Biotechnology is undoubtedly the technology of the future for it not only presents exceptional opportunities, but also gives hope for a better future with better diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In terms of potential and growth, it is not much different from the mystical dragon, and since 2012 is the year of the dragon, it is expected that it would bring in loads of good news and prosperity for this new branch of science.
The good news
For biotechnology, the last year has been strong and monumental with Tax Incentive Legislation being passed in Australia and a very strong and consistent growth in the sector which was recently followed by good news, the Senate Inquiry of the gene patents bill. Since the last year, the Australian Biotechnology has been included amongst the fifth most innovative biotech nations in the world (according to the Scientific American World View). This trend is continuing in the current year, as Australia has shown great potential in developing biotech related agricultural, medical and even environmental research.
The companies of Australian Biotech are confident that the New Year would definitely be the best and until now with tremendous growth in the sector it has proved this. Even the new startup biotech companies in Australia now stand a better chance with the Tax Incentive’s 45% refundable component, even the large corporations would now be able to reduce their R&D expenses by as much as 10%. Such a healthy growth favoring environment has allowed the Australian Biotech companies to make a mark globally and have a steadily rising status even in the competitive markets of US and Europe.
Conclusion
The Australian Biotech industry now needs to revamp itself and embrace a more authentic and transparent management. There should be better communication between the management and the stakeholders. The opportunities are in plenty and the industry environment very supportive, hence the companies should make the most of it and truly let the biotech dragon rise in this year of the dragon.
Author Archives: Fredricko
Biotechnology Industry on the Brink: Healthcare Reform and Agricultural
Biotechnology industry expected to grow unceasingly
In spite of tremendous growth Biotechnology has shown in a short period, experts are of the opinion that all this growth witnessed so far is a tiny fragment of potential prospects of biotechnology. According to IBISWorld, $92 billion biotechnology is going to reach $146 billion by the year 2016.
Biotechnology: Unending source of new products
In spite of the fact that the industry is still in nascent stage, its products have already revolutionized medicine, agriculture and industries. Also, it must be remembered that there are hundreds of new products being developed in laboratories with promising results. When the market conditions were unfavorable, biotechnology start ups obtained funds from VC investments, which were eager to invest because of the high potential of the products being developed.
The companies also chose the route of mergers and acquisitions to leverage their core competencies and reduce costs in the period of unfavorable investor confidence during 2008 to 2010. Smaller companies merged with larger companies to get higher market shares and get access to resources. These developments have made biotechnology firms leaner and left them in better condition to proceed ahead with new efforts at research and development.
Another factor that is favoring the growth of biotechnology companies is the benefit of federal funding and support for biological defense projects. Pharmaceutical companies have acquired biotechnology firms in efforts to develop new formulations based on this revolutionary technology. Many companies are on the verge of breakthrough developments in developing drugs for conquering diseases like cancer and diabetes with the help of biotechnology.
Healthcare programs of federal government also support these companies to develop generic biological medicines and give them tax breaks. The role of biotechnology in improving the agriculture is evident; it offers solutions for increasing food production without degrading soil quality or posing threat to environment. The sustainable agriculture is clearly possible as shown by the new products and processes developed by biotechnology industry.
Conclusion:
With great promise of improved products in healthcare and agriculture, biotechnology is set to break its own record of tremendous growth seen so far!
Biotechnology, for the Upcoming Generations: Commercial Potential of a Complete for Profit and Growing Industry
Commerce is understood as any activity that creates wealth. For the past few decades, Biotechnology has been seen as an industrial means to generate wealth, most likely by adopting a ‘buying-selling’ model. Well!Biotechnology , in purest understanding, intends to tap a living process, most likely through gene manipulation, for contributing, directly or indirectly, towards improving the quality of human life. In the spate of economic struggle, states and corporations have started seeing Biotechnology as a core idea, systematized in a larger commercial cum industrial procedure for producing goods, to be sold for profit.
The Biotechnology products
Insulin has long been used by medics to control Diabetes. The recombinant protein is obtained from insulin secreting cultures, transformed through microbial bio techniques. As a matter of fact, some other approved products including antibiotics, fermented beverages, enzymes, bio degradable plastic etc. Are popularly used and now socially accepted. A longer list of newly researched products, still under development as a product line, is much waited for being introduced in the fast growing markets of developing nations. Moreover, the goods in this case are just not limited to be lifeless. The latest version of advancement through Biotechnology is to produce, in large-scale, germ plasm that grows into plant and live stock which is disease resistant and better yielding.
