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Industrial Cleaner Linked to Increased Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

June 20th, 2010

Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical once widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.

“This is the first time a population-based study has confirmed case reports that exposure to TCE may increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” said study author Samuel Goldman, MD, with the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, California, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “TCE was once a popular industrial solvent used in dry cleaning and to clean grease off metal parts, but due to other health concerns the chemical is no longer widely used.”
For the study, researchers obtained job histories from 99 pairs of twins in which only one of the twins had Parkinson’s disease. All of the twins were men and identified from the World War II-Veterans Twins Cohort study. Scientists used twins in the study because they are genetically identical or very similar and provide an ideal population for evaluating environmental risk factors.
The study found workers who were exposed to TCE were five and a half times more likely to have Parkinson’s disease than people not exposed to the chemical. Those who were exposed to TCE had job histories including work as dry cleaners, machinists, mechanics or electricians.

Glutathione Therapy for Parkinson’s – Study

June 13th, 2010

Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson’s disease

Robert A. Hauser, MD 1 2 *, Kelly E. Lyons, PhD 3, Terry McClain, ARNP 1, Summer Carter, MSPH 1, David Perlmutter, MD 4
1Department of Neurology, University of South Florida and Tampa General Healthcare, NPF Center of Excellence, Tampa, Florida
2Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida and Tampa General Healthcare, NPF Center of Excellence, Tampa, Florida
3Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, NPF Center of Excellence, Florida
4Perlmutter Health Center, Naples, Florida

email: Robert A. Hauser (rhauser@health.usf.edu)

*Correspondence to Robert A. Hauser, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, University of South Florida, 5 Tampa General Circle, Suite 410, Tampa, Florida 33606

Potential conflict of interest: All authors have indicated that they have nothing to disclose regarding Wellness Health and Pharmaceuticals or glutathione. Dr. Robert Hauser has received honoraria or consulting fees from Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Bertek, Boehringer Ingelheim, Centopharm, Eisai, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Impax, Kyowa Pharmaceutical, Merck KgaA, Ortho McNeil, Novartis, Pfizer, Prestwick, Schwarz Pharma, Schering, Solvay, Synosia, Teva Neuroscience, Valeant, and Vernalis. Dr. Kelly Lyons has received honoraria or consulting fees from Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Teva Neuroscience, UCB Pharma, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Terry McClain has received honoraria or consulting fees from Eisai, GlaxoSmithKline, Kyowa Pharmaceutical, Solvay, Teva Neuroscience, Serono, and Vernalis. Summer Carter has received honoraria or consulting fees from Solvay and Asubio Pharmaceuticals. Dr. David Perlmutter reports nothing to disclose.

Funded by:
Wellness Health and Pharmaceuticals (Birmingham, Alabama)

Keywords
glutathione • Parkinson’s disease • treatment • antioxidant • neuroprotection • UPDRS

Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, pilot trial in subjects with PD whose motor symptoms were not adequately controlled with their current medication regimen. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive intravenous glutathione 1,400 mg or placebo administered three times a week for 4 weeks. Twenty-one subjects were randomly assigned, 11 to glutathione and 10 to placebo. One subject who was assigned to glutathione withdrew from the study for personal reasons prior to undergoing any postrandomization efficacy assessments. Glutathione was well tolerated and there were no withdrawals because of adverse events in either group. Reported adverse events were similar in the two groups. There were no significant differences in changes in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores. Over the 4 weeks of study medication administration, UPDRS ADL + motor scores improved by a mean of 2.8 units more in the glutathione group (P = 0.32), and over the subsequent 8 weeks worsened by a mean of 3.5 units more in the glutathione group (P = 0.54). Glutathione was well tolerated and no safety concerns were identified. Preliminary efficacy data suggest the possibility of a mild symptomatic effect, but this remains to be evaluated in a larger study. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society

Effects of Coffee and Tea on Parkinson’s Disease Risk

November 1st, 2009

From About.com:

A Hawaiian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that of 8,000 Japanese/American men, those who drank 3+ cups of coffee per day were 5 times less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. The study took place over a 30-year period.
The theory is that caffeine is reducing the amount of neuro-transmitters produced by the brain, transmitters that may actual do damage to surrounding brain tissue. The actual action of caffeine in the brain is not known. It may also interfere with uptake of other transmitters, allowing the levels of dopamine to increase.

The polyphenols in green tea may also have a preventative effect with regards to Parkinson’s disease. These chemicals act within the brain to improve the flow of dopamine between portions of the brain. Parkinson’s is caused by a lack of dopamine in one part of the brain, and these polyphenols could prevent that depletion.

Studies with Parkinson’s and polyphenols have been conducted in labs with mice, but there have been no actual tea-drinking studies done with humans.

Adult Stem Cell Research Reverses Effects of Parkinson’s Disease in Human Trial

September 2nd, 2009

From KifeNews.com:

Scientists have published a paper in a medical journal describing the results of the world’s first clinical trial using autologous neural stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. A leading bioethics watchdog says the results show more money should be put behind adult stem cells.

