Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

A group of immune cells called border-associated macrophages, or BAMs, have a central role in driving inflammation in the brain in Parkinson’s disease, a new study reports. “The results point to a critical role for BAMs in neuroinflammatory responses and highlight the need for disease-modifying therapeutic targeting of BAMs…

Digital tools, such as wearable devices and video calls, may help people with Parkinson’s disease in managing their nutrition — but barriers will need to be overcome before these tools can be used optimally by patients and caregivers. That’s according to the study, “The Facilitators and…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Aspen Neuroscience clearance to launch a clinical trial of ANPD001, an experimental stem cell therapy designed to replace the nerve cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease. As planned, the open-label Phase 1/2a trial will test the safety,…

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) has launched a free online course to help healthcare workers better understand advanced Parkinson’s disease and how to best manage the challenges that come with caring for their patients with the disease. The educational module, titled…

The experimental oral therapy UCB0599 — now in clinical trials — improves motor coordination and reduces inflammation and levels of the disease-related protein alpha-synuclein in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. “This comprehensive package of [Parkinson’s]-relevant improvements supports the rationale of directly targeting misfolded [alpha-synuclein] with the small molecule minzasolmin…

Activating a specific group of nerve cells in the brain leads to a sudden and total halt in movement in mice, a study shows. Since freezing and slowed movement are common motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, scientists think these nerve cells may play a role in the condition.

Medications that lower blood pressure don’t appear to influence the progression of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. The study, “Antihypertensive drugs may not delay the symptom progression of Parkinson’s disease: A 2-year follow-up study,” was published in Heliyon. The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are caused…

InSilicoTrials and Axoltis Pharma are teaming up to conduct computer-based studies — using both artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning — that will test the potential therapeutic effect of Axoltis’ treatment candidate NX210c on virtual patients with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders. “We are thrilled to…

DGX-001, an experimental oral therapy that Viage Therapeutics is developing to treat cognitive problems associated with Parkinson’s disease, appears to work as expected in people, based on data from a Phase 1 study that tested it in healthy volunteers. Results also suggested that the therapy had a positive safety…

Measuring levels of certain molecules made by gut bacteria could help to distinguish between Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, another disorder that’s characterized by tremor as a main symptom. That’s according to the study, “Association of fecal short-chain fatty acids with clinical severity and gut microbiota in essential…