Catarina Silva, MSc,  —

Freezing of gait — the description for a Parkinson’s symptom in which a person’s feet become briefly “glued to the floor,” preventing forward movement despite an intention to walk — is associated with more severe disease and worse motor and non-motor disability, a study reports. The study, “Factors…

The healthy human appendix contains Parkinson’s disease-related alpha-synuclein aggregates, and removing the organ early in a person’s life reduces the risk of developing the disease, a study has found. The study, “The vermiform appendix impacts the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Science…

The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command has awarded a four-year, $2.5 million grant to a team of scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to investigate the role of the gut microbiome — the trillions of microorganisms and their genetic material that live in the…

When a person is awake, brain circuit activity is constantly “on.” This activity needs to be normalized during sleep. Researchers now report that neuronal activity in Parkinson’s disease patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia fails to decrease during sleep. The study, “Levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease: sleep matters,” was published in…

Spontaneous mutations that occur in DNA before birth — part of cell division and reproduction in the growing brain — can predispose a person to neurodegenerative diseases in adulthood and may be more common than thought, a research team led by the University of Cambridge suggests. Its findings may explain the onset…

Specific motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease have a corresponding cognitive profile, with the tremor-dominant type being associated with less severe cognitive decline, a study reports. The study, “Cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease: the impact of the motor phenotype on cognition,” was published in the Journal of Neurology,…

Parkinson’s disease patients who have a tendency to fall use different strategies to control their balance than those who do not fall, according to a recent study. The study, “Fallers with Parkinson’s disease exhibit restrictive trunk control during walking,” was published in Gait and Posture. Due…

How cell surface proteins participate in spreading, from one cell to another, misfolded proteins related to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, possibly aiding in the progression of these disorders, was seen in early research. The study, “Specific glycosaminoglycan chain length and sulfation patterns are required for cell…

A recent case report describes a 70-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease who developed psychosis after taking nabilone, a man-made form of cannabis often used to treat severe nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. The study, “Exacerbation of psychosis triggered by a synthetic cannabinoid in a 70-year-old woman with Parkinson disease,” was…

Structural changes in a specific region of the brain can predict the onset of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s patients who have not yet developed dementia, according to a recent British study. The study, “Nucleus basalis of Meynert degeneration precedes and predicts cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in…