Newsbriefs: Parkinson’s; Mindfulness

New Theory for Parkinson’s Development.

For years it’s been thought that the toxic protein alpha-synuclein, associated with development of Parkinson’s disease, spread from nerve cell to nerve cell. New findings, however, propose that the protein spreads throughout the body at the same time, affecting different parts of the nervous system to greater or lesser degree, depending on how cells in those parts can tolerate the protein. The a-synuclein engulfs and destroys nerve cells. This may explain why the disease appears early in areas such as the gastrointestinal tract, which has no neurons to help fight the protein. While findings can lead to new treatments to decrease alpha-synuclein levels, researchers say continuing treatment with L-Dopa, which replenishes dopamine in the brain, remains standard care. More than one million people in the U.S. suffer from Parkinson’s disease. (Trends in Neurosciences, March 1, 2017.)

Mindfulness as Effective as CBT.

Recent Swedish research has shown that mindfulness group therapy is as effective as individual cognitive behavioral training (CBT) to treat a range of psychiatric symptoms. Such symptoms include depression, general anxiety, stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and aggression, among others. Citing the fast rate at which mental illnesses are increasing, researchers said individual therapy strains available resources, and that group therapy could more efficiently use existing resources, leaving individual therapy for more severe cases. (Journal of European Psychiatry, Feb. 8, 2017.)

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