The sociopolitical resistance
People still have hunger pangs while food security bills are lingering in the Parliament. About a situation, when new concepts face allegations and non acceptance, there is nothing new. Genetically Modified food is often dismissed for harboring polluted DNA, once out for cultivation, would have no control from becoming promiscuous with the ‘natural’ variety. But why do we not resist the chemicals we have used for decades to voraciously grow crops and often ripen them artificially, with the same zest.
Well, the answer lies with us i.e. We dare to use the modern technology or bow before the conservative and orthodox methods. This is a fascinating field that has grown by leaps and bounds. Hence, we should look forward and seeing the advantages adopt Biotechnology with open hands.
List of Companies in Biotechnology Sector
Biotechnology as the name implies is the combination of Bio and Technology. It is an area of biology which includes use of live organism and bio processes in engineering, technology. In short Biotechnology is technical application which can use live organism and biological system techniques to manufacture or change any product or process it for any specified type of use. Any Biotechnology Company or organization is a firm which uses biotechnology for manufacturing or designing any product or service.
List of Biotechnology Companies:
A. Companies in US
Abraxis Bioscience, Acorda Therapeutics, Alkermes, Amgen, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Arena Pharmaceuticals, ArrayBioPharma, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec, Carrington Laboratories, Celgene, Cephalon, Cerus, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, CuraGen, CV Therapeutics, Cytogen, Enzo Biochem, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Genentech,GenVec, Genzyme, Gilead Sciences, Human Genome Sciences, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Indevus Pharmaceuticals, InterMune, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Imclone Systems, ImmunoGen, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, LifeCell, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Maxygen, Medarex, Medivir Group, MedImmune, MGI Pharma, Micromet, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Monogram Biosciences, Myriad Genetics, Nabi Bio pharmaceuticals, Nektar Therapeutics, Neurocrine Biosciences, NPSPharmaceuticals, Omrix Bio pharmaceuticals, Oscient Pharmaceuticals, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Palatin Technologies, PDLBioPharma, Pharmion, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Replidyne, Tanox, Targacept, Trimeris, United Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, ViaCell, ViroPharma, Xoma, ZymoGenetics.
B. Companies in India
Alembic Ltd, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech Asia-Pacific Ltd, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd, Biocon, Biotech Consortium India Ltd, Brain Wave Bioinformatics Ltd, Catalyst Pharma Consulting, Chemitech Foundation, Colour-Chem Ltd, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Excel Industries Ltd, Haitanya Healthcare Ecom Ltd, Hi Tech Bio Labs, Landpower Biotech Ltd, Life Science Technology Lupin Ltd, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd, Ocimum Biosolutions Ltd, Serum Institute of India, Shantha Biotechnics Private Ltd.
C. Other companies
There are many other companies like Ambrilia Biopharma, AEterna Zentaris, Cangene, QLT, Bioniche Life Sciences (Canada),Protherics, Acambis, Vernalis (UK), Genmab, Bavarian Nordic (Denmark), Vitrolife (Sweden), MediGene, MorphoSys, GPC Biotech (Germany), Peptech, Life Therapeutics (Australia), IsoTis (Switzerland), Crucell (Netherlands), Sinovac Biotech (China),Innogenetics (Belgium) too in biotechnology.
'Scandal' in Vatican Over Stem Cell Conference: Appearances by Trounson and Others Cancelled
The Vatican has cancelled a controversial scientific conference that would have featured scientists, including the president of the California stem cell agency, who support human embryonic stem cell research.
The conference reportedly created a "scandal" in the Vatican, according to a report by David Kerr of the Catholic News Agency. Kerr wrote,
"'I am infinitely relieved that the Church has avoided a major blunder which would have confused the faithful for decades to come,'” said one member of the Pontifical Academy who asked for anonymity in commenting to (the Catholic News Agency)."
The Catholic church opposes hESC research because of its belief that it destroys human life.
The conference would have taken place at the Vatican April 25-28 and included an audience with the pope. In addition to an appearance by CIRM's Alan Trounson, the key lecture was scheduled to have been given by George Daley of Harvard.
Kerr quoted the member of the Vactican's Pontifical Academy for Life as saying,
"The Holy Spirit has certainly shown to be present through those faithful members who drew attention to the ambiguity of the choice of speakers. I hope and pray that a review will be affected of the basis on which these congresses are planned."
