Americans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point during their lifetime. Brought on by an overwhelming or stressful event or events, PTSD is the result of altered chemistry and physiology of the brain. Understanding how threat is processed in a normal brain versus one altered by PTSD is essential to developing effective interventions. New research from the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas published online today in Brain and Cognition illustrates how fear arises ...

Smithsonian scientists discover tropical tree microbiome in Panama

Smithsonian scientists discover tropical tree microbiome in Panama
2014-09-15
Human skin and gut microbes influence processes from digestion to disease resistance. Despite the fact that tropical forests are the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems on the planet, more is known about belly-button bacteria than bacteria on trees in the tropics. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues working on Panama's Barro Colorado Island discovered that small leaf samples from a single tree were home to more than 400 different kinds of bacteria. The combined sample from 57 tree species contained more than 7,000 different kinds. Bacteria in tropical forests may ...

Scientists discover RNA modifications in some unexpected places

2014-09-15
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 15, 2014) – The so-called central dogma of molecular biology—that DNA makes RNA which makes protein—has long provided a simplified explanation for how genetic information is deciphered and translated in living organisms. In reality, of course, the process is vastly more complicated than the schema first articulated nearly 60 years ago by Nobel Laureate Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA's double-helix structure. For one, there are multiple types of RNA, three of which—messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA)—are ...

Study first to use brain scans to forecast early reading difficulties

2014-09-15
UC San Francisco researchers have used brain scans to predict how young children learn to read, giving clinicians a possible tool to spot children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties before they experience reading challenges. In the United States, children usually learn to read for the first time in kindergarten and become proficient readers by third grade, according to the authors. In the study, researchers examined brain scans of 38 kindergarteners as they were learning to read formally at school and tracked their white matter development until third grade. ...

'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures and kills males

2014-09-15
An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current. "Our new decoy and electrocution process may be useful in managing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims to be the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America," said Michael Domingue, postdoctoral fellow in entomology, Penn State. According to the Forest Service, the emerald ash borer was ...

Researchers control surface tension to manipulate liquid metals

Researchers control surface tension to manipulate liquid metals
2014-09-15
VIDEO: Liquid metals have very large surface tensions that causes them to assume a spherical shape. Researchers have shown that the deposition of a surface oxide lowers the surface tension... Click here for more information. Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique for controlling the surface tension of liquid metals by applying very low voltages, opening the door to a new generation of reconfigurable electronic circuits, antennas and other ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Study links wind-blown dust from receding Salton Sea to reduced lung function in area children

Multidisciplinary study finds estrogen could aid in therapies for progressive multiple sclerosis

Final day of scientific sessions reveals critical insights for clinical practice at AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting and OTO EXPO

Social adversity and triple-negative breast cancer incidence among black women

Rapid vs standard induction to injectable extended-release buprenorphine

Galvanizing blood vessel cells to expand for organ transplantation

Common hospice medications linked to higher risk of death in people with dementia

SNU researchers develop innovative heating and cooling technology using ‘a single material’ to stay cool in summer and warm in winter without electricity

SNU researchers outline a roadmap for next-generation 2D semiconductor 'gate stack' technology

The fundamental traditional Chinese medicine constitution theory serves as a crucial basis for the development and application of food and medicine homology products

Outfoxed: New research reveals Australia’s rapid red fox invasion

SwRI’s Dr. Chris Thomas named AIAA Associate Fellow

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) funding for research on academic advising experiences of Division I Black/African American student-athletes at minority serving institutions

Johri developing artificial intelligence literacy among undergraduate engineering and technology students

Boston Children’s receives a $35 million donation to accelerate development of therapeutic options for children with brain disorders through the Rosamund Stone Zander and Hansjoerg Wyss Translational

Quantum crystals offer a blueprint for the future of computing and chemistry

Looking beyond speech recognition to evaluate cochlear implants

Tracking infectious disease spread via commuting pattern data

Underweight children cost the NHS as much per child as children with obesity, Oxford study finds.

Wetland plant-fungus combo cleans up ‘forever chemicals’ in a pilot study

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with peginterferon α-2b in chronic hepatitis B

APS and SPR honor Dr. Wendy K. Chung with the 2026 Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC) has launched the Variant Workbench

Yeast survives Martian conditions

Calcium could be key to solving stability issues in sodium-ion batteries

Can smoother surfaces prevent hydrogen embrittlement?

Heart rate changes predict depression treatment success with magnetic brain stimulation

Genetics pioneer transforms global depression research through multi-omics discoveries

MDMA psychiatric applications synthesized: Comprehensive review examines PTSD treatment and emerging therapeutic indications

Psychedelics offer new therapeutic framework for stress-related psychiatric disorders

[Press-News.org] Researchers debunk myth about Parkinson's disease