Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Most types of physical exercise can help to ease motor symptoms in adults with Parkinson’s disease and improve their quality of life, according to a review study. “Our review highlights the importance of physical exercise in general, while the exact exercise type may be secondary,” Elke Kalbe, PhD,…

Scientists are calling for a ban on trichloroethylene (TCE), a common and widely used chemical that’s increasingly linked to multiple health problems, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. “Through a literature review and seven illustrative cases, we postulate that this ubiquitous chemical is contributing to the global rise of PD…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) is calling on adults 60 and older in the U.S. and Canada who do not have Parkinson’s disease to participate in the Smell Test Challenge, which aims to better understand the connection between loss of smell and neurological disease.

Newron Pharmaceuticals and Zambon Pharma have ended their plans to run a clinical trial to test Xadago (safinamide) for uncontrolled movements induced by levodopa in people with Parkinson’s disease. Xadago is widely approved as an add-on treatment to help manage Parkinson’s off episodes, or periods when symptoms…

Overproduction of toxic forms of the alpha-synuclein protein — a Parkinson’s disease hallmark — in the vagus nerve, the longest nerve connecting the brain to the intestines and other key organs, disrupts the autonomic nervous system prior to motor symptom onset, a study in a new rat model reported. The…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded a $2.5 million grant to Selonterra to support new therapeutic approaches targeting genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease. “The contribution of genetics to Parkinson’s disease is undisputed,” Anne Urfer-Buchwalder, PhD, co-founder and president of Selonterra, said in…

SteadyScrib, a startup company led by undergraduate students at Northwestern University, is working on a pen-and-clipboard system that can make writing easier for people with Parkinson’s disease. The company hopes to launch its pen sets by this year’s end, and it offers a waitlist for people…

Levels of a fatty molecule called Bis(monacylglycerol) phosphate, or BMP, are significantly elevated in the urine of people with certain LRRK2 and GBA1 mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. Measuring urinary BMP levels could be a useful way of gauging the effectiveness of potential treatments that target…

Probucol, a cholesterol-lowering medication previously used in Western countries, improved motor function and lengthened the lifespan of treated animals in models of Parkinson’s disease, a study found. Identified as a potential Parkinson’s treatment through an artificial intelligence (AI)-based search, probucol was found to promote mitophagy, the cellular pathway that recycles…

Inflammation in the brain is detectable at the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease and even before treatment is begun, a new study reports. The findings support the idea that inflammation may be an early driver of Parkinson’s itself, rather than merely a byproduct of the disease’s neurodegeneration, the researchers…