Kerr also quoted another anonymous member of the academy as saying that the presence of speakers such as Trounson and Daley was "a betrayal of the mission of the academy and a public scandal."
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
‘Scandal’ in Vatican Over Stem Cell Conference: Appearances by Trounson and Others Cancelled
The Vatican has cancelled a controversial scientific conference that would have featured scientists, including the president of the California stem cell agency, who support human embryonic stem cell research.
The conference reportedly created a "scandal" in the Vatican, according to a report by David Kerr of the Catholic News Agency. Kerr wrote,
"'I am infinitely relieved that the Church has avoided a major blunder which would have confused the faithful for decades to come,'” said one member of the Pontifical Academy who asked for anonymity in commenting to (the Catholic News Agency)."
The Catholic church opposes hESC research because of its belief that it destroys human life.
The conference would have taken place at the Vatican April 25-28 and included an audience with the pope. In addition to an appearance by CIRM's Alan Trounson, the key lecture was scheduled to have been given by George Daley of Harvard.
Kerr quoted the member of the Vactican's Pontifical Academy for Life as saying,
"The Holy Spirit has certainly shown to be present through those faithful members who drew attention to the ambiguity of the choice of speakers. I hope and pray that a review will be affected of the basis on which these congresses are planned."
Kerr also quoted another anonymous member of the academy as saying that the presence of speakers such as Trounson and Daley was "a betrayal of the mission of the academy and a public scandal."
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
CIRM Directors Mulling Changes in Funding Direction
The California Stem Cell Report is concluding its coverage today of the meeting of the governing board of the directors meeting of the California stem cell agency.
No decisions were made on the general direction of future funding -- basic research and training vs development of therapies. Some of the directors differed sharply on the issues, however. We will have more on this subject later.
Here are slides from the presentation on the progress report on the agency's $230 million disease team round. One $19 million grant was cancelled.
Progress Report: Disease Team Grants by California Stem Cell Agency
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Stem Cell Scientist Impressed by CIRM Oversight Over Huge Grants
A California stem cell researcher, who must remain anonymous, made the following emailed comment today on the progress report on the $230 million in disease team grants from the California stem cell agency and termination of a $19 million grant.
"I'm impressed that CIRM is following through on monitoring the huge disease team grants and has actually curtailed the funding of one that didn't meet a key milestone. I hope that makes the other grant holders nervous! Too many scientists (in my humble opinion) forget that they need to do what they said they'd do- or - if the first plan fails, have the expertise and desire to adapt and find another way to reach the goals."
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
CIRM Hires New PR Chief
The $3 billion California stem cell agency announced today that it has hired Kevin McCormack, currently media relations manager at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, as its new director of communications.
CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas told the agency's directors at their meeting this morning in Sacramento that the appointment comes "not a moment too soon." Thomas told directors last June that the agency was engaged in a "communications war." Directors have been concerned about the lack of media coverage of the agency, which is largely below the radar of the mainstream media.
Thomas said that McCormack has "lots of experience" in media crisis management and "pressure cooker situations."
McCormack also served as media relations manager, Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente, and was a health/medical producer at KRON-TV in San Francisco.
The agency did not immediately release McCormack's salary. He will begin work April 2.
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
California Stem Cell Agency Pulls $19 Million Grant
The California stem cell agency has terminated a $19 million grant to a UC San Francisco researcher involved in the agency's ambitious attempts to push stem cell therapies into clinics.
The agency said the research effort led by Mitchel Berger, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at UCSF, "did not meet a go/no-go milestone" stipulated in the grant. His research was funded in 2010 to treat brain tumors with genetically modified neural brain cells. No further explanation for the termination was provided by CIRM in a report prepared for tomorrow's meeting of the CIRM governing board. The agency estimated the cancellation would save $13 million.
The California Stem Cell Report has asked Berger and his co-PIs for comment on the CIRM action. The other researchers are Evan Snyder of Sanford-Burnham and Webster Cavanee of the Ludwig Cancer Institute. Their remarks will be carried verbatim when they are received.
The CIRM action was disclosed in the progress report on the $230 million disease team effort launched by the agency in 2009. The amount climbed to more than $250 million with contributions from partnering countries. Three of the 14 funded applicants – Irv Weissman and Gary Steinberg, both of Stanford, and Karen Aboody of the City of Hope – were approved only after they appealed to the CIRM board to overturn rejections by grant reviewers. (See here , here and here for their written appeals. See here and here for coverage of the 2009 board action.)
