Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

A cognitive-motor training program featuring a video game platform that promotes exercise is feasible for people with Parkinson’s disease to use, a new study demonstrates. Patients using the program along with standard rehabilitation showed comparable and greater motor and cognitive improvements relative to those on standard rehabilitation alone. These preliminary…

Treatment with stem cells engineered to produce a signaling protein called VEGF — which drives the growth of blood vessels — was found to lead to pain relief in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. Researchers say engineering stem cells for use in transplant “may potentiate the therapeutic efficacy”…

VectorY Therapeutics and Annogen have announced a new agreement to work toward developing vectorized antibody therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. “We are delighted to work together with Annogen on novel tailored cell-specific promoters to enhance VectorY’s transformative AAV-vectorized antibody platform and its potential to…

A Phase 2b clinical trial testing the investigational oral therapy mesdopetam, which aims to reduce levodopa-induced dyskinesia (involuntary movements) in people with Parkinson’s disease, did not reach its main goal. However, some promising reductions in dyskinesia measures were seen with the treatment. Top-line results from the trial were…

A new metric called the Parkinson’s Disease Social Functioning Scale (PDSFS) can measure social functioning in people with Parkinson’s disease, a new study reports. PDSFS scores show associations with the severity of psychiatric symptoms, suggesting better treatment of symptoms could improve patients’ ability to function in social settings, researchers…

Seal Rock Therapeutics says its novel oral therapy program SRT-055, which aims to treat Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders, showed powerful neuroprotective effects in preclinical experiments. The company now plans to advance the program’s development for Parkinson’s — and then will move toward the treatment of…

A liquid formulation of levodopa/carbidopa (LD/CD) delivered continuously under the skin via a pump, ND0612 is more effective than oral LD/CD, a mainstay treatment, at controlling symptoms without causing dyskinesia, according to results from the Phase 3 BouNDless trial. With this finding, the trial met its primary goal —…

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…