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17th June 2009 - New research COMPARISON OF SCANNING METHODS FOR DIAGNOSING PARKINSON'S DISEASE European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging [2009] 36 (3) : 454-462 (Eshuis SA, Jager PL, Maguire RP, Jonkman S, Dierckx RA, Leenders KL.) Complete abstract Around 25% of people with Parkinson's Disease are wrongly diagnosed, due to the diversity of symptoms and the coincidence with other medical disorders. There are two methods of scanning the brain that enable the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease by measuring the activity of dopamine in the brain : the SPECT scan and the PET scan. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the sensitivity and specificity of the two methods in the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. The patients underwent both types of brain scan. The SPECT scan and the PET scan were both able to distinguish people with Parkinson's Disease. For the early phases of Parkinson's Disease, sensitivity and specificity was 100%. When only one part of the brain was assessed, the accuracy was still 100% for the SPECT scan, but was 90% for the PET scan. This level of efficacy presently makes scanning, especially the SPECT scan, the most reliable method of diagnosing Parkinson's Disease. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 14th June 2009 - New research MEMANTINE FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE DEMENTIA Lancet Neurology [2009] Jun 9 [Epub ahead of print] (Aarsland D, Ballard C, Walker Z, Bostrom F, Alves G, Kossakowski K, Leroi I, Pozo-Rodriguez F, Minthon L, Londos E.) Complete abstract The biochemistry of Dementia is completely distinct from that of Parkinson's Disease. However, dementia often occurs alongside Parkinson's Disease. Researchers tested the safety and efficacy of Memantine (an N-methyl D-aspartate [NMDA] receptor antagonist) in people with Parkinson's Disease Dementia. The primary measure of efficacy was clinical global impression of change (CGIC), which is not a precise measure of symptoms. It was concluded that "Patients with Parkinson's Disease Dementia might benefit from treatment with memantine, which was well tolerated" but that "Large-scale studies are now required to confirm" the preliminary findings. However, nearly a quarter of the participants did not complete the study due to adverse events, the difference in scores between those people taking Memantine and those taking a placebo was very marginal, there were no significant differences between the groups in secondary measures, and no comparison was made of the side effects caused by taking Memantine. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 12th June 2009 - New research PARKINSON'S DISEASE CAUSES THINNING OF THE RETINA Archives of Ophthalmology [2009] 127 (6) : 737-741 (Hajee ME, March WF, Lazzaro DR, Wolintz AH, Shrier EM, Glazman S, Bodis-Wollner IG.) Complete abstract People with Parkinson's Disease have been found to suffer a thinning of the retina. The retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye that is essential for vision. For more information about the retina go to Retina. A study quantified the thickness of the retina in people with Parkinson's Disease. No difference was found in the thickness of the outer retinal layer in Parkinson's Disease, when compared to people of the same age that don't have Parkinson's Disease. However, the thickness of the inner layer of the retina was found to be significantly reduced in Parkinson's Disease. This lessening of the retina could affect eyesight as Parkinson's Disease progresses. This effect on the retina may be because dopamine, whose deficiency causes Parkinson's Disease, besides being produced in the brain, is also produced in the retina, and so is liable to cause deficiency symptoms there as well. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 11th June 2009 - New research THE PREVALENCE OF GENETIC PARKINSON'S DISEASE Annals of Human Genetics [2009] May 21 [ahead of print] (Paisán-Ruiz C, Washecka N, Nath P, Singleton AB, Corder EH.) Complete abstract There are a number of genetic forms of Parkinson's Disease that can incline somebody towards Parkinson's Disease rather than inevitably cause it. It has previously been assumed that the number of people with Parkinson's Disease that are genetically inclined towards developing symptoms in this way was relatively small. However, researchers have found that just one of these genetic forms of Parkinson's Disease occurs in a third of people with Parkinson's Disease. Given that there are other genes that can incline somebody towards Parkinson's Disease means that the number of people genetically inclined towards Parkinson's Disease is far more than previously thought. The gene is called LRRK2 (leucine risk repeat kinase 2), which produces a protein called dardarin, a word derived from the Basque word dardara, meaning tremor. Mutations in LRRK2 are a common cause of familial Parkinson's disease. A combination of four gene variants are found in a third of people with Parkinson's Disease, but they are infrequent in the general population. This advance is expected to enable the identification of people at the greatest risk of Parkinson's Disease before symptoms arise. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 6th June 2009 - New review THE MYTH OF MASSIVE CELL LOSS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE It is widely claimed that there is a massive loss of the cells involved in Parkinson's Disease (the dopaminergic neurons), and that the loss of these cells is responsible for causing Parkinson's Disease. However, not a single study has ever shown this. This false assumption came about during the 1990's after researchers carried out autopsy studies on people that had Parkinson's Disease. They mistakenly claimed that they had found a considerable loss of the cells that produce dopamine. However, their methods did not even measure cell loss. They measured cell activity instead. Their results and methods of those of others have shown that, in Parkinson's Disease, there is a large reduction in the activity of the dopaminergic neurons rather than a loss of them - down to about 20%-25% in mild Parkinson's Disease, and down to 5%-10% in severe Parkinson's Disease. There have been subsequent claims of massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease. However, those claims have also been based on methods, such as the f-Dopa PET scan, that only measure cell activity rather than actual cell loss. Failure to properly scrutinise these studies has enabled the myth of massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease to persist and become a widely prevalent assumption - even though not a single study has ever shown it to be true. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn