Top-line data from a Phase 3 clinical trial testing IPX-203 showed Amneal Pharmaceuticals’ carbidopa-levodopa (CD/LD) extended-release capsules work better than immediate-release tablets at reducing “off” time in people with advanced Parkinson’s disease and motor fluctuations. These benefits were observed even when IPX-203 was taken two times less…
PINK1 and Parkin — two proteins whose deficiency has been linked to early-onset Parkinson’s — are involved in the degradation and recycling of mitochondria in neurons, a study shows. While these proteins were known to contribute to mitochondrial recycling in other cell types, this study provides a closer look into mitochondria’s…
Lower levels of dopamine transporter protein in the striatum — a brain region affected significantly in Parkinson’s — may predict the development of the neurodegenerative disease up to eight years earlier in older adults carrying the most common genetic risk factor, a small study suggests. However, the observed variability…
Higher-than-normal levels of alpha-synuclein — the protein that accumulates in toxic clumps in Parkinson’s disease — affect the shape, dynamics, and health of mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of the body’s cells, according to a study in a fruit fly model. “When fruit fly larvae expressed alpha-synuclein at elevated…
Worse gastrointestinal symptoms predict more severe anxiety and depression, and vice-versa, within the same year and in the following year in people with Parkinson’s disease, a study shows. This bidirectional link between gut and mental health suggests a potential cyclical relationship, in which gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms increase the risk…
The mesencephalic locomotor region, a brain region previously thought to control only walking and other forms of locomotion in vertebrates, also regulates postural changes and other movements, according to a study in mice. “It was surprising that within this region, which everybody has linked to locomotion, many of the neurons…
The number and severity of non-motor symptoms increase during the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, and are significantly associated with age and motor symptoms, according to a study in China. The findings showed that a higher non-motor symptom burden in early Parkinson’s was significantly associated with a faster progression…
PIAS2, a protein that suppresses the immune interferon (IFN)-beta signaling, is found at higher-than-normal levels in neurons of sporadic Parkinson’s patients, particularly in those with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), a study shows. Overproduction of this protein was sufficient to cause PDD-like motor and cognitive symptoms in mice, while…
Treatment with melatonin — a hormone best known for its role in sleep regulation — lessened neurodegeneration and motor symptoms in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study shows. These benefits were associated with the suppression of a death-inducing inflammatory pathway called NLRP3 inflammasome in microglia, the immune…
SLS-004, Seelos Therapeutics’ experimental epigenetic editing therapy for Parkinson’s disease, effectively reduced the production of alpha-synuclein — the protein that accumulates in toxic clumps in Parkinson’s — in the brains of healthy mice. Epigenetic modifications refer to the addition of chemical marks to DNA by a group of specialized…
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