Magdalena Kegel,  —

Researchers have developed a laboratory assay that measures the activity of the mutated LRRK2 gene — the major genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease. The team behind the study “Phos-tag analysis of Rab10 phosphorylation by LRRK2: a powerful assay for assessing kinase function and inhibitors,” published in the Biochemical Journal, believe…

TRANSEURO, a research consortium funded by the European Union, is readying an old weapon for a new round in the struggle to find a long-term treatment for Parkinson’s disease —  transplanted fetal stem cells producing dopamine, a technology researchers attempted 30 years ago. Today, improved methods and a focus on younger patients make TRANSEURO…

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham report that the most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease, a mutant form of the LRRK2 enzyme, contributes to the build-up of α-synuclein in neurons — a telltale sign that the nerve cells are destined to die. Published last week in…

A small Phase 1 clinical trial from the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) suggests that the approved cancer drug Tasigna (nilotinib)can treat both motor and cognitive problems in patients with Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia. The study, “Nilotinib Effects in Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy…

This week, a more than decade-old debate concerning the use of antipsychotic drugs in the elderly with dementia flared up after a study showing that these drugs also increased the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease was published in the journal JAMA Neurology. Authored by Dr. Daniel…

While investigating links to Gaucher disease — a rare genetic condition with strong ties to Parkinson’s — researchers collaborating across three National Institutes of Health (NIH) centers reported finding a drug molecule potentially capable of treating Parkinson’s by reducing the clusters of aggregated α-synuclein inside cells. In doing so, the research…

Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York discovered that traumatic brain injury can often precede the development of Parkinson’s disease. The study “Association of Traumatic Brain Injury With Late-Life Neurodegenerative Conditions and Neuropathologic Findings,” published in …

Gene mutations are often associated with something negative, but analyzing data from ADAGIO — the largest Phase 3 clinical trial to date exploring the drug rasagiline (Azilect) in patients with early stage Parkinson’s disease — researchers identified two gene variants that determine a particularly good treatment response. Published in…

A protein linked to the presence and severity of Parkinson’s has been found in urine samples from patients — opening the possibility that it can be developed into a biomarker, greatly aiding disease diagnosis and research. The finding, by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), led to two publications. In…

Sequencing the DNA of genes with known links to Parkinson’s disease revealed a previously unknown mutation in a patient with early onset disease, but while the evidence in the study pointed to the mutation as harmful, more research is needed to confirm that role. The study “Analysis of the…