Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

In a first-of-its-kind development, a team of scientists created a lab model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) surrounding the brain. The new model represents “a game-changing technology with broad implications for neuroscience, drug discovery, and personalized medicine,” Ziyuan Guo, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati department of pediatrics…

Participating in a weekly dance class may not only help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their mobility, but also can be an important source of joy that helps patients feel closer to their loved ones. That’s according to a new study from Sweden that investigated the impact of the…

People with Parkinson’s disease who have clinically significant anxiety tend to walk more slowly and with shorter steps than people with the disease who don’t have anxiety. That’s according to the study, “The impact of anxiety on gait impairments in Parkinson’s disease: insights from sensor-based gait analysis,” which…

Variations in genes that are important for the function of lysosomes — the cellular equivalent of garbage disposals, which are responsible for removing molecular waste from cells — may help set the stage for the development of Parkinson’s disease in people who’ve had long-term pesticide exposure, a new study…

Self-care is important for people with Parkinson’s disease, and patients should be armed with tools for tracking symptoms, keeping informed about the disease, and leaning on support from others. That’s according to a study, “Balancing feeling ‘prepared’ without feeling ‘devoured’: A qualitative study of self-care from…

ND0612, a formation of levodopa/carbidopa administered continuously by an under-the-skin pump, led to better symptom control for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease in a Phase 3 trial, and the therapy’s efficacy and safety were consistent irrespective of patient factors like age, weight, and medication dosage. That’s according to…

Treatment with prasinezumab — an experimental therapy designed to stop toxic alpha-synuclein protein clumps from spreading through the brain — seems to slow the progression of motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to the results of a new analysis that compared the findings of a…

The Syn-One test, which uses a skin biopsy to look for atypical clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, may help both in confirming a diagnosis and guiding treatment decisions for people being evaluated for Parkinson’s disease, new data show. “Skin biopsies are minimally invasive and, our study showed, very effective…

AB-1005, an experimental gene therapy administered directly into the brain, helped ease motor symptoms in patients with moderate Parkinson’s disease, whereas it appeared to stabilize disease progression for those with mild disease in a small Phase 1 clinical trial. No serious safety issues were reported for the 11…

A new treatment that delivers healthy mitochondria to damaged nerve cells showed promise in cell and animal models of Parkinson’s disease, a study shows. “[T]he study findings provide evidence that mitochondria transplantation can be developed as a novel therapeutic for” Parkinson’s, researchers wrote in “Mitochondrial transplantation…