José Lopes, PhD, managing science editor —

Parkinson’s treatment candidate BIIB054 was well-tolerated and had a favorable pharmacological profile in preliminary Phase 1 clinical results. Biogen will present those results at the 2018 American Academy of Neurology ANN Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California, April 21-27. Parkinson’s News Today will be covering the conference. The presentation “Randomized, Double-Blind,…

Inbrija reduces Parkinson’s symptoms when standard treatments wear off, and decreases the length of these off periods, a Phase 3 clinical trial shows. The therapy’s developer, Acorda Therapeutics, will present the results at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Los Angeles, April 21-27. Parkinson’s News Today will be covering…

Long waits for diagnosis, limited access to specialized treatments and services, and out-of-pocket healthcare costs are among key concerns of Parkinson’s patients, caregivers, and medical-service providers, according to a Parkinson Canada survey. The organization created the 30-minute online survey to better understand the challenges that patients, caregivers, and…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has launched an educational suite called “Parkinson’s Clinical Trial Companion” to increase patients’ participation in clinical trials. The new resource educates patients and families about the benefits of participating in research, and provides teams conducting clinical trials with high-quality…

Montreal researchers have developed a scale that doctors can use in their office to predict Parkinson’s patients’ risk of developing dementia. Not only is it accurate, but it’s also cheaper, easier to use and more practical than other methods, the team said. The research, “Office-Based Screening for Dementia in…

Brain training can improve the mobility and reduce the risk of falls among older people with dementia and cognitive impairment, a study reports. Another finding was that medication that improves cognition can decrease the risk of Parkinson’s patients falling. The research, “Falls in Cognitively Impaired Older Adults: Implications…

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin a regulatory review of its below-the-tongue formulation of apomorphine for Parkinson’s off periods. The request is in the form of a New Drug Application for the formulation as a treatment for the periods when standard Parkinson’s drugs have worn off. Off…

A simple bedside test measuring heart rate and blood pressure after a patient stands may help doctors come up with an early diagnosis of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative disorders, a study suggests. Besides Parkinson’s, the test could help diagnose other synucleinopathies, such as Lewy Body dementia and multiple system atrophy. These are…

Finnish and Japanese researchers have developed a new algorithmic approach to user interface optimization that takes individual differences into account. This approach could be beneficial for patients with Parkinson’s disease or other disabilities. The research, “Ability-Based Optimization of Touchscreen Interactions,” was published in the journal IEEE Pervasive Computing. Among the…

Acorda Therapeutics has asked the European Medicines Agency to approve Inbrija (CVT-301) to reduce the periods when the standard Parkinson’s treatment carbidopa/levodopa is not working. Inbrija is a self-administered, inhaled levodopa therapy. Acorda developed it to reduce the time when standard levodopa treatment wears off — periods known as off times.