Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

The 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences has been awarded to three researchers who made groundbreaking discoveries related to the genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease. Breakthrough Prizes, popularly called the “Oscars of Science,” honor researchers who’ve made impactful discoveries across the life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics. There were…

Axim Biotechnologies has developed an assay to detect toxic clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein, a known biomarker of Parkinson’s disease, from a single teardrop. The company believes the noninvasive test, which can be run at the doctor’s office and provides faster results than other tear tests, could help…

Researchers have identified regions of DNA that appear to influence both Parkinson’s disease risk and sex-specific factors, including age of menstruation and menopause. Variants in these regions had different effects on gene activity in men and women, which scientists believe could underlie the higher prevalence of the neurodegenerative disease…

P2B001, an investigational combination therapy (pramipexole/rasagiline) from Pharma Two B, controlled Parkinson’s disease symptoms better than either of its individual components regardless of patients’ age or disease severity, according to subgroup analyses from a Phase 3 trial. As with previous analyses involving all participants, P2B001 was as effective…

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm identified more than a dozen U.S.-approved medications that might be repurposed to treat Parkinson’s disease, all based on their ability to increase levels of the PINK1 protein. PINK1 is involved in the health and workings of mitochondria, the cells’ energy production centers, and has…

Older women with Parkinson’s disease are more likely to be sedentary throughout the day, spending less time engaged in healthy physical activity — particularly the moderate to vigorous exercise tied to slower progression — than do women without the neurodegenerative disease. Female patients around age 70 also spent more…

A specific subset of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain appear to respond to movement acceleration and correspond with the region where cell death is particularly pronounced in Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study. These neurons were responsive only to movement, and not to rewarding stimuli, which long…

Parkinson’s disease patients with urinary incontinence (UI) exhibit distinct brain activity networks compared with patients without the bladder symptom, according to a recent study. Urinary incontinence was linked to stronger functional interactions between brain regions implicated in Parkinson’s disease and others linked to brain-bladder control. Findings overall “will provide…

A diet rich in legumes — a food group including beans, soybeans, and lentils — was associated with a lower probability of Parkinson’s symptoms starting to appear, a stage called prodromal Parkinson’s disease, in adults under age 70 with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a study in South Korea…

Mutations in the LRRK2 gene might contribute to Parkinson’s disease by suppressing the activity of lysosomes, the cell compartments responsible for clearing misfolded proteins and other cellular waste, according to a recent study. In cell culture experiments, Parkinson’s-associated LRRK2 mutations were linked to reduced lysosome activity in microglia and macrophages,…