Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

Mutations in the LRRK2 gene, which have been linked to familial Parkinson’s disease, impair the activity of the waste clearance system inside nervous brain cells, contributing to their progressive degeneration, a study finds. Using a compound called clioquinol, researchers could restore the activity of lysosomes — the…

Mindfulness-based interventions can improve mental health status, including reduction of stress and anxiety levels, in family caregivers of veterans with Parkinson’s disease and other health issues, a study shows. The study, “A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregivers of Veterans,” was published in the…

A single-dose infusion of VY-AADC01, an investigational gene therapy, improves motor function and reduces the need for antiparkinsonian medications in advanced Parkinson’s disease patients, results from the Phase 1 PD-1102 clinical trial show. Trial findings were presented in a scientific poster, titled “PD-1102: A Phase 1 study of…

Understanding and identifying epigenetic changes may become a potential strategy for early Parkinson’s diagnosis, when patients still lack the characteristic symptoms of the disease, according to a recent study. The study, “DNA methylation changes associated with Parkinson’s disease progression: outcomes from the first longitudinal genome-wide methylation analysis in blood,” was…

A pilot project in the United Kingdom is testing a wrist device that is worn like a watch, called Personal Kinetigraph (PKG), to help Parkinson’s patients and their specialist healthcare providers to monitor their condition at home. The PKG, developed by Global Kinetics, will be tested in the “Developing Home-based Parkinson’s…

A project to identify new genes involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease has received $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  The grant will be shared between researchers at Penn State University and the University of California, San Francisco. Genome wide association studies…

A new Phase 1/2a clinical trial will investigate resTORbio’s therapy candidate RTB101, alone or in combination with sirolimus, as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Researchers plan to enroll 45 patients with mild Parkinson’s disease, both with and without mutations in the GBA gene, and who are being treated…

ProMIS Neurosciences will present evidence of the selectivity of several of its antibody candidates to target the toxic forms of alpha-synuclein, a key component of Lewy bodies that underlie the development of Parkinson’s disease. Neil Cashman, PhD, chief scientific officer of ProMIS, will present the study, “Targeting of Pathogenic Aggregated…

A Phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of investigational Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia has recruited half of its targeted patients, the therapy’s developer, Anavex Life Sciences, has announced. The study is still recruiting Parkinson’s disease patients age 50 or older who have been diagnosed with…

Exercise has the potential to improve cognitive function in people with Parkinson’s disease, and has positive effects on motor symptoms, according to a recent literature review study. “The potential of exercise to improve motor and non-motor symptoms is promising and may help to decelerate disease progression in individuals affected by…