Arts therapies appear to ease brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. Now, artists and scientists have launched an effort to understand how these treatments change the brain.
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can vanish briefly in the face of stress or a strong emotion. Now scientists are searching for a treatment based on this phenomenon, a form of the placebo effect.
The richness of human vocal communication turns partly on our ability to control pitch, scientists say. Consider the difference you hear between "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma."
The pharmaceutical giant said it would be abandoning its neuroscience development programs and allocating its spending elsewhere. The move also means the company will lay off some 300 employees.
Jackson, 76, was diagnosed with the motor system disorder in 2015, according to the facility where he is undergoing treatment. "For me, a Parkinson's diagnosis is not a stop sign," he says.
In 2003, researchers declared a moratorium on the use of transplanted brain cells to treat Parkinson's disease. Now, armed with better cells, they're giving the approach another try.
The company 23andMe is now allowed to market tests that assess genetic risks for 10 health conditions, including Parkinson's and late-onset Alzheimer's diseases.
In a preliminary study, the cancer drug nilotinib seemed to help patients with Parkinson's and dementia. Now two larger and more rigorous studies of the drug are under way.
Ford Inbody has a degenerative disease and is carefully watching the GOP replacement health care bill. Though it covers preexisting conditions, it could still mean he'll get less care for more money.
Scientists now have a fairly noninvasive way to test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare form of dementia. A similar test, they say, might offer earlier diagnoses of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Under a settlement in 2013, Medicare was supposed to make clear to physical therapists that their services are covered even if beneficiaries aren't improving. But that hasn't been widely accepted.
Each lab-grown cluster of human cells fits on a pin's head, but contains some of the cell types and circuitry of a real brain. The structures already are offering insights into how Zika attacks.
Many struggle with tremors and balance much of the time, but when the music starts, these people dance. It gives them joy — body and soul. Scientists say dance might have lasting brain benefits, too.
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Sparks Mayor Geno Martini says he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but intends to serve through the end of his term in November 2018.
People with Parkinson's and related forms of dementia improved dramatically when they took a leukemia drug called nilotinib. Researchers say the drug seems to help brain cells eliminate toxins.
The neurologist, who died Sunday, saw "infinitely moving, dramatic, romantic situations" during his decades studying the human brain. Fresh Air remembers Sacks with two interviews from 1985 and 2012.
By targeting the process that creates toxic clumps of protein in brain cells, scientists hope to help not just Alzheimer's patients, but perhaps also people with Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson's.
Scientists are still better than computers at assessing a neuron's health by looking at its shape. But an effort that includes an international series of hackathons could help speed the process.
Several times a week, Mike Quaglia dons bright red boxing gloves and pummels a hundred-pound punching bag. He has Parkinson's disease, and the boxing helps alleviate his symptoms.
