Andrea Lobo,  —

Servier is set to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers to investigate an LRRK2 inhibitor, developed in collaboration with Oncodesign, as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. The trial, to start before the end of the year, follows the clearance of the Phase 1 clinical trial…

Older age at onset, a faster rate of disease progression, and severe cognitive impairment are key factors in poorer survival rates for people with Parkinson’s disease, a study that followed patients in northern China for 10 years found. Fatigue may also be an indicator of poorer survival, while physical exercise…

Continuously monitoring the gait of Parkinson’s disease patients in their homes using a wireless device is feasible and may provide more sensitive measurements of disease progression and treatment response, according to a new study. The device, which monitors fluctuations in motor function by tracking gait speed, may improve disease…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) announced it will expand the number and reach of Parkinson’s disease clinician-researchers around the world, in partnership with the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders aims to fund medical centers to…

A new study suggests that infections requiring specialty hospital care are associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease later in life. An increased risk also was observed for Alzheimer’s disease, but not for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “Hospital-treated infections, especially in early- and mid-life, were associated with…

New trial data suggest that low-dose ketamine — which does not induce anesthesia — may be a potential treatment for levodopa-induced dyskinesia, or involuntary movements, in Parkinson’s disease. “Ketamine was safe [and] well-tolerated with 100% of patients treated with ketamine demonstrating reduction in dyskinesias,” PharmaTher Holdings, the Canadian-based…

New trial data suggest that the combination therapy P2B001 for early Parkinson’s disease may offer effective symptom control with significantly fewer side effects — notably, less daytime sleepiness — than available treatments. The therapy, being developed by the Israeli-based Pharma Two B, could potentially be a first-line,…