A new campaign from Acorda Therapeutics encourages people with Parkinson’s disease to consider whether an on-demand treatment, such as its approved therapy Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), is right for them when faced with off episodes — periods of time when medication stops working and symptoms return.
Researchers have found a novel mechanism through which mutations in a gene called PRKN, linked with early-onset Parkinson’s disease, play a crucial role in familial forms of the disorder. The study found that PRKN gene mutations lead to a disruption in the communication between two vital components within the…
Small vesicles that contain the protein alpha-synuclein may help distinguish Parkinson’s disease patients from healthy people, according to a meta-analysis. When isolated from easily accessible samples, like the blood, these vesicles may “reflect changes in the brain,” researchers wrote in “Extracellular Vesicles for the Diagnosis of Parkinson’s…
Lacosamide, a medication approved to treat epilepsy, showed a potential to be neuroprotective in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Treatment with lacosamide significantly prevented the loss of dopamine-producing neurons that marks Parkinson’s, boosted dopamine production in key areas of the brain, and improved motor function…
Parkinson’s disease patients’ quality of life significantly improved with Duopa, a formulation of levodopa and carbidopa infused directly into the intestines, and subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS), but not with a continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion, according to a real-world, single center study. Apomorphine also didn’t show any major…
A research project to help enhance communication for individuals with Parkinson’s disease has been awarded a multimillion-dollar grant. The five-year grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was given to a team of researchers led by…
The immune response triggered by UB-312, an experimental vaccine by Vaxxinity, effectively targeted alpha-synuclein protein aggregates and slowed their toxic buildup in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson’s disease patients in a Phase 1 trial, compared with those given a placebo, data show. The full target engagement triggered…
Scientists have shown that co-transplanting stem cells with regulatory T-cells — immune cells known as Tregs that dampen excessive inflammatory and immune responses — can boost cell survival in the brain in rodent models of Parkinson’s disease, and also ease motor symptoms. These findings propose a new strategy…
Plant compounds extracted from the Amomum subulatum fruit, also known as greater cardamom, were found to ease Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms — lessoning tremors and reducing muscular rigidity — in a rat model of features that are hallmarks of the neurodegenerative disorder. The greater cardamom extracts, given orally, worked to increase…
Scientists have identified a nine-gene signature model to predict the risk of Parkinson’s disease by integrating data from blood and brain tissue gene expression studies. The blood levels of two genes in particular — PLOD3 and LRRN3 — stood out as potential biomarkers to diagnose the disease in its…
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