Latest news with #neurological
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
How your ear wax could tell you if you have Parkinson's disease, according to experts
Some 90,000 people are diagnosed with the degenerative neurological condition in the U.S. each year, and annual deaths have surged in recent decades to tens of thousands. Now, researchers at the American Chemical Society claim they have developed a new system that could help catch the disease at an early stage. The identifier is in the odor of ear wax's main ingredient, known as sebum. The oily substance is produced by the body to lubricate and protect the skin. Sebum from people with Parkinson's may have a characteristic and musky smell because the volatile organic compounds released by sebum are altered by disease progression. This association has been identified in previous research. To identify the compounds released by sebum in people with the disease, the researchers swabbed the ear canals of 209 participants, more than half of which were diagnosed with the condition. Then, they analyzed what was collected using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques. Four of the volatile organic compounds they found in people with Parkinson's were different than people without it. Those include ethylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, pentanal, and 2-pentadecyl-1,3-dioxolane. The researchers said they are potential biomarkers for Parkinson's. Using these findings, published this week in the journal Analytical Chemistry, they were able to develop a system that inexpensively screens for Parkinson's. They trained an artificial intelligence olfactory system - a robotic model that can mimic how we smell - with their ear wax compound data. Using the model, they found it was able to categorize samples with and without Parkinson's with 94 percent accuracy. Some 1.1 million Americans are living with Parkinson's right now. Because most treatments for Parkinson's only slow the progression of disease, catching it early is critical. Current testing is also costly, and can be subjective. This AI system, the researchers say, could be used as a first-line screening tool for early detection. 'This method is a small-scale single-center experiment in China,' explained author Hao Dong. 'The next step is to conduct further research at different stages of the disease, in multiple research centers and among multiple ethnic groups, in order to determine whether this method has greater practical application value.'
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Supernus Pharma to acquire Sage Therapeutics in up to $795 million deal
June 16 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Supernus Pharmaceuticals (SUPN.O), opens new tab said on Monday it will acquire Sage Therapeutics (SAGE.O), opens new tab, which makes treatments for neurological conditions, in a deal worth up to $795 million. Supernus has offered $8.50 in cash for each of Sage's share and up to $3.50 per share in cash if certain milestones are achieved. Shares of Sage Therapeutics were halted in premarket trading.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tearful Eric Dane breaks silence on ALS diagnosis in first interview since revealing terminal condition
Eric Dane is speaking out for the first time since going public with his ALS diagnosis. The Grey's Anatomy alum, 52, revealed in April that he's battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare and incurable neurological condition that progressively weakens muscles and affects physical function. The heartbreaking health news came shortly after Dane and his estranged wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart, 53, decided to call off their divorce after seven years apart. The pair share two daughters — Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13. On Thursday, Dane appeared in a teaser for an upcoming Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer, offering a deeply personal glimpse into how he's coping with the diagnosis. 'I wake up every day and I'm immediately reminded that this is happening,' he told Sawyer. 'It's not a dream.' On Thursday, Dane appeared in a teaser for an upcoming Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer, offering a deeply personal glimpse into how he's coping with the diagnosis In the emotional 30-second preview, the Euphoria star is seen holding hands with Sawyer as they reflect on his journey. At one point, Dane is seen walking alongside Sawyer, their conversation taking a deeply personal turn. The actor becomes visibly emotional, wiping away tears as he opens up, declaring, 'I don't think this is the end of my story. I don't feel like this is the end of me.' Two months ago, Dane released a statement about his condition, expressing gratitude for the strong support system he has in place. 'I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,' he said. 'I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. 'I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.' It's still unclear whether Dane has finished filming for the third season of the hit HBO series, which also stars Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney. Eric announced his diagnosis one day after Rebecca said they were 'best of friends,' adding: 'We are really close. We are great co-parents.' She explained that she and Eric 'really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well,' via E! News. 'I think it's important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure. It's just a season. It wasn't a failure. It was a huge success. We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years and we had two beautiful kids so I think that's a successful relationship, and that's how we look at it.' In March. it emerged that Eric and Rebecca had performed a stunning U-turn and called off their divorce, seven years into the process. Rebecca filed to dissolve their marriage of 14 years in 2018, but the pair stayed notably amicable as they raised their daughters. Rebecca and Eric were given 'final notice' in January that their divorce might be tossed if they neglected to advance the process, according to In Touch Weekly. Eric was spotted that month strolling arm in arm with actress Priya Jain, 27, igniting speculation he had moved on to a new romance. Priya and Eric first set off a round of relationship rumors this past November when they were glimpsed out on a sushi date in West Hollywood. Rebecca and Eric tied the knot in 2004, two years before he landed his fan favorite role as Dr. Mark Sloan aka 'McSteamy' on Grey's Anatomy (pictured) Meanwhile, Rebecca was seen in February attending Chanel's pre-Oscars party in Beverly Hills with restaurant tycoon Peter Morton, 77, a co-founder of Hard Rock Café and the son of the namesake of Morton's Steakhouse. Rebecca and Eric tied the knot in 2004, two years before he landed his fan favorite role as Dr. Mark Sloan aka 'McSteamy' on Grey's Anatomy. ALS, widely known in the U.S. as Lou Gehrig's disease following the legendary baseball player's death in 1941 at just 37, has claimed the lives of several high-profile figures in recent years. Sandra Bullock's longtime partner, Bryan Randall, passed away in 2023 after quietly battling the disease for three years. SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg also succumbed to ALS in 2018, just a year after revealing his diagnosis. