Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

U.S.-based Psomagen, a contract research services provider, has announced that it will lead an analysis of data from the 80,000 participants enrolled in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) — an initiative seeking a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease. Results from the analysis,…

When asked to quickly assess the number of people in a room, the average person tends to overcount them. In Parkinson’s disease patients with presence hallucinations — the strong sensation of a presence when no one is there — this overestimation is much more heightened when compared with patients…

NodThera’s potential oral therapy for Parkinson’s disease, NT-0796, continues to show promise in countering damaging inflammation in treated patients, according to new findings from a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial. Treatment with NT-0796 for 28 days safely reduced pro-inflammatory markers in the patients’ cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, the liquid surrounding…

Patient enrollment has started in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating 18F-OP-801, Ashvattha Therapeutics’ investigational imaging agent to visualize brain inflammation in people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, the company said in a press release. The ongoing trial (NCT05395624), which…

Targeting reactive astrocytes — star-shaped cells in the brain that play a supportive role for neurons but can promote brain inflammation when deregulated — could pave the way for novel therapies for neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease, according to the findings of a new study. The study found that…

A potential anti-inflammatory therapy for Parkinson’s disease may be evaluated in clinical trials within the next year. The investigative treatment combines a low-dose formulation of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), two natural signaling molecules made in the body to help coordinate the activity of immune cells.

An observational clinical trial in Canada that’s investigating the role of the small intestinal microbiome — the population of natural microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract — in Parkinson’s disease is now recruiting participants. Its researchers specifically aim to determine if Parkinson’s patients carry a unique microbial and metabolic…

A first participant has been dosed in Arvinas’ first-in-human Phase 1 trial testing ARV-102, its oral therapy candidate for neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, an atypical parkinsonian disorder. The Phase 1 trial — now enrolling healthy volunteers at the Centre for Human Drug…

Computer scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed software and an augmented reality (AR) headset that allows clinicians to analyze movement in people with Parkinson’s disease to help guide their physical therapy. Clinicians can also use their own AR headsets to immerse themselves in…

Suppressing astrocytes’ release of the pro-inflammatory molecule interleukin (IL)-6 reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that are progressively lost in Parkinson’s disease, a new study reports. In Parkinson’s, astrocytes, the star-shaped cells that provide physical support for neurons in the brain, secrete high levels of IL-6…