Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Treatment with an investigational medicine called SBT-272 markedly eased signs of Parkinson’s disease in a mouse model, according to its developer Stealth BioTherapeutics. “We are excited about the promise of SBT-272 as a potential therapeutic for neurodegenerative diseases,” Reenie McCarthy, the CEO of Stealth, said in a…

The spread of alpha-synuclein aggregates in the brain is dependent on a protein receptor called TLR2, and also a transcription factor called NF-KB, a study indicates. Blocking these proteins — which may be done with medications inhaled through the nose — may be a useful therapeutic approach in Parkinson’s…

ParkinSense, an upcoming startup out of the University of Toronto, has secured funding to advance a new monitoring system that’s designed to better assess tremors and other motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease. The new funding will drive the company’s wearable device — which it hopes will help…

Changes in the genetic material of the sebum — the “oil” on the skin’s surface — are evident in people with Parkinson’s, and analyzing this skin surface lipid may aid in diagnosing the disease, scientists report. Their study, “Non-invasive diagnostic tool for Parkinson’s disease by sebum RNA…

An imbalance between the signaling molecules dopamine and sonic hedgehog in the brain may be the cause of the movement disorder caused by dopamine-replacing medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to findings published in Communications Biology, in the study, “Dopaminergic co-transmission with sonic hedgehog…

Taking inspiration from carnivorous plants, researchers in Korea have developed new technology that may increase the longevity of surgical devices implanted into the brain. The research may lead to improvements in deep brain stimulation (DBS) — a surgical treatment for Parkinson’s disease that involves inserting a device that…

Using a novel approach, called Placebell, could help researchers in clinical trials to understand the placebo effect in people with Parkinson’s disease, and boost the strength of their findings. Researchers at Tools4Patient, which is developing Placebell, and other institutions presented data on the approach at the…

Two investigational small molecules known as GT-02287 and GT-02329 lowered toxic protein levels in patient-derived cell models of Parkinson’s disease associated with a mutation in GBA1, their developer, Gain Therapeutics, announced. Gain is planning additional preclinical studies this year that could support applications to regulatory agencies allowing the compounds to…

People with gait difficulties due to Parkinson’s disease make adjustments that aid in walking, but many are not aware of the variety of “compensation strategies” available to them, a study based on a patient survey reported. Some of these strategies may be more useful in certain situations or to a given…

A novel machine learning algorithm called B-SOiD quickly and efficiently analyzes animal behaviors, and may be useful in assessing movement disorders in people with Parkinson’s disease. Researchers described their findings in the study, “B-SOiD, an open-source unsupervised algorithm for identification and fast prediction of behaviors,” published in Nature…