Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Analyses done by machine learning of data collected in brain imaging, clinical exams, and laboratory tests can be used to predict the risk of freezing of gait developing among people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, a study reported. The study, “Baseline cerebral structural morphology predict…

A novel machine learning algorithm was able to accurately classify people with Parkinson’s disease based on their predicted rate of disease progression — slow, moderate, or fast — over the five years after diagnosis, a study using patient registry data reported. It also identified Parkinson’s motor symptoms as a…

Mortality rates appear to be lower among people with Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP) being treated with Nuplazid (pimavanserin) relative to those using other antipsychotic medications, according to a real-world study in the U.S. The study, “Mortality in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease-Related Psychosis Treated with Pimavanserin…

Older adults with Parkinson’s disease who live in areas with more greenery, parks, or surface water are less likely to be hospitalized, according to an analysis of 16 years’ worth of U.S. data. The study, “Associations of Greenness, Parks, and Blue Space With Neurodegenerative Disease Hospitalizations…

Sleep benefit — a poorly understood phenomenon where people with Parkinson’s disease have fewer symptoms upon waking up — is associated with higher levels of dopamine transporter proteins in a region of the brain called the putamen, a study shows. These findings “are meaningful because they provide direct neurochemical…

An automated algorithm called StimFit may help speed up the time to finding optimal settings of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for each Parkinson’s disease patient undergoing the procedure, a new study shows. The study, “Automated deep brain stimulation programming based on electrode location: a randomized,…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a letter in support of model-based clinical trial simulators for Parkinson’s disease that are being developed by the Critical Path for Parkinson’s (CPP) consortium. In its letter, the European regulatory agency called on industry sponsors to share with the consortium data…

Alpha-synuclein clumps’ toxic effects — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — are independent of the production of the protein by neurons themselves, according to a study in mice. In mice lacking alpha-synuclein, exposure to toxic protein clumping resulted in comparable neurodegeneration, which was found to be related to the…

An open-label extension study has been launched for NOPARK, a placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial that’s assessing the effectiveness of nicotinamide riboside (NR) with Parkinson’s disease. NR is the active ingredient of Niagen, a dietary oral supplement that ChromaDex markets to promote “healthy aging.” Dietary supplements, unlike…

Nearly 90,000 people, 65 or older, are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every year in the U.S., representing an increase of about 50% relative to previous estimates of the disease’s incidence, a study showed. “These updated estimates of incidence are necessary for understanding disease risk, planning health care delivery, and…