Forest Ray PhD,  —

AbFero Ltd will receive approximately €2 million ($2.41 million) through Eureka Network’s Eurostars program to complete pre-clinical testing of SP-420, a potential disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease, and to develop other iron-removing compounds. “This grant is an important step forward for AbFero as we test…

A new technique to isolate specific brain cells, used in a Parkinson’s mouse model, has revealed that genes involved in sensing and using oxygen grow more active in a specific type of nerve cells (neurons) in response to dopamine depletion. Loss of dopamine in the brain is a hallmark…

Networks of mitochondrial interactions in nerve cells may be used as a biomarker in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, a recent study has shown. The study, “Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Nature Systems Biology and Applications. Mitochondria are small organelles…

A fully automated process for growing three-dimensional (3D) midbrain-like organoids — a “mini-organ” model of the brain — has opened the door for the simultaneous testing of thousands of new potential Parkinson’s disease treatments. The midbrain, the topmost part of the brainstem, contains approximately 75% of…

A computational model of how Parkinson’s disease evolves over time may help guide physicians in tailoring levodopa doses to a patient’s needs at given disease stages. Levodopa works to ease the slowness or difficulty in moving, known as bradykinesia, experienced by many people with Parkinson’s. But its effectiveness…

Ondansetron, an anti-nausea medication usually prescribed to those undergoing cancer therapies, will be tested in an upcoming Phase 2 clinical trial as a possible treatment for visual hallucinations associated with Parkinson’s disease. The study (NCT04167813) — officially the Trial of Ondansetron as a Parkinson’s Hallucination Treatment,…

Pharmather filed an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting orphan drug designation be given to ketamine for treating the involuntary jerky movements — known as dyskinesia — that are associated with levodopa use in people with Parkinson’s disease. This condition, known as…

Scientists found a species of bacteria living in the small intestine, called Clostridium sporogenes, that is able to convert a fraction of unabsorbed levodopa — a medication commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease — into a chemical that lowers gastrointestinal mobility. According to authors, this process may…

Buspirone can effectively ease anxiety among people with Parkinson’s disease, but the medication is not well tolerated, according to data from a recent Phase 2 trial. Patients using this anti-anxiety medication and able to tolerate it well should continue its use, but a large-scale study is not advised, its…

Kynmobi (apomorphine hydrochloride), a sublingual film to treat “off” episodes in people with Parkinson’s disease, is now available in the United States by prescription, its developer Sunovion announced. “People living with Parkinson’s disease can potentially spend hours each day navigating disruptions caused by off episodes, which may…