Marta Figueiredo, PhD, managing science editor —

ABBV-0805, AbbVie’s experimental antibody-based therapy for Parkinson’s disease, selectively binds to toxic clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein — a hallmark of the disease — preventing their spread and prolonging survival in mouse models of Parkinson’s, a study shows. Also, the investigational antibody was found to bind to harmful…

The death rate from Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. has gradually and significantly increased — by 63% — over two decades across all age groups, sexes, and racial and ethnic groups, according to a study based on nationwide mortality data. In the same period, men died twice as much…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in adults with early Parkinson’s reduces disease-specific medication use and provides significant cost savings, for up to 15 years, relative to standard care, a study shows. While these savings — just over $100,000 over 15 years — did not outweigh the costs of the surgical…

CNM-Au8, an experimental oral treatment by Clene Nanomedicine, was safe and led to improvements in the brain’s energetic profile — thought to protect against cell death — in adults with Parkinson’s disease, according to data from the Phase 2 clinical trial REPAIR-PD. “In addition to achieving its primary…

Early Parkinson’s patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have more severe symptoms and show a faster disease progression in terms of motor, mood, and cognitive symptoms, according to a U.K. study. Moreover, these patients had a higher risk of frequent falls, freezing of gait — when…

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool was able to distinguish, with great accuracy, Parkinson’s patients from healthy peers by analyzing short videos of facial expressions, particularly smiles, a small study shows. The predictive accuracy of the new tool was comparable to that of video analysis that uses motor tasks to…

Researchers developed “mini-brains” — midbrain-like organoids — that recapitulate for a first time two key Parkinson’s hallmarks in that organ: the formation of toxic protein clumps known as Lewy bodies and the loss of dopamine-producing neurons. A combination of two known Parkinson’s risk factors — a deficiency of the beta-glucocerebrosidase…

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) has awarded $1.85 million to research projects focused on innovative tools and strategies to advance care and treatment of Parkinson’s disease for the 2021–2022 funding year. For the second year in a row, ADPA’s annual research funding included specialized grants to projects focused…

A previous diagnosis of bipolar disorder negatively affects the course of Parkinson’s disease, and is associated with greater neuropsychiatric and cognitive problems, poorer treatment outcomes, and shorter survival, a study shows. Also, a greater proportion of Parkinson’s patients with preexisting bipolar disorder had a history of either condition in…

Daily consumption of sweet marjoram tea, in addition to standard antiparkinsonian medication, may help reduce non-motor symptoms and depression in people with Parkinson’s disease, a small study suggests. Notably, the one-month intervention, while safe, was found to have no significant effect on patients’ motor symptoms, even though they showed…