Lindsey Shapiro, PhD,  science writer—

Researchers have identified a mechanism underlying an addiction-like psychiatric complication of levodopa treatment known as dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) in people with Parkinson’s disease in a recent preclinical study. In a mouse model, a DDS-like state was associated with abnormal activation of a certain population of nerve cells…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Turing Medical’s automated brain mapping technology designed to help doctors develop personalized plans for deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other neuromodulation therapies in people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Called Bullsai Identify, the platform uses artificial intelligence…

People with a history of damage to the lining of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, called the gastrointestinal mucosa, had an elevated risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in a recent U.S. study. “We found that a history of upper GI mucosal damage was associated with a 76% greater risk…

The gut microbiome of people with Parkinson’s disease exhibits substantial compositional and functional shifts relative to that of healthy individuals, with some of these changes linked to a faster progression of motor issues over time, according to a new study. “The [Parkinson’s disease] microbiome is functionally…

Researchers have developed a new mouse model that affects nerve cells in the eye that could help in studying disease mechanisms and treatment approaches in Parkinson’s disease. The mice are lacking the protein VPS35 in specific cells of the eye and developed protein deposits that contain alpha-synuclein, neurodegeneration, and…

A person’s body composition, like the ratio of fat to muscle mass, could influence their risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, according to a large database study in the U.K. Among the more than 400,000 middle-aged adults followed for years, higher levels of abdominal and…

A transplant approach used to deliver ANPD001, an investigational stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease, to the brain was found to be safe and feasible in non-human primates. Data from these preclinical studies supported developer Aspen Neuroscience’s successful application to U.S. regulators seeking to launch a first-in-human…

The number of active Parkinson’s disease clinical trials has remained relatively stable since 2019, but many investigational therapies — especially disease-modifying treatments intended to slow or stop disease progression — are failing to move forward from Phase 2 to Phase 3 trials, according to a report. A wide…

The risk of developing Parkinson’s disease is double in adults older than 50 with anxiety relative to those without it in a recent U.K. study. Other Parkinson’s-associated symptoms, such as sleep issues, constipation, and tremors, were also associated with an elevated Parkinson’s risk in people with anxiety. “By understanding…

UB-312, a therapeutic vaccine candidate from Vaxxinity, safely led to antibodies being produced that could target toxic clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to final published data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. Having detectable antibody levels against alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid…