Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
 18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disease of the central nervous system affecting people between the ages of 20 and 40 years in the UK, Northern Europe and the USA. No definitive treatment yet exists to halt the almost inevitable decline in function and accumulation of disability over the years in sufferers. Management is largely directly of symptoms which arise variably in the course of the condition. Such problems as urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, cramps and spasms, tremor and trigeminal neuralgia can often be helped to some extent using conventional therapies. These treatments though are not effective in everyone, or cause unacceptable side-effects and there are some commonly reported symptoms, such as fatigue or emotional lability for which there are no generally accepted treatments. Here, a knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can bring benefits to the person with MS. CAM is widely used by people with MS and some studies in this area are briefly summarised. It is interesting to reflect what lies behind all this CAM use and what that might tell conventional medicine about just what it is the MS sufferer really wants from their carers. Homeopathy is a form of CAM unique in the UK in having been available in the NHS since the foundation in 1948. Medical homeopaths in the UK have always been concerned with the integration of the best of conventional and complementary treatments for the benefit of their patients. Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital has around 100 admissions each year of people with MS at different stages of the condition and aims at an integrated response to their distress. Different therapeutic modalities are employed, but a homeopathic approach in particular is of benefit in MS. By its nature, it is a whole-person approach and allows for complete individualisation of treatment, taking account of the minutiae of someone's life. This is discussed and some examples of homeopathic treatments, which seem to be more generalisable for commonly encountered MS symptoms, are given.
 ...
PMID:Homeopathy in multiple sclerosis. 1260 18

In this work, we have investigated the role of the sperm proteasome during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and gamete interaction in the mouse. Proteasome activity was measured in extract and intact sperm using a specific substrate. In addition, sperm were treated with specific proteasome inhibitors and evaluated during IVF, binding to the zona pellucida, and progesterone- and zona pellucida-induced acrosome reactions. In other experiments, sperm membrane proteins were obtained resuspending them in Triton X-114, shaking vigorously and let standing by 4 hr. Soluble sperm proteins were partitioned in the aqueous phase and sperm membrane proteins in the detergent phase. In both phases, proteasome activity was measured. Labeling of cell surface sperm proteins was carried out with the cell-impermeable NHS-LC biotin, extracted with Triton X-114, and mixing with avidin-agarose beads. Nonpermeabilized sperm were incubated with an anti-proteasome monoclonal antibody and evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence. The results indicate that sperm extracts as well as intact sperm had proteasome activity; the sperm proteasome was involved in IVF, specifically during sperm-zona pellucida binding and the acrosome reaction; soluble sperm membrane proteins exhibited proteasome activity; biotin experiments indicated the presence of proteasomes on the sperm surface, which was corroborated by indirect immunofluorescence experiments. All these observations indicate that the mouse sperm proteasome participates in the binding to the zona pellucida and the acrosome reaction and that there is a pool of proteasomes located on the sperm head.
 ...
PMID:Role of the sperm proteasome during fertilization and gamete interaction in the mouse. 1579 92

Economic evaluation (Italian NHS perspective) modeling (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT (DaTSCAN) compared to clinical judgment alone for differentiating essential tremor (ET) from Parkinson's Disease (PD). A 5-year Markov model was constructed to assess the cost-effectiveness of (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT to differentiate ET from PD in patients referred to a movement disorder specialist in Italy. Published data and a double-round, Delphi panel of 12 specialists populated the model. Effectiveness was expressed as the projected Years on potentially beneficial therapy (PBTYs). Costs were expressed in Euros (2005 values). The model suggests that over 5 years, the "current" diagnostic pathway generated an average of 2.3 PBTYs/patient at an estimated cost of 8,864 euros. (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT generated an average of 4.1 PBTYs/patient at an estimated cost of 8,422 euros, which represented an additional 1.8 PBTYs at a cost saving of 442 euros/patient (341 euros when discounted at 5%). The estimated cost-effectiveness of (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT is under 1,000 euros per PBTY gained when the underlying disease prevalence is high (55-70%), and cost-saving at prevalence under 55%. (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT is likely to be regarded as economically advantageous to differentiate ET from PD, increasing time on potentially beneficial therapy at a lower overall cost to the healthcare system.
 ...
PMID:Cost-effectiveness of 123I-FP-CIT SPECT in the differential diagnosis of essential tremor and Parkinson's disease in Italy. 1906 34