One other disease team grant was modified to limit its scope and revise its funding. No savings were announced by CIRM. The PI on the $20 million project is Dennis Carson of UC San Diego. Co-PIs are Catriona Jamieson, also of UC San Diego, and John Dick of the University Health Network of Canada. The research is aimed at leukemia.
The actions on the disease team grants were not entirely unexpected. From their inception, CIRM directors have been told not to expect all the grants to finish successfully.
Ellen Feigal, senior vice president for research and development at CIRM, prepared the 19-page update on the disease team efforts. The grants are aimed at generating an investigational new drug application with the FDA within the four-year term of the grant.
She said that the funding decisions were made following evaluation of the projects by panels of clinical development advisors. Their recommendations were then considered by CIRM staff.
Feigal's report laid out accomplishments of the research so far and discussed changes in direction.
She said two companies have been formed since the grants were awarded to commercialize the hoped-for products. She said that in June 2011 Aboody founded TheraBiologics Inc., Newport Beach, Ca., of which she is chief scientific officer and director. Another company, Regenerative Patch Technologies, Glendale, Ca., was created by the team working on an hESC treatment for age-related macular degeneration. That $16 million grant involves Mark Humayan and David Hinton of USC, Dennis Clegg of UC Santa Barbara and Peter Coffey, formerly with University College, London, but now at UC Santa Barbara. The effort has generated seven patent filings.
The Feigal update also discussed the efforts of companies involved in other disease team grants. The lack of CIRM funding for biotech firms has been a bone of contention with industry and troublesome for some CIRM directors.
CIRM indicated the projects involving the firms were moving on schedule with no major difficulties reported. The companies involved are ViaCyte of San Diego, Calimmune of Tucson, Az., and Sangamo Inc. of Richmond, Ca.
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Stem Cell Agency Proposes 7 Percent Budget Hike, Seeks $50 Million in Private Funds
The California stem cell agency is proposing an operational budget of $17.8 million for the coming fiscal year, an increase of 7.2 percent over estimated spending for the current year ending June 30.
Financial documents (proposed budget and finance report) prepared for tomorrow's CIRM governing board meeting also showed that CIRM hopes to snag "$50 million in new, outside financial commitment for CIRM programs." This would represent the first major effort in recent years by CIRM to solicit private funds. The "draft goal" is in keeping with the agency's move to build a base of non-governmental funding.
Currently it is financed with cash that the state, which is mired in a financial crisis, must borrow. While CIRM's budget is increasing, the general fund budget for the entire state has plummeted from $103 billion in 2007-2008 to $87 billion this year.
The proposed CIRM budget also disclosed the agency will be facing substantial new costs – $1 million annually – for rent beginning in November 2015. CIRM has been operating rent-free since 2005 because of an $18 million recruitment package put together by the city of San Francisco.
The largest item in the proposed budget is salaries and benefits at $11 million, up from a projected $9.3 million for this year. The agency, which is administering $1.3 billion in grants involving hundreds of researchers, projects an increase in staff to 59. The agency currently has 51 employees, according to the finance report.
Outside contracts are the second largest expense at $3.4 million ($3 million this year) with grant reviews, meetings and workshops at $2.2 million(no comparable figure for this year).
By law, the stem cell agency operates under a budget cap of 6 percent of bond proceeds under the terms of Proposition 71, the ballot initiative that created CIRM.
In addition to tomorrow's review, the budget will be examined by the directors Finance Subcommittee April 2 before coming back for final approval in late May.
(Editor's note: An earlier version of this item incorrectly stated that the rent costs would rise to $1 million beginning in 2016. In fact, the increase will begin in November 2015. CIRM has revised the start date.)
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
The AP on the California Stem Cell Agency: No Cures, Hazy Future
The Associated Press news service, whose reports circulate worldwide, has taken the measure of the $3 billion California stem cell agency, declaring that it has produced no cures and that it "faces an uncertain future."
The piece by science writer Alicia Chang asked whether the agency is "still relevant" nearly eight years after it was created by California voters and whether it will exist after the money for new grants runs out in about five years.
She wrote,
"Midway through its mission, with several high-tech labs constructed, but little to show on the medicine front beyond basic research, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine faces an uncertain future."
