Johns Hopkins Medicine

More than 200,000 people in the US alone are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease yearly, but it can be caused by multiple forms of a misfolded protein called alpha synuclein. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson’s expert at Johns Hopkins, says managing the …

Personalized treatment may soon come for Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A type of test known as a seeding assay has been shown to be very good at diagnosing conditions like Parkinson’s disease, caused by a protein that folds incorrectly. Parkinson’s disease expert Ted Dawson at Johns Hopkins predicts these types …

Some people with Parkinson’s disease will test negative with the best test yet, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A protein called alpha synuclein is normally found in our bodies, but it’s also found in a misfolded form that’s known to cause Parkinson’s disease. A recent study shows a skin biopsy can help make the diagnosis. Johns Hopkins Parkinson’s …

What is it that causes a normal protein to fold differently and cause Parkinson’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Used to be Parkinson’s disease was thought of as a movement disorder, but now it’s known that as the condition progresses two different types of dementia can also emerge. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson’s expert at Johns Hopkins, says recent studies …

Parkinson’s disease is actually a few different clinical entities, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Prions are misfolded proteins that can infect us and cause our normal proteins to fold incorrectly also, and they can be found in the skin, a new study reports. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson disease expert at Johns Hopkins, says this …

A new way of diagnosing prion disease may also help in other diseases, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Prion diseases are caused in people when an aberrant form of a protein that is already in our bodies infects us, and causes the normal protein to fold like it, resulting in neurological disease. A new study found that one …

What is a prion and how does it cause disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The rare brain disorder abbreviated CJD, for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, can be diagnosed with two or more skin biopsies, a recent study shows. Johns Hopkins neurologist Ted Dawson says the fact that what causes the disease, a particle smaller than a virus …

Why is it that a disorder that affects the brain can be diagnosed with a skin biopsy? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Skin biopsies have proven better at diagnosing the rare brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob, abbreviated CJD, than doing a spinal tap to obtain cerebrospinal fluid, a new study reports. Ted Dawson, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, says this new test has multiple advantages. …

Making the diagnosis for a rare brain disease may now be easier, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD is a rare neurological condition that may initially look like dementia and that is ultimately fatal. It’s caused by something called a prion, which is smaller than a virus. Now a new study demonstrates that a skin …

Diagnosing some neurologic diseases may now use a skin biopsy, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The skin cancer melanoma has historically been associated with difficulties in treatment and survival, but that picture is changing rapidly. Now the results of a ten year trial support use of two agents to manage this disease, according to Kimmel …

Treatment of the skin cancer melanoma continues to improve, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »