Marta Figueiredo, PhD, managing science editor —

Marta holds a biology degree, a master’s in evolutionary and developmental biology, and a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She was awarded a research scholarship and a PhD scholarship, and her research focused on the role of several signaling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development. She also previously worked as an assistant professor of an annual one-week embryology course at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Articles by Marta Figueiredo

FDA asking for more safety data on extended-release IPX203

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking for more information concerning the safety of  IPX203, an extended-release oral formulation of carbidopa and levodopa, before a final approval decision in treating Parkinson’s disease symptoms can be made. In a complete response letter to Amneal Pharmaceuticals,…

Group Singing May Be Therapy for Walking Problems, Tremor

A one-hour group singing session significantly eased problems with walking and posture, as well as tremors, in adults with Parkinson’s disease who were on stable medication, a small study reported. While no significant benefits were seen for speech and facial expression, or for bradykinesia (slowness of movement), patients taking…

Parkinson’s Mice Show Gains From Exercise, Cholesterol Medication

Regular treadmill exercise significantly reduced the aggregation and spread of alpha-synuclein in the brain — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — prevented neurodegeneration, and lessened motor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson’s, a study showed. These benefits were found to be associated with the activation of a receptor…

New Genetic Mouse Model May Aid in Parkinson’s Research

A new Parkinson’s disease mouse model — carrying a common disease-associated mutation in both copies of the LRRK2 gene — recapitulates some motor and behavioral symptoms of the disease, while also showing mitochondrial abnormalities, a study showed. Problems in mitochondria, known as the powerhouses of the body’s cells, are increasingly seen…

New Roadmap of Dopaminergic Neurons May Improve Cell Therapy

Scientists have created a roadmap of the maturation steps of dopaminergic neurons — the nerve cells progressively lost in Parkinson’s disease — from human stem cells. Their work may help identify potential ways to optimize this process in the lab for new Parkinson’s cell therapies. “Our findings provide valuable…

Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Cause Cognitive Decline

Drinking more than three beers or about three large glasses of wine per week is associated significantly with higher iron levels in several brain regions, which is linked to worse cognitive function. That’s according to a study from the United Kingdom involving nearly 21,000 people — likely representing the largest…

Study Touts At-home Physiotherapy Program

An individualized, tablet-based, at-home physiotherapy training program may help stabilize the benefits of a multidisciplinary inpatient treatment approach in people with Parkinson’s disease, a recent study suggests. While differences between patients receiving standard care following discharge and those undergoing the nine-month, at-home program generally failed to reach statistical…