Levodopa-induced motor complications of Parkinson's disease, including motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, become increasingly frequent as the disease progresses, and are often disabling. Oral and transdermal therapies have limited efficacy in controlling these problems. Advanced device-aided therapies, including continuous infusion of apomorphine, deep brain stimulation and levodopa-carbidopa ...

The modulation of expression of the dopamine transporter by dopaminergic drugs was investigated by flow cytometry in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients suffering Parkinson's disease. An 8-week in vivo exposure to pramipexole (0.7 mg free base, 3 times a day) or ropinirole (12 mg, once daily), but not levodopa/carbidopa (100/25 mg, 3 times a day), significantly reduced the mean fluoresce...

This chapter details quantitative imaging of the Mero-CBD biosensor, which reports activation of endogenous Cdc42 in living cells. The procedures described are appropriate for imaging any biosensor that uses two different fluorophores on a single molecule, including FRET biosensors. Of particular interest is an algorithm to correct for fluorophore photobleaching, useful when quantitating activi...

Cannabis contains a unique class of compounds known as the cannabinoids. Pharmacologically, the principal psychoactive constituent is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The amount of THC in conjunction with selected additional cannabinoid compounds (cannabidiol/CBD, cannabinol/CBN), determines the strength or potency of the cannabis product. Recently, reports have speculated over the change in the ...

Cellulose-binding domains (CBDs) bind specifically to cellulose, and form distinct domains of most cellulose degrading enzymes. The CBD-mediated binding of the enzyme has a fundamental role in the hydrolysis of the solid cellulose substrate. In this work we have investigated the reversibility and kinetics of the binding of the CBD from Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I on microcrystalline ...