Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Cycling was more effective than electrical muscle stimulation at improving cognitive function, according to a small study. The results have implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s in which both movement and cognition can be affected. “Our results suggest that the relationship between exercise and brain activity is crucial for faster…

Taking levodopa before bedtime can reduce the number of times people with Parkinson’s disease wake up during sleep and the amount of time they remain awake at night — although such differences might not be obvious to patients. The findings, which came from a small study in patients…

A clinical trial will use a noninvasive, ultrasound-based technology to better understand how Parkinson’s disease develops and progresses at the molecular level. The technology, developed by researchers at Rice University in Houston, allows proteins to flow from the brain into the bloodstream, and was previously used in a mouse…

Boosting levels of the Cdk8 gene in fruit flies with Parkinson’s-like symptoms improved their ability to move, possibly due in part to preserving the health of mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells, a recent study reports. While it’s still early to know if this gene’s human counterparts, CDK8 and CDK19, also…

Amprion is launching SAAmplify, a set of biomarker panels that can be used as a tool to help in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions linked to the formation of toxic clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. With its launch planned for this year, SAAmplify builds…

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville will soon treat movement disorders such as tremor and Parkinson’s disease using a minimally invasive technology called focused ultrasound (FUS) that delivers sound waves to specific regions in the brain. The approach, expected to become available in late summer or fall, uses…

Machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), was able to define three distinct subtypes of Parkinson’s disease based on how fast symptoms in newly diagnosed patients progressed, potentially helping doctors to more accurately detect the disease and predict its course. In the study led by Cornell University researchers,…

People with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive impairment experience more severe symptoms and require more care but appear to use healthcare services less often, a European study has found, suggesting that new models of care are needed to better support these patients. “Healthcare should be more targeted to help this…

The Digital Medicine Society or DiMe, working with The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), has added digital tools for Parkinson’s disease research and clinical care to its library of digital health technologies. The interactive Library of Digital Measurement Products is an…

GUCY2C — a protein found mainly in the gut, but also in the brain — appears to be produced in greater amounts in Parkinson’s disease as a mechanism to protect nerve cells from damage and toxic insults, a preclinical study found. While the findings come from mice, they put…