Digestive problems in Parkinson’s disease may be explained by the reduced activity of a specific type of nerve cells, called cholinergic neurons, in a particular brain region that helps regulate unconscious body functions, including digestion, a new study using a mouse model suggests. The scientists say diminished activity of…

Brain imaging data are not very useful for computer models predicting the long-term trajectory of Parkinson’s disease, a study showed. Researchers found that computer models aimed at predicting Parkinson’s progression were not meaningfully better when imaging data were included. In fact, some models became less accurate when imaging data…

Starting rehabilitation within the first year after a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis may be associated with longer survival, even among people who had already developed disability, a nationwide South Korean study found. Delaying rehabilitation was associated with progressively higher mortality risk across all disability levels, including among people without functional…

People with depressive symptoms may have higher odds of developing Parkinson’s disease, a large study suggests, with the researchers noting a potentially greater risk among those with stronger genetic susceptibility to the neurological condition. The findings also point to changes in fat metabolism — one of several “metabolic disturbances”…

People with Parkinson’s disease who experience visual hallucinations have reduced activity in the brain’s cholinergic system, a network of nerve cells that use the chemical messenger acetylcholine, a brain imaging study found. Impaired cholinergic signaling in certain brain regions early on predicted who would later develop visual hallucinations. The…