Scientists have developed a nanoparticle drug delivery system designed to enhance brain delivery of levodopa, the mainstay treatment for Parkinson’s disease, while also lowering a type of cellular damage called oxidative stress that’s implicated in the neurodegenerative condition. The system was able to improve motor function in a…
Data from a brief gait and posture assessment using wearable sensors — taking just a few minutes in the clinic — could help to accurately predict the risk of falls in the near future with Parkinson’s disease, a recent clinical study reported. Scientists at the University of Oxford in…
Treatment with investigational antibody therapy prasinezumab tended to slow the progression of motor symptoms in people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease in a Phase 2b trial, with particularly pronounced benefits among those also receiving levodopa. However, the difference between prasinezumab and a placebo in the overall study population…
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a consortium to support clinical studies designed to better understand the link between the gut and brain in Parkinson’s disease. The Gut-Brain Communication in Parkinson’s Disease Consortium is motivated by the fact that there are compelling data indicating that the gastrointestinal…
Researchers in China have identified three genes — GPX2, CR1, and ZNF556 — with increased activity in people with Parkinson’s disease that could play a role in its development. If validated in future studies, these genes could ultimately serve as disease biomarkers to facilitate Parkinson’s diagnoses. “Our study identifies…
The Parkinson’s disease therapy entacapone may disrupt the balance of microbes in the gut by starving them of iron, a study in healthy human fecal samples suggests. Supplementing patients with iron could prevent entacapone’s gastrointestinal side effects, but more research is needed to fully understand how the medication affects…
Researchers have developed a “double-hit” rat model of Parkinson’s disease wherein neurodegeneration is driven by both genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure to toxins. The rats were genetically engineered to accumulate human alpha-synuclein protein in the brain like existing models, but were also injected with an inflammation-inducing toxin. The animals…
Among adults in the U.K., poor hand grip strength is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, especially among those who also have genetic risk factors for the neurodegenerative condition, according to a new report. Indeed, “compared with those with high [grip strength], low-[grip strength] individuals had…
Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to recent research. “These findings advocate for comprehensive management of MetS [metabolic syndrome] as a pivotal strategy…
Inbrain Neuroelectronics has raised $50 million in funding to continue developing its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology using ultra-thin graphene electrodes, designed for more personalized treatment of people with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions. BCIs are implanted devices that can be used to decode and modulate brain activity.
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