UCLA researchers published their results in February issue of the Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal which outlines the long term results of the trial.

“We have documented the first successful adult neural stem cell transplantation to reverse the effects of Parkinson’s disease and demonstrated the long term safety and therapeutic effects of this approach,” says lead author Dr. Michel Levesque.

The paper describes how Levesque’s team was able to isolate patient-derived neural stem cells, multiply them in vitro and ultimately differentiate them to produce mature neurons before they are reintroduced into the brain.

The team was able to inject the adult stem cells without the need for immunosuppressants. Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cell injections don’t cause a patient’s immune system to reject the cells.

The adult stem cells were highly beneficial for the patient involved in the study.

“Of particular note are the striking results this study yielded — for the five years following the procedure the patient’s motor scales improved by over 80% for at least 36 months,” Levesque wrote.

He said he hoped a larger clinical trial would replicate the findings.

Dr. David Prentice, a former biology professor at Indiana State University who is now a fellow with the Family Research Council, tells LifeNews.com that the results of the study are wonderful news for patients.

“This evidence had been presented previously, but we now have the peer-reviewed scientific evidence for the effectiveness of adult stem cells in alleviating Parkinson’s symptoms,” he said. “While the data show that the technique needs refinement, this patient went for several years with little to no symptoms of his disease, even with only half of the brain treated with his own adult stem cells.”

Prentice says the results continue to prove that adult stem cells outpace their embryonic counterparts.

“People need to take notice that it is not embryonic stem cells that provide promise of treatments in the future, but rather it is adult stem cells that are already providing safe and effective therapies for patients now, without the problems of rejection or tumors,” Prentice explains.

“We need to pour our resources, especially taxpayer dollars, into adult stem cell research to foster more and better treatments and put the patients first,” he told LifeNews.com.

Levesque is a principal investigator for NeuroGeneration, a biotechnology company, and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Medicine and the Brain Research Institute.

Watching Stem Cells Repair the Human Brain

August 26th, 2009

TAU researcher shows viability of bone marrow stem cells with unique MRI tracking methods

From aftau.org:

There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient’s own bone marrow, can be found — and literally seen — in laboratories at Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Yoram Cohen of TAU’s School of Chemistry has recently proven the viability of these innovative stem cells, called mesenchymal stem cells, using in-vivo MRI. Dr. Cohen has been able to track their progress within the brain, and initial studies indicate they can identify unhealthy or damaged tissues, migrate to them, and potentially repair or halt cell degeneration. His findings have been reported in the journal Stem Cells.

“By monitoring the motion of these cells, you get information about how viable they are, and how they can benefit the tissue,” he explains. “We have been able to prove that these stem cells travel within the brain, and only travel where they are needed. They read the chemical signalling of the tissue, which indicate areas of stress. And then they go and try to repair the situation.”

Tracking live cells in the brain

Dr. Yoram Cohen

To test the capabilities of this innovative new stem cells, Dr. Cohen created a study to track the activity of the live cells within the brain using the in-vivo MRI at the Strauss Centre for Computational Neuro-Imaging. Watching the live, active cells has been central to establishing their viability as a therapy for neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Cohen and his team of researchers took magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and used them to label the stem cells they tested. When injected into the brain, they could then be identified as clear black dots on an MRI picture. The stem cells were then injected into the brain of an animal that had an experimental model of Huntington’s disease. These animals suffer from a similar neuropathology as the one seen in human Huntington’s patients, and therefore serve as research tool for the disease.

On MRI, it was possible to watch the stem cells migrating towards the diseased area of the brain. “Cells that go toward a certain position that needs to be rescued are the best indirect proof that they are live and viable,” explains Dr. Cohen. “If they can migrate towards the target, they are alive and can read chemical signalling.”

An ethically viable stem cell

This study is based on differentiated mesenchymal cells (MSC), which were discovered at Tel Aviv University. Bone marrow cells are transformed into NTFs-secreting stem cells, which can then be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. This advance circumvents the ethical debate caused by the use of stem cells obtained from embryos.

Although there is a drawback to using this particular type of stem cell — the higher degree of difficulty involved in rendering them “neuron-like” — the benefits are numerous. “Bone marrow-derived MSCs bypass ethical and production complications,” says Dr. Cohen, “and in the long run, the cells are less likely to be rejected because they come from the patients themselves. This means you don’t need immunosuppressant therapy.”

Working towards a real-life therapy

Dr. Cohen says the next step is to develop a real-life therapy for those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. The ultimate goal is to repair neuronal cells and tissues. Stem cell therapy is thought to be the most promising future therapy to combat diseases such as Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and researchers may also be able to develop a therapy for stroke victims. If post-stroke cell degeneration can be stopped at an early stage, says Dr. Cohen, patients can live for many years with a good quality of life.

In collaboration with Dr. Cohen, this work on tracking live stem cells in the brain was done by Noam Shemesh, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Chemistry at Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Ofer Sadan from the group of Drs. Daniel Offen and Eldad Melamed from the Felsenstein Medical Research Center at the Rabin Medical Center