Alice Melão,  —

Measuring blood levels of the signaling molecule CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 may help identify active inflammation in Parkinson’s disease patients, a study suggests. The study, “CXCL12 and CXCR4 in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in Neuroimmunomodulation. CXCL12 is a small…

Inhibiting an enzyme called USP13 may represent an attractive therapeutic target for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, preclinical data suggests. These findings also could hold important implications for a therapy currently being developed to treat Parkinson’s disease — nilotinib. The study, “Ubiquitin specific protease-13 independently regulates parkin…

An investigational vaccine being developed by United Neuroscience (UNS) presented several advantages over traditional vaccines to treat progressive disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, according to preclinical data. The vaccine, called UB-312, was more selective to prevent toxic aggregates of alpha-synuclein in mouse models of the disease. These latest findings were…

A new blood-based analysis that evaluates the levels and content of tiny vesicles released by red blood cells may help diagnose patients with Parkinson’s disease according to disease stage, researchers suggest. The new method was described in the study, “Portrait…

Results from preclinical studies show the PIG3 protein as a key player in LRRK2-mediated familial Parkinson’s disease. The findings were discussed in two presentations at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2018 annual meeting in San Diego, California. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene — the leading genetic cause of Parkinson’s — account for…

Non-motor symptoms are common among patients with Parkinson’s disease who have not yet received any treatment, and the type of symptoms differs between men and women and onset age groups, a study shows. The study, “Gender and onset age related-differences…

Mutations affecting the NUS1 gene are linked to a significantly increased risk — 11 times higher — of developing Parkinson’s disease, study shows. The study, “Coding mutations in NUS1 contribute to Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Although exact triggers of Parkinson’s…

Chemical compounds in coffee — especially phenylindanes that form during the roasting of coffee beans — appear to prevent the damaging aggregation of amyloid-beta and tau known to play key roles in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. Caffeine, in contrast, had no effect on protein buildup in this early…

The first patient has been enrolled in Anavex Life Sciences‘ Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the potential and safety of Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia. Now actively recruiting, the study (2017-004335-36) is expected to enroll approximately 120 Parkinson’s patients ages 50 or older…

An investigational herbal product called DA-9805 exerts its neuroprotective activity by preventing mitochondria damage in brain cells, a mouse study has found. This compound is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2a clinical trial (NCT03189563) in early Parkinson’s disease patients. The study, “…