Magdalena Kegel,  —

Immune reactions, originating in the gut, protect neurons from the damage or death associated with Parkinson’s disease by keeping a check on the mitochondrial health of these nerve cells — at least in the brains of roundworms. The study, “The Mitochondria-Regulated Immune Pathway Activated in the C. elegans…

Researchers have discovered a way to block the spread of alpha-synuclein between neurons, which is believed to be at the core of the progression of the neurodegeneration seen in people with Parkinson’s disease. Interestingly, the drug that was able to block the spread and prevent neuron death is currently in clinical trials…

The 4th World Parkinson Congress, held in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 20-23, opened each day with a Hot Topics session, with the general public invited to listen to research presentations of particular interest. Topics ranged from complex scientific studies to children’s books, and a few of them caught…

The Parkinson’s research field is ready for precision medicine, four Parkinson’s experts stated in an editorial, suggesting that a switch from traditional disease concepts based on clustering of symptoms should be replaced by disease profiles built on knowledge of genetic and molecular changes. The editorial, “Parkinson’s…

Researchers may have come a step closer to understanding the cause of Parkinson’s disease, in a study showing how the inability to degrade old mitochondria — the power plants that charge our cells — leads to the death of dopamine neurons. The findings also explain the role of the LRRK2 gene in…

In a collaboration between the University of Bristol in England and the University of Queensland in Australia, researchers have found that mutations in a gene involved in protein transport inside cells give rise to rare types of Parkinson’s disease-like conditions, known as parkinsonism. The study, “Atypical…

Scientists have recorded the activity of nerve cells in the brains of human patients with Parkinson’s disease in what is believed to be the first time, focusing on the brain region where neuronal loss leads to movement and cognitive symptoms typical of the condition — the striatum. The study,…

Most scientists who study brain conditions such as Parkinson’s naturally focus on the brain, but new research from the Van Andel Research Institute in Michigan shows that the obvious starting point is not the only way to go. In the study “Enrichment of risk SNPs in regulatory regions implicate…

Researchers at two Scottish institutions have identified a new player in the crucial task of removing protein aggregates from the brain — an otherwise flawed process in Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The new insights into the molecular processes that contribute to protein aggregates that might some day be therapeutically targeted…

In a discovery that might turn out to be a game changer in Parkinson’s research, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers discovered that DNA methylation causes L-DOPA to stop being effective after a few years, instead giving rise to dyskinesia — involuntary jerky movements making life even harder for patients. In…