Chang's piece carries more weight than those in most publications. The AP is the backbone of news coverage in the United States. Its news feeds appear automatically on hundreds, perhaps thousands of web sites in this country. Her article will also serve as a baseline in the future as other reporters examine the stem cell agency.
Here are excerpts from the piece:
"So what have Californians received for their money so far?
"The most visible investment is the opening of sleek buildings and gleaming labs at a dozen private and public universities built with matching funds. Two years ago, Stanford University unveiled the nation's largest space dedicated to stem cell research - 200,000 square feet that can hold 550 researchers.
"There are no cures yet in the pipeline and CIRM has shifted focus, channeling money to projects with the most promise of yielding near-term results."
Chang wrote,
"Several camps that support stem cell research think taxpayers should not pay another cent given the state's budget woes.
"'It would be so wrong to ask Californians to pony up more money,' said Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society, a pro-stem cell research group that opposed Proposition 71, the state ballot initiative that formed CIRM."
The article quoted UC Davis stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler as favoring another bond measure to keep CIRM afloat, although he said he recognizes the average Californian may disagree.
Roger Noll, professor emeritus of economics at Stanford, was quoted as saying that "CIRM's legacy has yet to be written."
"'CIRM spent a lot of money and there's a lot of stuff going on, but it's too early to know whether it was worth it,' Noll said."
Chang concluded with these four paragraphs:
"David Jensen, who runs the blog California Stem Cell Report, said Californians have benefited, but whether it will be worth the $6 billion the state has to pay back remains unclear.
"'The agency's responsibility is now to get the biggest bang for the buck, which is no easy task given the tentative nature of much of the science involved,'" he said in an email.
"Some think CIRM has left a mark whether or not it will exist in the future.
Its 'legacy will be felt in part by the stimulus that it has had on stem cell' research in California, said Fred Gage of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies."
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Coverage of Wednesday's Stem Cell Board Meeting
The California Stem Cell Report has found its cyberspace connection again on Isla Taboga about 10 miles offshore of Panama City. We expect to bring you live coverage via an Internet audiocast of Wednesday's meeting of the board of the California stem cell agency. The directors are scheduled to discuss a progress report on the agency's ambitious, $250 million disease team program and the termination of one grant. Directors are also expected to consider the agency's proposed budget for the coming year, its plans for its next few years of life and its plans to give away $3 million for stem cell programs for high school students. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. PDT.
http://www.cirm.ca.gov/summaries-review-applications-rfa-11-04-cirm-creativity-awards
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Coverage of Wednesday’s Stem Cell Board Meeting
The California Stem Cell Report has found its cyberspace connection again on Isla Taboga about 10 miles offshore of Panama City. We expect to bring you live coverage via an Internet audiocast of Wednesday's meeting of the board of the California stem cell agency. The directors are scheduled to discuss a progress report on the agency's ambitious, $250 million disease team program and the termination of one grant. Directors are also expected to consider the agency's proposed budget for the coming year, its plans for its next few years of life and its plans to give away $3 million for stem cell programs for high school students. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. PDT.
http://www.cirm.ca.gov/summaries-review-applications-rfa-11-04-cirm-creativity-awards
http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease
Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Layne Cameron layne.cameron@ur.msu.edu 517-353-8819 Michigan State University
EAST LANSING, Mich. Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson's disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.
A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson's. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping.
"Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases," said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy who co-authored the paper with Ahmad. "More specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures."
Lapidus' lab uses lasers to study protein folding. Proteins are chains of amino acids that do most of the work in cells. Scientists understand protein structure, but they don't know how they are built a process known as folding. Lapidus' team is shedding light on the process by correlating the speed at which protein folds with its tendency to clump or bind with other proteins.
When curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein's folding or reconfiguration rate. By bumping up the speed, curcumin moves the protein out of a dangerous speed zone allowing it to avoid clumping with other proteins.
Finding a compound that can fix a protein when it first begins to misfold can lead scientists to identify drugs that can treat certain diseases. Doctors won't be prescribing curcumin pills any time soon, though, Lapidus said.
"Curcumin's usefulness as an actual drug may be pretty limited since it doesn't go into the brain easily where this misfolding is taking place," she said. "But this kind of study showcases the technique of measuring reconfiguration and opens the door for developing drug treatments."
###
Read the rest here:
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease
The Brain-Makers
For years, doctors have treated the Parkinson's disease symptoms they could see: the shaking hands, the stumbling feet.
