Physiotherapy, delivered as part of a multidisciplinary approach, provides physical and psycho-social benefits for people with Parkinson’s. What is Parkinson’s? Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition characterized by motor and non-motor problems. The main changes arise from brain dysfunction through reduced production of chemical messengers particularly the neurotransmitter dopamine. The three main motor (movement) symptoms are bradykinesia (slowness), rigidity (stiffness) and tremor. Diagnosis is usually based on clinical examination. People...
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Memory ‘brainwaves’ look the same in sleep and wakefulness
Identical brain mechanisms are responsible for triggering a memory in both sleep and wakefulness, new research at the University of Birmingham has shown. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The study sheds new light on the processes used by the brain to ‘reactivate’ memories during sleep, consolidating them so they can be retrieved later. Although the importance...
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Drug sensitivity and resistance testing could make ‘right to try’ a real thing
The contentious “right to try” bill that President Trump signed into law to help terminally ill patients get access to treatments that might — I emphasize the “might” — cure them or prolong their lives is more wishful thinking that it is a reality. Human HeLa cells in culture. Recent advances in drug sensitivity and resistance testing suggest that it’s worth...
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Killer cell immunotherapy offers potential cure for advanced pancreatic cancer
A new approach to treating pancreatic cancer using ‘educated killer cells’ has shown promise, according to early research by Queen Mary University of London QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON The new cell-based immunotherapy, which has not yet been tested in humans with pancreatic cancer, led to mice being completely cancer-free, including cancer cells that had already spread to the liver...
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Antiepileptic drugs linked to higher risk of stroke in persons with Alzheimer’s disease
Antiepileptic drug use is associated with an increased risk of stroke among persons with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The risk did not differ between old and new antiepileptic drugs. The results were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The risk of stroke was particularly elevated for the first three months of antiepileptic drug use and remained elevated after accounting for several chronic...
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Physical therapy important for women treated for breast cancer
The survival rate for breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, is now about 90 percent, increased by nearly 20 percent since the 1970s. Surviving breast cancer has been the biggest treatment goal until recent years when attention began to turn to surviving well, as these three women appear to be. Credit: fitzcrittle/Shutterstock.com With more women than ever – nearly 3 million – living beyond a breast cancer diagnosis, it’s important to consider...
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Type 1 diabetes often misdiagnosed in adults
And a new study finds mistakes are common. That’s what happened to British Prime Minister Theresa May when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012. She was in her 50s at the time. Despite having all of the symptoms common to type 1 diabetes, including rapid weight loss, her doctor initially said she...
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Planned intermittent fasting may help reverse type 2 diabetes, suggest doctors
And cut out need for insulin while controlling blood glucose Planned intermittent fasting may help to reverse type 2 diabetes, suggest doctors writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports after three patients in their care, who did this, were able to cut out the need for insulin treatment altogether. Around one in 10 people in the US and Canada have type 2 diabetes, which is associated with other serious illness and early...
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Molecular details of protein reveal glimpse into how kidney stones form
Penn study shows that 3D structure of ion channel protein could inform drug discovery UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PHILADELPHIA – Kidney stones–solid, pebble-like grit that forms when too much of certain minerals like calcium are in the urine–can strike men, women, and increasingly, children, and the presence and pain of stones afflicts more than 12...
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Immunotherapy Complete Response Data Suggest Metastatic Melanoma Cures
This is Dr Jeffrey Weber. I am a medical oncologist at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University Langone Health in New York City. Today we will be talking about a very interesting article that appeared several months ago in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,[1] which I think sheds light on...