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From Viartis 11th August 2009 - New research THE MICHAEL J.FOX FOUNDATION FUNDS NINE NEW APPROACHES The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is funding nine new research projects for Parkinson's Disease. All of the nearly four million dollar funding has gone to nine biotech and pharmaceutical companies. For more information read the Press release. The research projects consist of seven "neuroprotective approaches", and two projects concerning the treatment of dyskinesia. The following provides links to the details of each of the nine projects : *The pharmacodynamics of ReS9-S7, which concerns early stage research in possible toxicity [1]. The element being researched, alpha-synuclein, has never been shown to cause Parkinson's Disease, but has instead been found only to be affected as a result of it. *Exploring curcumin (which is found in a curry spice) as a possible treatment of Parkinson's Disease [2]. Curcumin is already widely used, due to its ready availability, but has never rid Parkinson's Disease. *The effect of novel neuronal nicotinic receptor compounds on dyskinesia [3]. Smoking has the same effect on the nicotinic receptors due its nicotine contact, yet does not rid dyskinesia. *Assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of progranulin in a sub-chronic animal model of Parkinson's disease [4]. Other researchers have already shown that progranulin has no potential in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. *Validation of LRRK2 as a drug target for treatment of Parkinson's disease using antisense technology [5]. LRRK2 concerns only a genetic form of Parkinson's Disease. *Optimising lead series of small molecule inhibitors of LRRK2 to deliver tool compounds and clinical development candidates [6]. LRRK2 concerns only a genetic form of Parkinson's Disease. *A novel approach to characterize the distribution of a potentially therapeutic dominant-negative inhibitor of TNF in pre-clinical models of PD, and predict the scalability for an effective delivery of therapy in the human brain [7]. This aims for drugs to be able to by pass the blood brain barrier. However, Parkinson's Disease has never been shown to be due to a deficiency of the blood brain barrier. *Pre-clinical development of a Parkinson's disease therapy using a glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonist [8]. It is already approved by the FDA, but for diabetes rather than Parkinson's Disease. *Optimization of MOR antagonists for the treatment of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's Disease [9]. The theory behind its use does not, even in theory, address the fact that dyskinesia is due to excessive L-dopa. In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 8th August 2009 - New book ASK THE DOCTOR ABOUT PARKINSON'S DISEASE Michael S. Okun, Hubert H. Fernandez Publisher's description : Derived from Ask the Doctor, a website column written by the authors for the National Parkinson Foundation, this book explores frequently asked questions. It offers detailed answers to the most common questions, including the role of heredity in Parkinson's, its symptoms and diagnosis, the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments, whether the disease's progression can be slowed, the future of stem cell treatment in the fight against Parkinson's disease, and many others. Written in plain, easy-to-understand language, it arms readers with the knowledge they need to better understand and manage the disease. Click here for more details. For more books concerning Parkinson's Disease go to Parkinson's Disease Books. 7th August 2009 - New research WELL WATER AS A CAUSE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE Environmental Health Perspectives [2009] (Nicole M. Gatto, Myles Cockburn, Jeff Bronstein, Angelika D. Manthripragada, and Beate Ritz) Complete report Consumption of pesticide contaminated well water has often been claimed to be a cause of Parkinson's Disease. When researchers investigated consumption of water from private wells in areas with documented historical pesticide use, they found that it was associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's Disease. Six pesticides were examined : diazinon, chlorpyrifos, propargite, paraquat, dimethoate, and methomyl. People with Parkinson's Disease were found to have consumed well water an average of more than four years longer than people that did not have Parkinson's Disease. Consumption of well water contaminated with the pesticides methomyl, chlorpyrifos or propargite resulted in a 70% to 90% increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's Disease. Exposure to a higher number of water soluble pesticides and organophosphate pesticides also increased the risk of causing Parkinson's Disease. For more information concerning toxic causes, go to the Toxic causes of Parkinson's Disease. 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