Telehealth and telecare research has been dominated by efficacy trials. The field lacks a sophisticated theorisation of [a] what matters to older people with assisted living needs; [b] how illness affects people's capacity to use technologies; and [c] the materiality of assistive technologies. We sought to develop a phenomenologically and socio-materially informed theoretical model of assistive technology use. Forty people aged 60-98 (recruited via NHS, social care and third sector) were visited at home several times in 2011-13. Using ethnographic methods, we built a detailed picture of participants' lives, illness experiences and use (or non-use) of technologies. Data were analysed phenomenologically, drawing on the work of Heidegger, and contextualised using a structuration approach with reference to Bourdieu's notions of habitus and field. We found that participants' needs were diverse and unique. Each had multiple, mutually reinforcing impairments (e.g. tremor and visual loss and stiff hands) that were steadily worsening, culturally framed and bound up with the prospect of decline and death. They managed these conditions subjectively and experientially, appropriating or adapting technologies so as to enhance their capacity to sense and act on their world. Installed assistive technologies met few participants' needs; some devices had been abandoned and a few deliberately disabled. Successful technology arrangements were often characterised by 'bricolage' (pragmatic customisation, combining new with legacy devices) by the participant or someone who knew and cared about them. With few exceptions, the current generation of so-called 'assisted living technologies' does not assist people to live with illness. To overcome this irony, technology providers need to move beyond the goal of representing technology users informationally (e.g. as biometric data) to providing flexible components from which individuals and their carers can 'think with things' to improve the situated, lived experience of multi-morbidity. A radical revision of assistive technology design policy may be needed.
...
PMID:What matters to older people with assisted living needs? A phenomenological analysis of the use and non-use of telehealth and telecare. 2390 25

The clinical presentation of Parkinson's disease (PD) is heterogeneous and overlaps with other conditions, including the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and essential tremor. Imaging of the brain in patients with parkinsonism has the ability to increase the accuracy of differential diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) allow brain imaging of structural, functional and molecular changes in vivo in patients with PD. Structural MRI is useful to differentiate PD from secondary and atypical forms of parkinsonism. 123I-ioflupane (DaTSCAN(TM)) SPECT is a valid tool in the differential diagnosis between PD and non-degenerative tremors, while cardiac 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine SPECT and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET are valid in the differential diagnosis between PD and atypical parkinsonism (MSA-P, PSP). However, despite significant evidence for the utility of neuroimaging in assessing parkinsonian patients, none of the neuroimaging techniques are specifically recommended for routine use in clinical practice. Hopefully, future larger trials will help to demonstrate additional evidence for the clinical utility of neuroimaging and will include an analysis of the financial benefits for the NHS in the longer term management of the patients.
...
PMID:Imaging in Parkinson's disease. 2876 33

Despite the potential of antibody-coated nanoparticles (Ab-NPs) in many biological applications, there are very few successful, commercially available examples in which the carefully engineered nanomaterial has made it beyond the laboratory bench. Herein we explore the robustness and cost of protein-nanoparticle conjugation. Using multivalent polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and dextran as crosslinkers, it was possible to retain colloidal stability during (i) NP-linker binding and (ii) the subsequent conjugation reaction between linker-coated NPs and proteins to generate monodisperse Ab-NPs. This was attributed to the physicochemical properties of the linkers, which were inherited by the NPs and thus benefited colloidal stability. Attaching negatively charged, EDC/sulfo-NHS-activated PAMAM to the NPs contributed to overall negative charge of particles, and in turn led to high electrostatic attraction between the protein and PAMAM-coated NPs during the reaction conditions. In contrast, using an uncharged, EDC/NHS-activated PAMAM dendrimer led to NP aggregation and lower protein binding efficiency. Dextran as a cost-effective, uncharged macromolecule allowed for steric repulsions between neighbouring particles during protein binding, thus inducing NP stability in solution, and also produced monodisperse Ab-NPs. By freeze-drying Ab-NPs from a 1% BSA solution it is possible to reconstitute the solid-form colloid back to a stable state by adding solvent and simply shaking the sample vial by hand. The consequences of the different surface chemistries and freeze-drying stabilizers on the colloidal stability of the NPs were probed by dynamic light scattering. The performance of Ab-NPs was compared in a simple fluorescence linked immunoassay in whole serum. Interestingly, the signal-to-noise ratios were similar for Ab-NPs using PAMAM and dextran, despite dextran binding fewer Abs per NP. We believe this work provides researchers with the tools and strategies for reliably generating Ab-NPs that can be used for a variety of biological applications.
 ...
PMID:Controlling colloidal stability of silica nanoparticles during bioconjugation reactions with proteins and improving their longer-term stability, handling and storage. 3226 72