Alice Melão,  —

The abnormal alpha-synuclein characteristic of Parkinson’s disease interacts with the prion protein PrP, initiating a series of events that culminate in neuronal degeneration and cognitive impairment, a European study found. But a drug from the caffeine family prevented this interaction, reversing degeneration and Parkinson’s symptoms in mice. The study, “…

The antidepressant drug nortriptyline — approved more than 50 years ago for depression and nerve pain — may also slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease by halting the formation of toxic alpha-synuclein aggregates, say researchers at Michigan State University (MSU). Their study, “Nortriptyline inhibits aggregation and neurotoxicity of alpha-synuclein…

Quantifying changes in fluid in a specific brain area, using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method, could provide a way to track brain damage in patients with Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. The study, “Progression marker of Parkinson’s disease: a 4-year multi-site imaging study,” appeared in the journal Brain.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have identified the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for the reduced sense of touch and smell which Parkinson’s patients experience in early stages of the disease. A better understanding of these processes can help in the development of new early diagnostic methods. Their findings resulted…

Researchers from North Wales received a £33,000 (about $43,000) award to study the potential benefits of brain-stimulating computer games in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.  The scientific study titled, “Early stage feasibility assessment of a non-pharmacological intervention for motor…

The latest result from Voyager Therapeutic’s Phase 1 clinical trial on gene therapy (VY-AADC01) for advanced Parkinson’s disease shows early promise for the improvement of motor functions and quality of life of patients. These data were presented as part of an emerging oral presentation session at the 2017 Annual Meeting…

23andMe Inc. has become the first company to receive U.S. approval to market genetic tests that can flag patients on their risk of developing an inherited disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization means 23andMe can offer a personal genome service that can detect markers of several genetic diseases, including Parkinson’s.

A treatment widely used to help prevent rejection in organ transplants, called tacrolimus, appears to work to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) and ideally should be tested in early-stage patients, researchers report. Tacrolimus, marketed under brand names including Prograf, works to suppress the immune system. It is used at high dose with…

In recent decades studies have shed new light on Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the cause of the neurodegenerative disease is still unknown and there are currently no effective treatments. But recent findings that describe new mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA deregulation may help better understand Parkinson’s and potentially lead to new therapeutic…

CVT-301, an inhalable drug under development by Acorda Therapeutics to treat Parkinson’s symptoms during “off” periods when currently available drugs don’t adequately work, showed promising results in preclinical Phase 1 and 2 studies. Since the late 1960s, levodopa has been the most common and efficient oral drug used for managing Parkinson’s motor…