Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

People who take certain immunosuppressants — medicines that dampen the immune system’s response — appear to have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, new research shows. These findings support a role for the immune system in Parkinson’s, potentially raise the possibility of developing treatments to alter disease progression, at…

New methods to measure brain activity in dancers can be applied to develop new forms of treatment, such as dance-movement therapy, for movement-related disorders including Parkinson’s disease, according to a Finnish PhD candidate. Her research project, “Dance on Cortex – ERPs and Phase Synchrony in Dancers and Musicians during a…

Rate hypothesis, a theory that Parkinson’s results from an imbalance in brain signals telling the body to start and stop moving,  may involve  “start” and “stop” signals that are more complex and intricate than initially thought, Stanford researchers report. And, the researchers suggest, the loss of that complexity and structure might factor in…

Dopamine-releasing neurons are important players in the formation of new, long-term memories,  research shows. These findings may help develop new therapies for memory disorders. The study “Novelty-Sensitive Dopaminergic Neurons in the Human Substantia Nigra Predict Success of Declarative Memory Formation” was published in the journal Current Biology.

Deficits in short-term memory, known as working memory, may underlie the compulsive “binge eating” observed in some Parkinson’s patients undergoing dopamine replacement therapy, a new study suggests. The research “Reward sensitivity in Parkinson’s patients with binge eating” was published in the journal Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. Parkinson’s patients…

Nearly all Parkinson’s disease patients experience non-movement symptoms, such as sleep disturbances or depression, which affect their quality of life as much as movement-related symptoms, according to an online survey of 700 participants, nearly 600 of whom completed it in full. Patients’ caregivers are those most likely to detect non-movement…

Theranexus announced it is starting a Phase 2 clinical trial investigating  THN102  as a potential therapy for Parkinson’s patients who struggle with inappropriate and excessive sleepiness during daytime hours. The trial (2017-004475-31), which is planned to enroll 60 patients at 20 sites across Europe and in the U.S., was approved…

Gocovri (amantadine) extended release oral capsules provided long-term improvements of motor complications in Parkinson’s disease patients, according to results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Gocovri, developed by Adamas Pharmaceuticals, is the only medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of dyskinesia — involuntary, jerky movements…

A new brain scanner, which is 10 times less expensive and much smaller than current models, has the potential to significantly improve the diagnosis of dementia linked to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The scanner, which uses Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, is…

The mechanisms that lead to progressive degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s in adulthood begin much earlier than previously thought, a mouse study suggests. In fact, they may start soon after birth, researchers said. The study, “Mutant ataxin1 disrupts cerebellar development in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1,” was published in the Journal…