But one of the likely causes of Parkinson's is almost invisible. It's buried deep within brain cells, where tiny engines called mitochondria slowly are shutting down.
Now a team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a biotech company in Charlottesville, say they think they've found a way to rev up those engines once again, potentially reversing the disease.
Every cell in your brain is packed with mitochondria tiny engines that generate the energy cells need to function. But sometimes these brain cells do a curious thing. They turn off the signals to make mitochondria, depriving themselves of power. The tiny engines sputter and eventually cease to operate.
Essentially, "the brain is divorcing its mitochondria," says Dr. James P. Bennett Jr., director of the university's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center. This, scientists recently discovered, appears to be a likely root cause of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other heretofore mysterious brain disorders.
In 2004 one of Bennett's graduate students, Shaharyar Khan, developed a way to deliver healthy mitochondrial DNA directly into mitochondria via a protein carrier. In mice and cultured human cells, this method of gene therapy has been shown to revive the mitochondria, restoring the cell to normal function.
"It's novel," Bennett says. "No one else has it."
In January the researchers asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval to begin human clinical trials. The approval process may take a while, but Bennett's optimistic the team will be able to begin the trials this year.
One of Bennett's colleagues, Dr. Patricia A. Trimmer, is pursuing another promising therapy for Parkinson's patients: near-infrared laser light. The laser beam painlessly penetrates a person's skull, stimulating brain cells and rousing their sluggish mitochondria.
Trimmer shows speeded-up video clips of two sets of mitochondria, which look like tiny white rods traversing a long, narrow nerve cell. In the first video, they creep like rush-hour traffic. In the second video, after being treated with the laser light, they're zipping around like go-karts.
Read the original here:
The Brain-Makers
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson’s disease
Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Layne Cameron layne.cameron@ur.msu.edu 517-353-8819 Michigan State University
EAST LANSING, Mich. Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson's disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.
A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson's. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping.
"Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases," said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy who co-authored the paper with Ahmad. "More specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures."
Lapidus' lab uses lasers to study protein folding. Proteins are chains of amino acids that do most of the work in cells. Scientists understand protein structure, but they don't know how they are built a process known as folding. Lapidus' team is shedding light on the process by correlating the speed at which protein folds with its tendency to clump or bind with other proteins.
When curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein's folding or reconfiguration rate. By bumping up the speed, curcumin moves the protein out of a dangerous speed zone allowing it to avoid clumping with other proteins.
Finding a compound that can fix a protein when it first begins to misfold can lead scientists to identify drugs that can treat certain diseases. Doctors won't be prescribing curcumin pills any time soon, though, Lapidus said.
"Curcumin's usefulness as an actual drug may be pretty limited since it doesn't go into the brain easily where this misfolding is taking place," she said. "But this kind of study showcases the technique of measuring reconfiguration and opens the door for developing drug treatments."
###
Read the rest here:
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease
Tai Chi Shown to Vastly Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms
With recent remarks made by Republican Presidential nominee Rick Santorum on his stance on Stem Cell Research, people suffering from Parkinsons disease and other afflictions which can benefit from Stem Cell research have opened up Pandoras Box in their search for non-traditional methods to reduce symptoms. Recent medical studies as well as an in-depth report posted at BeWellBuzz.com have confirmed that the ancient martial art of Tai chi can significantly reduce some of the worst physical problems of Parkinson's disease.
Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) March 20, 2012
Parkinson's disease is a nervous system disorder which commonly develops in humans of age 50 and above, however, many people, such as Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox have been diagnosed with this affliction much earlier in life. Parkinsons carries certain specific symptoms such as constant blinking, lack of facial expressions, shaking, loss of balance and coordination, and other irregular bodily reactions, and is caused primarily by the destruction of the nerve cells in the brain which makes dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the transfer of pleasure and reward feelings in the center of the brain.
Medications may help control some things, like tremors, but many drugs are not as good at helping the so-called axial symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which include problems with balance and walking. It is for this reason that a recent study was completed at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore which showed significant improvements to these symptoms which have plagued Parkinsons patients for decades.
According to the study, doctors assigned 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease to one of three groups: Tai Chi classes, Exercise with Weights and a third group which completed a program of seated stretching exercises. After six months, people who had been taking tai chi were able to lean farther forward or backward without stumbling or falling compared to those who had been doing resistance training or stretching. They were also better able to smoothly direct their movements. And they were able to take longer strides than people in the other two groups.
