Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

Compounds called polyphenols in the Ecklonia cava seaweed eased motor and nonmotor symptoms in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Treatment with the polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, also prevented the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. The benefits are…

From Monterey Bay in California to Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii, Team HPP (Human Powered Potential) has rowed 2,800 miles across the Pacific Ocean and raised $28 million to benefit The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and its efforts to better treat and cure Parkinson’s disease.

Scientists at the University of Florida (UF) have developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool to help neurologists track Parkinson’s disease progression. The system analyzes video of patients’ performance on the finger-tapping test, a standard test that requires the patient to quickly tap the thumb and index finger about 10 times. It…

Home-based exercise, such as aerobic, strength, or balance exercises, helps relieve overall motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, according to a meta-analysis. But benefits were only seen when patients exercised for a minimum of eight weeks, and no less than 30 times. The findings provide “clinicians and patients with clear…

Scientists have discovered a new regulator — called NHR-49 — that may shed light and open potential new therapeutic avenues to prevent the formation of toxic protein clumps, a hallmark of aging-related diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. Using embryos of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, they found that NHR-49 is activated…

Mission Therapeutics has received $5.2 million from The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and Parkinson’s UK to start clinical testing MTX325, its experimental and neuron-protective oral therapy, in people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. “This significant grant, from two of the world’s leading Parkinson’s disease…

BrainTale’s noninvasive imaging analysis software, BrainTale-care, may be able to distinguish Parkinson’s disease from atypical parkinsonism. That’s according to data from an advanced MRI technique, called diffusion tensor imaging, that measures the diffusion of water molecules in the brain’s white matter. White matter contains nerve fibers…

An imaging agent for positron emission tomography (PET) scans allowed researchers to visualize, for the first time, abnormal alpha-synuclein protein clumps in the brains of living patients with Parkinson’s disease, a study showed. By detecting a hallmark feature of Parkinson’s found in relatively lower abundance in the brain compared…

Scientists at the Imperial College London in England have been awarded nearly £100,000, or about $125,000, by Parkinson’s UK to identify new therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s disease. The grant was awarded to Michael Johnson, PhD, and his team, and will fund efforts to harness the power of computers…

Remote assessments using smartphones and smartwatches could be used to detect and monitor changes in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, according to findings from the WATCH-PD study. Over the course of one-year of follow-up, an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone was able to…