Alice Melão,  —

Swelling of brain areas close to where the electrodes that deliver deep brain stimulation (DBS) are placed is a common and transient side effect of this treatment in Parkinson’s disease patients, a study suggests. The long-term impact of such swelling and potential complications are unknown and warrant further analysis,…

The first patient has been dosed in Axovant’s Phase 1/2 clinical trial testing the investigational gene therapy AXO-Lenti-PD for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The patient reported no complications associated with surgery or administration of the therapy and was discharged as planned in the initial trial design. Preliminary data from the first group of…

Levodopa treatment can prevent movement impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease by increasing overall sensory attenuation, or the ability to fine-tune information received from the senses before a motor action is performed, a study suggests. Based on these findings, researchers suggest that dopamine, which increases as a result of…

Deep brain stimulation can effectively reduce physical impairment caused by Parkinson’s disease and meets most patients’ expectations for improvements in several domains, a study reports. However, researchers found that the procedure did fall short of meeting most patients’ expectations concerning the reduction of non-motor symptoms. The study, “…

Women and Hispanic patients with Parkinson’s disease, as well as those living in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states, are most often prescribed inappropriate dementia therapies, a nationwide study reveals. The study, “Patterns of Dementia Treatment and Frank Prescribing Errors in Older Adults With Parkinson Disease,” appeared…

A protein called scarlet can protect nerve cells from the damaging effects of toxic alpha-synuclein aggregates that occur in Parkinson’s disease, according to results of research into a fruit fly model. The study, “Neurodegeneration and locomotor dysfunction in Drosophila scarlet mutants,” was published in the Journal…

Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH), a sudden drop in blood pressure when changing positions, can significantly affect Parkinson’s disease patients’ function and quality of life. A recent survey highlights the need for improved awareness and education on the effects and burden of this condition, which affects one in every five Parkinson’s…

A form of vitamin B3 can promote degeneration of nerve cells linked to Parkinson’s disease and exacerbate disease manifestations in mice, a study reveals. Despite the benefits of the compound demonstrated in previous studies, these new contrasting findings suggest that its mechanism of action is complex and not specific for…

Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center and Retrotope have paired up to explore the therapeutic potential of the investigational agent RT001 in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a type of treatment-resistant Parkinson’s disease. Under Retrotope’s expanded access program for RT001, the institute’s physicians started dosing two…

Sensile Medical, a subsidiary of Gerresheimer, is going to launch its wearable micro pump to deliver liquid medicines to patients in Europe who have advanced Parkinson’s disease. The medical device was given the European Union’s CE declaration of conformity, a prerequisite for a product to enter the European…