Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

Treatment with lixisenatide, a medication approved for type 2 diabetes, significantly slowed the progression of motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Although gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting were more common with the therapy, the findings support lixisenatide as a potential…

Scientists at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) released the first images of a live human brain acquired with the world’s most powerful MRI scanner, the Iseult MRI machine. “With the Iseult project, a whole new world is opening up before our eyes, and we are excited…

People with REM sleep behavior disorder, a condition that often precedes Parkinson’s disease, frequently have mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage, a study found. “Patients with REM sleep behavior disorder, both those who subsequently developed Parkinson’s disease and those who did not, had more mitochondrial DNA circulating in the cerebrospinal fluid…

Fecal microbiota transplant, a procedure that works to replace a person’s gut bacteria with gut bacteria from a healthy donor, may help ease motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a small clinical trial found. Transplant “offers the advantages of being considered safe based on experience in other indications, and being…

After years of delays, medical device company Photopharmics has started a pivotal clinical trial to test its Celeste device, a noninvasive treatment tool that aims to use light to manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The long-awaited trial has been in the works since 2020, shortly after…

Irlab Therapeutics is preparing to start a Phase 3 clinical trial of mesdopetam, its experimental oral treatment intending to ease levodopa-induced dyskinesia, the uncontrolled movements affecting people with Parkinson’s disease. After announcing results of a Phase 2 trial of mesdopetam, Irlab requested an end-of-Phase 2…

A new system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze videos of people walking may help speed the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists at China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taiwan developed the technology, which can help physicians diagnose Parkinson’s more efficiently and get patients faster access to treatment,…

Playing rehabilitative video games along with physical therapy is more effective than conventional physical therapy only for managing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a study suggests. Video game-based therapy is also a better add-on to traditional physical therapy than motor imagery where a patient visualizes the steps needed for complex…

Ventyx Biosciences plans to launch a Phase 2a clinical trial testing VTX3232, an oral medication designed to reduce inflammation by blocking the activity of the NLRP3 protein, in people with early Parkinson’s disease in the second half of this year. Top-line results from a Phase 1 study in healthy…

Treatment with UB-312, a vaccine designed to trigger an immune response against toxic clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein, reduced these damaging aggregations in people with Parkinson’s disease in a Phase 1 trial. The findings, announced by UB-312’s developer Vaxxinity and presented at the at the AD/PD 2024…