Scientists discovered a potential link between Parkinson’s disease and a gene that is affected by a neurotoxin made by blue-green algae. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that Parkinson’s can be influenced by environmental factors. The study, “Analysis of DNA methylation…
Immune cells known as “natural killer” (NK) cells appear to fight the cellular changes that lead to conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Understanding how they do this may lead to new therapies for the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a study from the University of Georgia.
Parkinson’s disease patients have a higher rate of vision problems compared with the general population, and require screening for ophthalmologic symptoms to enable more timely treatment, according to a recent study. The study, “Seeing ophthalmologic problems in Parkinson disease,” was published in…
Scientists have discovered a “master controller” region that regulates aggregation of the alpha-synuclein protein, one of the distinctive features of Parkinson’s disease that is known to lead to the progressive degeneration of brain cells. Understanding how the master controller works opens new opportunities in both the…
The discovery that abnormal cellular mechanisms are specific to distinct groups of sporadic Parkinson’s patients brings precision medicine for this neurodegenerative disorder one step closer to reality. A recent study suggests that identifying these individual disease differences and assessing neuroprotective treatments specific to each one is…
Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tools, researchers introduced a common Parkinson’s disease mutation into stems cells of the marmoset monkey for a first time, paving the way toward a primate model of this disease. They also showed that this common leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene mutation behaves the same in…
Table tennis may offer benefits as a form of Parkinson’s physical therapy, according to a preliminary study that showed lessening of symptoms in patients who participated weekly in the sport for six months. “Pingpong, which is also called table tennis, is a form of aerobic exercise that has been…
RTB101, an investigational therapy being developed to treat Parkinson’s disease, is well-tolerated, can cross the blood-brain barrier, and reaches potentially therapeutic concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), according to interim results of a Phase 1b/2a study. Developed by resTORbio, RTB101 is an orally-administered compound meant…
A majority of Parkinson’s patients in a clinical trial reported achieving a fully “on” response within 30 minutes of taking Sunovion‘s under-the-tongue apomorphine film, called APL-130277, about three months after starting its use to counter “off” episodes in this disease, a post-hoc analysis of study results…
Spinal anesthesia may be safer than general anesthesia for people with Parkinson’s disease undergoing surgery, causing fewer post-operative complications, including a risk of death, a small study suggests. The study, “Spinal versus General Anesthesia for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in the International Journal of General…
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