"The results from this study are quite impressive," says Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA, a neurologist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. "It's always difficult to compare results across studies, but the magnitude of the impact that they had is larger, in some cases, than what is seen with medications in Parkinson's."
"This is a very encouraging study," says Chenchen Wang, MD, associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston who has studied the benefits of Tai Chi on Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia in the past. "Most of our previous studies have measured pain, depression, and anxiety, which are subjective measures. These results are very impressive because they used objective measurements,"
To learn more about the recent discovery and other ways that Tai Chi can improve other conditions, please visit the article posted at BeWellBuzz.com posted below.
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/wellness-buzz/tai-chi-and-parkinsons-disease
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Tai Chi Shown to Vastly Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Attention: Health and Lifestyle Editors
People with Parkinson's disease have a new tool to help them identify the non-motor symptoms they are experiencing with their Parkinson's disease.
A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, the first of its kind in Canada, is a user-friendly, educational booklet, designed to help people with Parkinson's recognize non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems and compulsive behaviours and learn about treatments and strategies to manage them.
The 50-page booklet, available in English and French, is the result of a partnership between Parkinson Society Canada and the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. The author, Dr. Ronald Postuma is a researcher in neurosciences at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal.
Citing a typical example, Dr. Postuma says a man with Parkinson's may present with a urinary problem that is initially thought to be a prostate issue when, in fact, it may be related to Parkinson's. "Many patients do not realize that urinary problems, constipation, insomnia and other symptoms are linked to Parkinson's disease. As a result, they go untreated," says Postuma who is also a neurologist at the MUHC and an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. "The booklet is a simple, pragmatic tool that I hope will improve patient care," he added.
Postuma says that the booklet is intended to help people with Parkinson's identify their non-motor symptoms, record what they are experiencing using the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire at the back of the booklet, and discuss these symptoms with their doctor. He cautions it is not intended to replace the advice or instruction of a professional healthcare practitioner, or to substitute medical care.
"This is an excellent example of the practical application of evidenced-based research that benefits clinical care," says Joyce Gordon, President & CEO, Parkinson Society Canada.
A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease is available at http://www.parkinson.ca/NonMotorGuide.
Parkinson Society Canada's national research program is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Canadians living with Parkinson's. Its 10 regional partners and 240 chapters and support groups, have been providing education, support, and advocacy on behalf of over 100,000 Canadians living with Parkinson's since 1965. To learn more visit http://www.parkinson.ca.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.
Excerpt from:
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson’s
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Attention: Health and Lifestyle Editors
People with Parkinson's disease have a new tool to help them identify the non-motor symptoms they are experiencing with their Parkinson's disease.
A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, the first of its kind in Canada, is a user-friendly, educational booklet, designed to help people with Parkinson's recognize non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems and compulsive behaviours and learn about treatments and strategies to manage them.
The 50-page booklet, available in English and French, is the result of a partnership between Parkinson Society Canada and the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. The author, Dr. Ronald Postuma is a researcher in neurosciences at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal.
Citing a typical example, Dr. Postuma says a man with Parkinson's may present with a urinary problem that is initially thought to be a prostate issue when, in fact, it may be related to Parkinson's. "Many patients do not realize that urinary problems, constipation, insomnia and other symptoms are linked to Parkinson's disease. As a result, they go untreated," says Postuma who is also a neurologist at the MUHC and an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. "The booklet is a simple, pragmatic tool that I hope will improve patient care," he added.
Postuma says that the booklet is intended to help people with Parkinson's identify their non-motor symptoms, record what they are experiencing using the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire at the back of the booklet, and discuss these symptoms with their doctor. He cautions it is not intended to replace the advice or instruction of a professional healthcare practitioner, or to substitute medical care.
"This is an excellent example of the practical application of evidenced-based research that benefits clinical care," says Joyce Gordon, President & CEO, Parkinson Society Canada.
A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease is available at http://www.parkinson.ca/NonMotorGuide.
Parkinson Society Canada's national research program is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Canadians living with Parkinson's. Its 10 regional partners and 240 chapters and support groups, have been providing education, support, and advocacy on behalf of over 100,000 Canadians living with Parkinson's since 1965. To learn more visit http://www.parkinson.ca.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.
Excerpt from:
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's