Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Ongentys (opicapone) can reduce the extent of “off” periods in people with Parkinson’s disease being treated with  levodopa, new clinical trial data show. The data were presented at the American Neurological Association 2020 Virtual Meeting. Therapies that aim to increase levels of dopamine in the brain,…

Spinal cord stimulation can effectively decrease pain, and also may help alleviate motor symptoms, in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), regardless of whether patients have previously undergone deep brain stimulation, a small study suggests. The study, “Single arm prospective multicenter case series on the use of…

Cognitive changes in people with Parkinson’s disease pose a substantial challenge for their care partners, new research suggests. The findings were presented at the 2020 Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic) by researchers from the Parkinson’s Foundation, in…

Supernus Pharmaceuticals has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of SPN-830, its apomorphine infusion pump, the company said. If approved, the pump will be used for the continuous treatment of on-off episodes in adults with Parkinson’s…

Sunovion‘s Kynmobi (apomorphine hydrochloride), a sublingual film treatment for “off” episodes in people with Parkinson’s disease, has a manageable safety profile and maintains efficacy over up to nearly a year of use, interim data from an ongoing Phase 3 trial show. Findings were presented at MDS…

Vercise Genus, a fourth-generation system for deep brain stimulation (DBS) made by Boston Scientific, has received CE marking and is now commercially available in Europe. A treatment approach for Parkinson’s disease, DBS involves surgically implanting a neurostimulator to deliver electrical impulses to targeted regions of…

A speech therapy called the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD) can lessen difficulties in communication for people with Parkinson’s disease, a new study shows. The study, “The Impact of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD) on Voice, Communication, and Participation: Findings from a Prospective, Longitudinal…

Computer-based analyses of the voice could be used for at-home monitoring of symptom severity in people with Parkinson’s disease, a small proof-of-concept study suggests. The study, “Prediction and Estimation of Parkinson’s Disease Severity Based on Voice Signal,” was published in the Journal of Voice.

A new behavioral test called the free-movement pattern Y-maze could be useful in assessing problems with working memory, both in animal models and people, a new study suggests. It may also help with research into neurological diseases like Parkinson’s. The study, “The Free-movement pattern Y-maze: A…

Remote coaching via telehealth could help people with Parkinson’s disease stay physically active, even when in-person events aren’t feasible, a study suggests. The study, “Promoting Physical Activity via Telehealth in People With Parkinson Disease: The Path Forward After the COVID-19 Pandemic?” was published in Physical Therapy.