People with Parkinson’s face risks during hospital stays, even when admitted for reasons other than the neurodegenerative disease itself, leading researchers to urge hospitals and health systems to adopt better practices, such as those recommended by the Parkinson’s Foundation. “Patients with Parkinson’s disease are at increased risk for…
Crushed dried seeds of the jujube fruit, a traditional herbal medicine also known as Chinese or red date, eased the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s and helped with neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain, in a mouse model of the disease. In a study led…
Vesalius Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with GSK to advance the development of new therapies for Parkinson’s disease and one other undisclosed neurodegenerative condition. Under the agreement, Vesalius will be responsible for identifying new treatment targets for the conditions, while GSK will have the option to…
A type of RNA structure called G-quadruplex, or G4 — a four-stranded RNA structure that forms when calcium enters cells in response to stress — may offer a scaffold for the alpha-synuclein protein to clump together and become toxic to nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease, research suggests. In a…
Two newly identified brain pathways originating from the striosome — a cluster of nerve cells (neurons) in the striatum, a brain region that controls movement and motivation — may provide an additional layer of regulation, a mouse study found. The findings challenge scientists’ understanding of how the brain controls those…
A rapid release of the chemical messenger dopamine in the brain is not needed for initiating movement, while it’s important for motivation and reward-seeking behaviors, according to a study in mice. If these findings hold true in patients, they may help in explaining why levodopa or L-DOPA, a mainstay treatment,…
Fatigue is the most common complaint among people with Parkinson’s disease, according to anecdotal data from a free app that allows patients or caregivers to complete daily check-ins and rate how they feel. In the nine months since the launch of Parkinson’s On, more than 2,500 patients and caregivers…
Researchers have identified six probiotics — live bacteria usually used as dietary supplements to help with digestion — with the potential to be used as an add-on to standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease. In a study with bacteria collected from fecal samples, the researchers observed that the bacterial strains…
Neural microtissues derived from pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can replace dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease, and restore motor function when grown into tiny capsules and transplanted into the brains of model rats, a study led by TreeFrog Therapeutics found. “TreeFrog Therapeutics has…
Both a misfolded form of the alpha-synuclein protein and an inflammatory cue are needed to trigger the Lewy bodies that drive the death of dopaminergic neurons in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a study in human stem cells. “The results support previous research showing that…
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