Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Microglia — the brain’s primary immune cells — can help to keep motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease from quickly advancing in early disease stages, work in a mouse disease model suggests. Its findings support studies indicating both a neuroprotective and damaging role for these immune cells over the disease’s…

Subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) may bring benefits to people with Parkinson’s regardless of whether the disease is caused by a gene mutation or appears in patients with no associated mutations, a study in Spain found. Researchers investigated this surgical treatment’s use in people with LRRK2 and PRKN mutations — …

Taking part in a community-based exercise program appears to help relieve the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a review study suggests. Researchers also observed that older people and those engaging in these programs for longer periods may get the most benefit. The review study, “Effects and parameters of community-based…

The C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), a measure of inflammation in the body that can be read from a routine blood test, may be linked to all-cause mortality in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to study of people in Japan. Data showed patients with the highest CAR were up to…

Certain pro-inflammatory gut bacteria, genes, and pathways are significantly increased in people with Parkinson’s disease compared with healthy people, while anti-inflammatory ones are significantly reduced, a large study found. Also, machine learning models based on 11 of these bacteria and six of these genes accurately discriminated between people with…

People with Parkinson’s disease who are exposed to a high level of certain pesticides may see their motor and non-motor symptoms progress faster compared with those who are not as exposed, a U.S. study found. Among the 10 pesticides whose high exposure was found to be associated with faster…

Blood levels of neuron-derived small vesicles containing alpha-synuclein and tau protein clumps — both linked to neurodegenerative disorders — can accurately distinguish between people with Parkinson’s disease and those with atypical parkinsonism, a study found. When isolated from the blood, these nerve cell vesicles may “provide a window…

The formation of toxic alpha-synuclein clumps may be the first and critical driver in developing Parkinson’s disease associated with mutations in the SNCA gene, according to a study looking at patient-derived neurons. While alpha-synuclein aggregation and abnormal calcium flow were detected at the earliest maturation stages of the specific…

Long-term exposure to air pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitric dioxide, and black carbon increases the risk of dying from Parkinson’s disease, according to a study of more than 200,000 adults from six European countries. Notably, these associations were observed even for pollutant levels below current…

Using amantadine — a parkinsonian medication that has also antiviral activity — does not reduce the occurrence of COVID-19 or its severity among people with Parkinson’s disease, a Polish study found. Rather, the researchers observed that COVID-19 was less common among people over age 50 age, and those with…