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking, one of the most well-known individuals to live with ALS, defied the odds by surviving more than 50 years with the condition before his death at age 76 in 2018. In February, music icon Roberta Flack—known for classics like Killing Me Softly With His Song—died at 88 after revealing in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Details of fatal disease there is no cure for What is it? Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurogenerative disorder which impacts the nerve cells in the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It gets progressively worse and causes significant muscle control loss in people who have it. Treatment There is no cure for ALS and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients. Symptoms The first signs of ALS are twitching of the muscles, weaknesses of the limbs and problems with swallowing and speaking. Progressively, it deteriorates muscle control and impacts an individual's ability to breathe, move, speak and eat. ALS symptoms correspond with where nerve cells deteriorate in each person, and could lead to issues walking, tripping, and weakness of the knees, ankles and hands. It can also lead to problems with muscle cramps and twitching in areas including one's tongue, arms and shoulders. People with ALS have experienced untimely spells of laughter, tears and yawns, as well as changes to one's thinking process or behavior, according to the clinic. Risk factors Among the risk factors researchers have established for ALS include genetics, as about 10 percent of people diagnosed with it were passed down a gene from a relative, which is called hereditary ALS, according to the clinic. Kids of people who have hereditary ALS have a 50 percent chance of having the gene. Age is also a factor as the risk of getting the disease trends up toward the age of 75, with the most common range of people who have it between 60 and 85. In terms of gender, men are diagnosed with a higher rate of ALS prior to the age of 65, according to the clinic. Other factors that have been linked to ALS include smoking and exposure to toxic substances. The clinic reported that military personnel have been diagnosed with ALS at a higher rate. Causes There is no known cause of ALS, according to the Mayo Clinic, and heredity plays a factor in a small number of cases. Lou Gehrig's Disease As well as being known as ALS, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou Gehrig was a stalwart first baseman for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was famous for his strength and durability, earning the nickname 'The Iron Horse' with a record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games. In a July 4, 1939 speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the ballplayer famously said, 'For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.' His popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball. He died two years after his diagnosis on June 2, 1941.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tearful Eric Dane breaks silence on ALS diagnosis in first interview since revealing his condition
has opened up about his health for the first time since going public with his ALS diagnosis. The actor, 52, revealed in April that he's battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare and incurable neurological condition that progressively weakens muscles and affects physical function. The heartbreaking health news came shortly after Dane and his estranged wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart, 53, decided to call off their divorce after seven years apart. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO On Thursday, Dane appeared in a teaser for an upcoming Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer, offering a deeply personal insight into how he's coping with his diagnosis. Speaking to Sawyer, he said: 'I wake up every day and I'm immediately reminded that this is happening. It's not a dream.' In the emotional 30-second preview, the actor is seen holding hands with Sawyer as they reflect on his journey and what is to come. At one point, Dane walks alongside Sawyer as their conversation takes a deeply personal turn. Dane becomes visibly emotional, wiping away tears as he opens up saying: 'I don't think this is the end of my story. I don't feel like this is the end of me.' Two months ago, Dane released a statement about his condition, expressing gratitude for the strong support system he has in place. He said: 'I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter. 'I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. 'I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.' It's still unclear whether Dane has finished filming for the third season of the hit HBO series, which also stars Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney. Eric announced his diagnosis one day after Rebecca said they were 'best of friends,' adding: 'We are really close. We are great co-parents.' E!News reported that she explained how she and Eric 'really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well.' Rebecca continued: 'I think it's important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure. It's just a season. It wasn't a failure. It was a huge success. We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years and we had two beautiful kids so I think that's a successful relationship, and that's how we look at it.' In March it emerged that Eric and Rebecca had performed a stunning U-turn and called off their divorce, seven years after they started the process. Rebecca filed to dissolve their marriage of 14 years in 2018, but the pair stayed notably amicable as they continued to raise their daughters together. In Touch Weekly reported that the couple were given 'final notice' in January that their divorce might be tossed if they neglected to advance the process. Eric was spotted that month strolling arm in arm with actress Priya Jain, 27, igniting speculation that he had moved on to a new romance. Priya and Eric first set off relationship rumors this past November when they were seen out on a sushi date in West Hollywood. Meanwhile, Rebecca was seen in February attending Chanel's pre-Oscars party in Beverly Hills with restaurant tycoon Peter Morton, 77, a co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe and the son of the namesake of Morton's Steakhouse. Rebecca and Eric wed in 2004, two years before he landed his fan favorite role as Dr Mark Sloan,'McSteamy,' on Grey's Anatomy. ALS, widely known in the U.S. as Lou Gehrig's disease following the legendary baseball player's death in 1941 at just 37, has claimed the lives of several high-profile figures in recent years. Sandra Bullock's longtime partner, Bryan Randall, passed away in 2023 after quietly battling the disease for three years. SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg also succumbed to ALS in 2018, just a year after revealing his diagnosis. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking, one of the most well-known individuals to live with ALS, defied the odds by surviving more than 50 years with the condition before his death at age 76 in 2018. In February, music icon Roberta Flack died at 88 after revealing in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with ALS.
