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Mirapex ER Approved as Once a Day Drug by the US FDA
Filed under Drugs – February 26th, 2010
Last Wednesday, Mirapex ER (pramipexole dihydrochloride exteneded-release) was approved by the US FDA as a once a day drug treatment for early Parkinson’s disease. The announcement came from Boehringer Ingelheim in a news release.
Mirapex has been approved for a long time for Parkinson’s disease, actually for more than a decade, but after a clinical study of more than 400 people with Parkinson’s disease approval was given that such a drug could be defined as a once a day drug.
The side-effects remained the same for Mirapex and Mirapex ER which includes dizziness, sleepiness, nausea weakness, constipation, and insomnia.
What is Parkinson’s Disease?
Filed under General – February 9th, 2010
What is Parkinson’s Disease may sound like a funny question at this point, especially considering that I’ve written about everything from PD drugs to specific posts dedicated to people that have been affected by Parkinson’s disease, but I was looking through the search engines under said question and I couldn’t find great information easily, so I’m writing this for two reasons:
- To establish some content on the web and search engines that easily addresses said question
- To create another place on my website to have this questions answered (the other place to find it is on my Parkinson’s FAQ page)
Parkinson’s disease a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It affects 1 in 100 people over the age of 60. On average the disease onset is 60 years old, although 5 to 10 percent will see the disease onset between 30 to 40 years old–like Michael J. Fox. It occurs when neurons that produce dopamine die off quickly. When a large portion of the neurons that produce neurons die, patients begin to feel the symptoms of tremors, stiffness, and other similar symptoms. Parkinson’s is a chronic and progressive disease, but because each person is different the disease may manifest itself in different ways.
Currently about 1 million Americans have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and about 6 million people worldwide. Disease symptoms include resting tremor, slowness of movement, postural instability, and rigidity. Tremors are unwanted and uncontrollable movement when a limb is resting and rigidity is abnormal stiffness in a limb. Both of these symptoms probably seem like they contradict each other to a point. These symptoms can be frustrating for someone who has PD because they are so opposite and because they are opposite you would think that you can only have one, but that’s not the case, often they are manifested together. Symptoms are different for everyone and are manifested differently and often at a different pace than everyone else.
If you’d like to learn more I would suggest visiting www.michaeljfox.org
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Does it Again, $2.8 Dollars For Parkinson’s Disease Biomarkers
Filed under News – February 5th, 2010
The Michael J. Fox Foundation did it again, they are awarding $2.8 million in awards to 13 researchers or institutions that are moving forward with research or clinical trials of biomarkers. Biomarkers are important because they can be critical to understanding the progression of PD as well as to understand the best therapeutic practices to slow or disrupt the disease. The identification of biomarkers would also help to provide more definitive outcomes from clinical trials.
James Tillerson, A Great Football Coach, Passes Away
Filed under Spotlights – January 29th, 2010
Every so often we delve into the life of one affected and effected by Parkinson’s disease. Today we’d like to honor James Tillerson. Tillerson, a great football coach out of Theodore Roosevelt High School, passed away on Wednesday. Tillerson battled Parkinson’s for a number of years.
After serving as an assistant coach for two seasons, Tillerson jumped in and took the help in 1969. In a twelve year history he took the Rough Riders to the most notable game 7 times, and winning it three times (1974, ‘76, ‘79). Only a few other coaches have exceeded Tillerson’s accomplishments.
In 2008, after Roosevelt’s field was renovated, the field was dedicated in Tillerson’s name. Last November, more than 30 former All-Met Roosevelt players attended a luncheon in Tillerson’s honor.
Tillerson’s life will not be forgotten. We honor his name along with all that he gave to his local and worldwide community.
200 Skydiving Jumps: Kevin Burkart Skydives for Parkinson’s Disease
Filed under Motivational, News – January 15th, 2010
Kevin Burkart is at it again. A couple of years ago he did 100 skydives. Each of the jumps were dedicated to a person who has dealt with or has Parkinson’s disease. This year, come June 16, 2010, Kevin is going to try to jump 200 times in one day! Basically, that’s a jump every 7.2 minutes! We’ll continue to cover this story as we near his jump date. If you’d like to learn more about this venture you can visit his website at http://www.perfectjumps.com/.
Parkinson’s Drug Can Have Major Withdrawal Effects
Filed under Drugs – January 14th, 2010
I read this article today, I have written about dopamine addiction before, but the article below reaffirms my thoughts and takings.
(HealthDay News) — Reduced dosages of dopamine agonists, drugs routinely used to treat Parkinson’s disease, can cause symptoms similar to those experienced by addicts in withdrawal, such as anxiety, panic attacks, pain, dizziness and drug cravings, researchers say.
The symptoms of what the researchers have dubbed “dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome” have been linked to a disruption in levels of dopamine in the brain, according to the study published in the Jan. 12 issue of the Archives of Neurology.
“Like cocaine and methamphetamines, dopamine agonists work by stimulating the reward pathways in the brain,” senior study author Dr. Melissa J. Nirenberg, said in a news release from Weill Cornell Medical Center.
“For this reason, it makes sense that they would engender similar withdrawal symptoms, particularly in those with high cumulative drug exposure,” explained Nirenberg, associate director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and an assistant professor of neurology and neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dopamine agonists are used as an alternative to the drug L-DOPA, which can cause side effects in patients with Parkinson’s, such as involuntary movements. The dopamine agonist drugs — pramipexole (Mirapex) and ropinirole (Requip) — are also approved for treatment of restless legs syndrome.
In the study, researchers looked at the medical records of 93 people with Parkinson’s disease, 26 of whom lowered their doses of the dopamine agonist drugs. Five of these patients — 19 percent — experienced dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. Three of the five patients couldn’t adjust to the withdrawal symptoms and had to stay on the dopamine agonists, which can cause impulse control disorders, such as compulsive behaviors related to gambling, shopping, eating or sexual activity.
Using Facebook to Raise Parkinson’s Disease Awareness
Filed under General – January 14th, 2010
I recently read Focus on Cure’s most recent Facebook message and so I want to pass this on so that everyone who has a Facebook account can get involved, let me know if you have any questions.
As many of you know, Breast Cancer awareness has been popular the past few weeks, with placing of colors and numbers, and other fun ways on people’s status on Facebook. It even made it to the CNN news!!! Many of us want the same awareness for Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease there for we thought of adding something different to our status for the next few days. For example, Day 1 (Wednesday 13th): round off number of people we know that have PD/Alzheimer’s (1-100), for those who ask what it means, say Stay tuned! Day 2 (Thursday 14th): (put family, friend, or self), meaning for those who has the illness, for those who ask again, say, Stay still tuned for the results!!! Day 3 (Friday 15th), final day: Everyone lists A symptom, such as (tremble, shake, memory), anything that pertains to the illness, then that evening you can post on your status the final result so they all know what you were referring to: Ex.. at the end comment: 100; Family; loss of thought process adding Parkinson’s Disease or Alzheimer’s Disease! Let’s get this awareness going!!! Thank you for your support!!!!
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