Forest Ray PhD,  —

California has committed $8.4 million to the California Parkinson’s Disease Registry (CPDR) and efforts to expand it to other neurodegenerative diseases over the next four years. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) commended Gov. Gavin Newsom for signing the state’s fiscal year 2021–2022 budget,…

Stimulating brain regions to treat Parkinson’s disease, depression, and other disorders involving brain damage could become more precise, thanks to a new way of mapping the brain circuitry involved in those conditions. The study describing this research, “Brain stimulation and brain lesions converge on common causal…

Probiotic supplements could prove a useful add-on therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease, a recent study suggests. The study, “Influence of probiotic bacteria on gut microbiota composition and gut wall function in an in-vitro model in patients with Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the International Journal…

Alector and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will collaborate in developing and commercializing two therapies aimed at treating an uncommon type of dementia that can cause problems with behavior and language. Both investigational therapies — AL001 and AL101 — can be used across a range of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s,…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is funding a variety of Parkinson’s disease studies, ranging from projects focused on environmental risk factors and exercise to therapeutic gene targets and new tests. A total of 36 grants were awarded, amounting to $6.3 million. Several of the MJFF-funded projects are…

Methamphetamine users are more likely to experience premature stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and parkinsonism, according to results of a recent study. The study, “Methamphetamine and heightened risk for early-onset stroke and Parkinson’s disease: A review,” was published in the journal Experimental Neurology. Increasing methamphetamine use is a…

A chemical sense related to smell, called the trigeminal system, may help researchers understand which people who lose their sense of smell will later develop Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson Canada is supporting this research through a $45,000, yearlong grant, given to Johannes Frasnelli, PhD, of l’Université de Québec á…

An algorithm that detects and removes electrical interference produced by deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices could make it possible to design adaptable devices that better treat the tremors related to Parkinson’s disease, researchers report. Their algorithm is described in the study “Uncovering biomarkers during therapeutic neuromodulation…

Funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) will support four projects investigating possible connections between toxic environmental factors and Parkinson’s disease, including those encountered in military service and daily life exposure to pesticides and air pollution. Although Parkinson’s is a complex disorder and unlikely to have a single…

People with Parkinson’s disease made accurate self-reported diagnoses and expressed interest in virtually participating in research studies, according to a recent analysis from the ongoing Fox Insight study. That analysis was published in the journal Clinical Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, as a study called “Video-based Parkinson’s disease assessments…