Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

A request to launch a first Phase 1/2 clinical trial of a stem cell-based therapy in people with Parkinson’s disease has been approved by the Swedish Medical Products Agency. The therapy, called STEM-PD, consists of stem cell-derived dopamine-producing, or dopaminergic, neurons that are expected to replace the dopaminergic neurons that are…

Using simulated images, researchers have developed a method that may allow them to quantify how much dopamine transporter — a protein that pumps the chemical messenger dopamine into cells — there is in brain regions linked to Parkinson’s disease. The method can glean information from a single-photon emission…

People who go on to develop a neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s may experience poorer overall health and show signs of disease many years before they get diagnosed, according to a study from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. For those with Parkinson’s, grip strength in both hands…

Two small molecules in the pipeline of Lucy Therapeutics helped nerve cells (neurons) keep their mitochondria healthier and reduced the levels of  alpha-synuclein, a protein that builds as toxic clumps in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease. These molecules, called LucyTx-1209 and LucyTx-1212, also were seen…

Gb Sciences has identified a handful of mixtures that contain just enough  cannabinoids — the active compounds of the cannabis plant — to prevent death in lab-grown nerve cells and help lessen motor symptoms in a zebrafish model of Parkinson’s disease.  Out of more than 60 mixtures…

Dosing has begun in LIGHTHOUSE, a Phase 3 clinical trial testing BIIB122 — an experimental inhibitor of LRRK2 being developed by Biogen and Denali Therapeutics — in patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease. The study (NCT05418673), underway at two clinical sites in Colorado and Florida, is recruiting up…

Acting out a word or phrase may help people keep memory of it — a phenomenon called the enactment effect — and this also may hold true for those with poor motor control due to Parkinson’s disease, according to a review study. “Our meta-analysis found that even Parkinson’s disease…

A non-invasive skin swab test may make a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in as few as three minutes, according to a study done at The University of Manchester in the U.K. The test looks at samples of sebum, an oily matter made by glands in the skin, where it can…

IMAC Holdings has completed the dosing of a third and last group of patients who are taking part in a Phase 1 clinical trial that’s testing an investigational stem cell therapy for bradykinesia due to Parkinson’s disease, the company announced. Five patients received a one-time intravenous…

Patient dosing has begun in a Phase 2a clinical trial testing oral CST-2032 in combination with CST-107 as a potential way to ease the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease, the company developing these therapies, CuraSen Therapeutics, announced. The trial (…