This isn’t from the Black lab, but colleagues here at Wash.U. have used cells from people with Huntington disease (HD) to discover abnormally high levels of a messenger RNA. That mRNA decreases autophagy–a cell’s ability to clean up its insides–and that hastens the death of the cell. The authors went on to show that they […]
Category: Movement disorders
Movement disorders other than tic disorders and Parkinson disease
A recent review of anxiety in PD
A collection of PD neuropsychiatry experts recently published a thorough review article of anxiety in PD. They note that anxiety consistently ranks among the top 2 or 3 areas of unmet needs identified by people with Parkinson’s. The review discusses what we know—and don’t know—about phenomenology, etiology and treatment. It’s worth a read. Pontone, G.M., […]
Parkinson disease dementia risk predicted by eye measurements?
The recently published study cited below shows evidence that various measurements of eye function (especially contrast sensitivity and the thickness of the inner plexiform layer in the retina) correlated very strongly with a summary measure of clinical variables associated with dementia risk in people with Parkinson disease (PD). We have long known that the back […]
Is lumateperone good for psychosis in Parkinson disease?
Lumateperone is a new drug recently approved by the FDA for treatment of schizophrenia. The key clinical trial was just published and includes data on motor side effects of the drug. The sponsor, Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc., may have data on use in Parkinson disease (PD), but I don’t think any of it is public. So […]
Testing a new strategy to treat Tourette syndrome in children
We were happy to participate in the first-ever study of a dopamine D1 blocking drug in children with TS. The study results were recently published, showing evidence of benefit without substantial side effects. Click here for additional background information, a summary of the results, and a link to the publication. (https://goo.gl/gh5YfM)
Management of tardive dyskinesia
A colleague asked me about treatment for tardive dyskinesia and I thought I’d share my answer. Experts have reached different conclusions from the available evidence (e.g., here vs. here). Here is a rough outline as I see it. Make sure it is tardive dyskinesia. You’re looking for involuntary, rhythmic stereotypies at about 0.5-1.0 Hz. They may […]