CNN
11-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
Restless legs syndrome: A common sleep disorder you may never have heard of
Winding down Prescription drugsFacebookTweetLink Follow Sign up for CNN's Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep. Karla Dzienkowski's daughter was 11 when she started coming into her mom's room at night saying she couldn't fall asleep because of a stabbing feeling in her legs. She had to walk to make it stop. The preteen became cranky and tired. Her grades started to slip, and she even fell asleep on a bench during a family trip to an amusement park, Dzienkowski said. It took three years, but Dzienkowski's family finally got an explanation for the girl's condition: restless legs syndrome. One study estimates 4% to 29% of adults in Western industrialized countries have restless legs syndrome. It is a condition that too few people can recognize in themselves, and many doctors don't know how to manage properly, said Dzienkowski, a nurse who is executive director of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. Here is what experts want you to know about restless legs syndrome. 'Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by a need to move that is oftentimes associated with an uncomfortable feeling,' said Dr. John Winkelman, chief of the sleep disorders clinical research program at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The uncomfortable feeling — described as crawling, aching, tingling or throbbing — is often in the legs and sometimes the arms, he added. Restlessness frequently happens when people with the condition are sitting or lying down, and it is relieved with movement, Winkelman said. Symptoms are more likely to occur when a person is at rest, most often at night, and because the syndrome interferes with sleep, it is classified as a sleep disorder, Winkelman said. In moderate to severe cases, people experience restless legs syndrome several times a week, and in the most extreme cases, symptoms can delay sleep for several hours, said Dr. Brian Koo, associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Center for Restless Legs Syndrome. Two strong components play a role in who gets restless legs syndrome: genetics and iron levels. Restless legs syndrome often runs in families, and genetic markers make up about 20% of the prediction of who will get it, Winkelman said. Those with an iron deficiency are also more likely to get restless legs syndrome, including people who are pregnant, on dialysis, who are menstruating, who have anemia, or who are vegetarians, Winkelman said. Those on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants may also be vulnerable to restless legs syndrome, he added. The condition is twice as common in women as in men and much more common as people get older, Winkelman said. However, as Dzienkowski learned, children can have restless legs syndrome, too. To treat restless legs syndrome, a good first step is to look at what might be making the condition worse, Winkelman said. Alcohol, other medications and simple sugars may contribute to symptoms, Koo said. If iron is low — or even borderline low — oral iron supplements or intravenous iron infusions may help, Winkelman added. Dzienkowski also recommends having a 'bag of tricks' to manage symptoms, such as hot or cold packs, massages, walks or some mind-stimulating activity. 'For some reason … if you keep your mind engaged, it helps to keep symptoms at bay,' she said. There are medications that help if lifestyle changes and iron supplementation don't work. Many doctors will start with a class of drugs called alpha2-delta ligands, such as gabapentin or pregabalin, Koo said. For a long time, dopamine agonists were the first line of medications. But they are now prescribed infrequently because they can worsen restless legs syndrome over time, Winkelman added. The medications for the most severe cases are low-dose, long-acting opioid medications, Koo said. If you have discomfort that motivates you to move your legs at rest — particularly if doing so disturbs your sleep — talk to a doctor, Dzienkowski said. Not all medical professionals are well versed in restless legs syndrome, so asking for a referral to a sleep specialist may be helpful, she said. You should also get your lab work done, especially an iron panel with ferritin, a blood test that looks at how much iron your body has and how available it is for use, Dzienkowski said. 'The sooner you do it, the better, because you're just delaying diagnosis and treatment, which can be detrimental to your life,' she said. 'You don't realize that that sleepiness that you're feeling at work or the crankiness or you're not wanting to get out and do things could be the RLS bleeding into your daytime. … At least go have that conversation.'
