Diana Campelo Delgado,  —

Parkinson’s disease patients have an increased risk of dying from COVID-19, a recent study suggests. This heightened risk may be due to the development of pneumonia caused by the virus, a respiratory condition that is a leading cause of death in Parkinson’s patients. The study, “COVID-19 case fatality and Parkinson’s…

Caffeinated drinks like coffee may help to protect people from Parkinson’s disease caused by mutations in the LRRK2 gene, much as research suggests it does in preventing sporadic, or non-familial, forms of this disease, a study reported. The study, “Association of caffeine and related analytes with resistance to Parkinson’s disease among…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted an investigational new drug application for mesdopetam (IRL790), an experimental therapy for reducing levodopa-induced dyskinesia, or involuntary movements, in people with Parkinson’s disease. This move by the FDA will allow for the enrollment of U.S. patients in…

Parkinson’s disease can be characterized as two different subtypes: one that starts in the brain and one that starts in the gut, a recent study suggests. This knowledge may open the door for the development of more personalized therapies, which could be based on the particular disease pattern of…

Human stem cells can repair Parkinson’s disease-damaged neural circuits and restore motor function in mice, a recent study found. The study, “Human Stem Cell-Derived Neurons Repair Circuits and Restore Neural Function,” was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Stem cells are able to continuously divide…

Orthostatic hypotension, a sudden drop in blood pressure when changing positions, can significantly affect both function and quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease. However, this non-motor symptom — typically attributed to later disease stages — is not associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s and…

The Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s initiative has awarded a $6 million grant to a research team looking to define the molecular connections between aging and Parkinson’s disease. The three-year grant, issued by the Michael J. Fox…

Scientists have developed a new system that can provide a controlled and sustained release of parkinsonian medications, thus enabling better management of Parkinson’s disease. The mechanisms behind this delivery system were described in the study, “Multi-Drug-Loaded Microcapsules with Controlled Release for Management of Parkinson’s Disease,” published in the…

The Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative has awarded a $7.2 million grant to a research team working to unravel the structure and biology of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a protein linked to familial Parkinson’s disease. The three-year grant, issued by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), was…

Reduced protein synthesis could serve as a biomarker to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease, even before motor symptoms appear, a recent study suggests. The study, “Protein synthesis is suppressed in sporadic and familial Parkinson’s disease by LRRK2,” was published in The FASEB Journal. The LRRK2 protein (leucine-rich repeat…