Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Treatment with the experimental gene therapy AAV-GAD led to significant easing of motor symptoms and improved life quality for most people with Parkinson’s disease in an early clinical trial, according to new data announced by the therapy’s developer MeiraGTx. “We are excited about these impressive clinical data…

Conducting a machine-learning analysis of video recordings may aid in identifying motor symptoms in the early stage of Parkinson’s disease, potentially helping diagnose patients faster than can be done with the human eye, a new study reports. Such computer-based analyses may be able to detect problems with walking and…

Mutations that inactivate a gene called ITSN1 are associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, particularly at younger ages, a large-scale database study reports. Its researchers speculated that the protein encoded by the ITSN1 gene or related proteins might be viable targets to treat Parkinson’s. The study, “…

Most people with Parkinson’s disease don’t experience dementia in the first decade after diagnosis, a study reported. The findings challenge long-held beliefs that dementia is a fairly common issue that tends to crop up early on in Parkinson’s patients. The study, “Long-Term Dementia Risk in…

A new cell model of Parkinson’s disease is better able than others at capturing the complexity of the toxic protein clumps that characterize the disorder and to do so with useful speed, a study reports. “This technology will pave the way for rapidly developing ‘personalized stem cell models’ from…

Note: This article was updated Aug. 9, 2024, to correct that the improvement seen in good on time in additional analyses was 1.5 hours per dose. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved IPX203, a novel extended-release formulation of levodopa and carbidopa, for Parkinson’s disease.

Nearly 13% of people with Parkinson’s disease in North America carry a Parkinson’s-associated genetic mutation, according to new data from the PD GENEration study. This suggests that genetic variants with a link to Parkinson’s are more common than previously thought. “The positivity rate and the high interest in…

Lowering the levels of healthy alpha-synuclein, which is naturally found in the brain, helped to suppress the spread of this protein’s toxic clumps in the brains of a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. The study, “Effects of local reduction of endogenous α-synuclein using…

A test to detect clumping alpha-synuclein protein in the blood — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — may help to diagnose the neurodegenerative condition and could also provide insight into how long an individual has been living with Parkinson’s, a new study reports. The study confirmed that the…

Measuring levels of lipids (fat molecules) in the blood may help predict the severity of symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. The study, “Prediction of motor and non-motor Parkinson’s disease symptoms using serum lipidomics and machine learning: a 2-year study,” was published in npj…