Thursday, February 22, 2024

Gold nanocrystals may reverse Parkinson's neurological deficit

Gold nanocrystals show promise to reverse neurological deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). In clinical trials conducted at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Texas, the nanomedicine exhibited the ability to solve energy-related disorders in patients' brains. The research team conducted two phase-two clinical trials to test the experimental treatment, dubbed CNM-Au8, on patients.

In these trials, 11 patients with relapse MS and 13 with PD were recruited. “We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to prevent or even reverse some neurological disabilities with this strategy,” said Peter Sguigna, M.D., who led the active MS trials. Click here to learn more.

Medicinal cannabis is a 'life-changing treatment' for people with Tourette syndrome

Australian researchers have published the first robust clinical study proving that medicinal cannabis effectively treats the debilitating effects of Tourette syndrome. The findings – which confirm that a combination of THC and CBD produces a clinically significant reduction (up to 50%) in motor and vocal tics in just six weeks – are published in the New England Journal of Medicine: Evidence.

The University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics co-funded the study with Wesley Research Institute, assisted with study design and execution, and analyzed blood levels of cannabinoids among participants. The analysis found a significant association between levels of cannabis in the bloodstream and response to active treatment. Click here to learn more.

Scientists propose “radically different” way of looking at Parkinson’s disease

Developing treatments for Parkinson’s disease is difficult due to its complexity, involving genetic, environmental factors, and a wide range of symptoms. A recent study proposes a new classification system called “SynNeurGe,” focusing on biological markers like alpha-synuclein, neurodegeneration, and genetics to enable earlier diagnosis and tailored treatments, a significant shift from current symptom-based diagnosis methods.

The authors argue that for research purposes, patients should be classified by the presence or absence of these three factors. This would allow the identification of Parkinson’s patients before symptoms appear and aid the development of treatments tailored to patients’ unique biology. Click here to learn more.

Cutting-edge methods yield surprising insights into Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease is caused by somatic CAG expansions in which a triplet repeat of DNA bases in a mutated Huntingtin (mHTT) gene increases in number throughout life, leading to cell death. Scientists from the Rockefeller University have used a custom technique to reveal that these genetic repeats are only unstable – and likely producing more toxic proteins – in select brain cell types. Moreover, some cells they studied proved surprisingly resilient to CAG repeat expansion. Click here to learn more.

Targeting 'undruggable' proteins promises new approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers led by Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have introduced a pioneering approach aimed at combating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In a new study, researchers discovered a new way to enhance the body's antioxidant response, which is crucial for cellular protection against the oxidative stress implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases. Click here to learn more.