Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

High levels of urate in the blood may help preserve dopamine-producing neurons and be used as a biomarker of positive outcomes in men newly-diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a study says. The study, “Sex dependent association of urate on the patterns of striatal dopamine depletion in…

Seelos Therapeutics will begin animal studies to test a gene therapy approach to deliver its investigational candidate SLS-007 for Parkinson’s disease. SLS-007, originally developed by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, is intended to lessen the aggregation, or clumping, of alpha-synuclein protein —…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded Abbott’s Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system approval to target a brain region critical for motor functions — the globus pallidus — as a way to lessen motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients who still show impairments after medication.

Secondary parkinsonism can be caused by a cavernoma — a cluster of abnormal blood vessels — located in a brain region involved in voluntary movement control, a case report shows. The case-study, ”Nine-years follow-up of cavernoma located in basal ganglia mimicking Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal…

Biogen is adding Pfizer’s PF-05251749 — a regulator of the body’s inner clock — to its group of potential disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Biogen plans to test PF-05251749 in an upcoming Phase 1 clinical trial as a treatment to correct irregular sleep wake…

Cannabinoid-based formulations in development at GB Sciences were able to ease behavioral symptoms linked to the loss of dopamine producing-nerve cells — a hallmark of Parkinson’s — in a mouse model of the disease, the company said. GB Sciences will use these early results to support an…

Patient treatment has been completed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial testing cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) for Parkinson’s disease, Herantis Pharma has announced. The trial (NCT03295786) is testing the safety and tolerability of CDNF in 17 patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Of these patients,…

Gosuranemab failed to meet its primary and key secondary goals in a Phase 2 study evaluating its use in treating progressive supranuclear palsy, an atypical parkinsonian disorder, its developer, Biogen, has announced. Based on these results, Biogen will cease the clinical development of gosuranemab for this and other neurodegenerative diseases…

A new method allows researchers to develop adeno-associated virus (AVV) — commonly used as the vehicle for gene therapies — that accurately target and deliver genes to specific cells in the body. This new technology may be suitable to target dopaminergic neurons that are damaged in Parkinson’s disease. “We…

Clumps, or aggregates of alpha-synuclein protein in the brain, a hallmark of Parkinon’s disease, are more heterogeneous than previously thought, according to a new study. Moreover, the protein’s 3D-structure is different in Parkinson’s patients as compared with lab-made versions. These findings may hold implications for the development of…