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NEWS BRIEFS
Smartwatches offer window into Parkinson’s disease progression
Ubiquitous wearable technologies, like smartwatches, could help researchers better understand progressive neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease and speed up the approval of new therapies, a critical need given that no drugs exist to slow progression of the world’s fastest growing brain disease.
New research, appearing in the journal npj Parkinson's Disease, adds to growing evidence that widely used and user-friendly consumer devices, in this instance an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone, can detect changes in Parkinson’s symptoms over time in individuals in the early stages of the disease.
Jamie Adams, MD, an associate professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), and the Center for Health + Technology, led the study that followed participants with early-stage Parkinson’s for 12 months. Over the course of the year, the data collected by the devices showed that participants with early Parkinson’s experienced significant declines in measures of gait, an increase in tremor, and modest changes in speech.
The study was designed to replicate a multi-center clinical trial in individuals with early and untreated Parkinson’s disease and involved the participation and input from the pharmaceutical industry, regulators, investigators, and individuals with disease. The WATCH-PD study has recently been extended with support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and will follow participants for an additional 18 months.
Can ketones enhance cognitive function and protect brain networks?
As we age our brain naturally becomes more insulin resistant. This creates a breakdown in communication between neurons, causing symptoms like changes in mood, cognitive decline, and eventually neurodegeneration. Nathan A. Smith, MS, PhD ('13), associate professor of Neuroscience, and fellow researchers studied the mechanisms in the brain that break down when insulin resistance is suddenly present, like in trauma, but before symptoms manifest into chronic conditions, like diabetes or Alzheimer’s.
The research, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, identifies mechanisms in the brain’s hippocampal network that are rescued by ketones. These findings build on previous research showing that ketones can alleviate neurological and cognitive effects.
“This research has implications for developing ketone-based therapies targeting specific neuronal dysfunctions in conditions involving insulin resistance/ hypoglycemia like diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease,” Smith said. “We are now looking to understand the role that astrocytes and other glia cells play in acute insulin resistance.”
Study reveals brain fluid dynamics as key to migraine mysteries, new therapies
New research describes for the first time how a spreading wave of disruption and the flow of fluid in the brain triggers sensory nerves in the head, detailing the connection between the neurological symptoms associated with aura and the migraine that follows. The study, published in the journal Science, was conducted in mice, also identifies new proteins that could be responsible for headaches and the foundation for new migraine drugs.
Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine and lead author of the study and fellow researchers found that as the depolarization wave spreads, neurons release a host of inflammatory and other proteins into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In a series of experiments in mice, the researchers showed how CSF transports these proteins to the trigeminal ganglion, a large bundle of nerves that rests at the base of the brain and supplies sensation to the head and face. They also observed that the wave of depolarization is limited to one hemisphere of the brain and stimulates the corresponding right or left side nerve bundle in the trigeminal ganglion, potentially explaining why pain occurs on one side of the head during most migraines.
Physician‑scientists do international research—for the world and Rochester
URMC neurologist Gretchen L. Birbeck, MD, MPH, was the only neurologist in Zambia when she began conducting research there 30 years ago. Her work on how to prevent post-malaria epilepsy may benefit Zambians and populations around the globe, including patients living 7,000 miles away in Rochester.
Birbeck is one of many Rochester doctors and researchers engaged in international research. It’s not only about investigation into the treatment of disease but also about building sustainable health care “capacity” in the host country, preparing it to prevent, treat, and stem the spread of disease.
Two of Birbeck’s NIH-funded studies examine the use of aggressive antipyretic therapy for fever control and the neuroprotective and/or side effects of the therapy. In addition to malaria deaths, more than a third of pediatric cerebral-malaria sufferers—about 200,000 children each year—end up with neurological disabilities. Her findings are key to reducing the effects of the disease and the accompanying disability for sufferers in malaria-endemic regions but also have implications around the world.
