Steve Bryson, PhD, science writer —

Scientists have discovered how to therapeutically target a class of molecular switches called GTPases that are involved in Parkinson’s disease and other conditions but have long been considered undruggable. The findings of this work, led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), “create a long-awaited opportunity…

Nearly 1 in 3 people in Japan with Parkinson’s disease also had sarcopenia, a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, according to a new study. The researchers found that measuring the circumference of the calf, or the distance around the thickest part of the lower leg, was the…

Levels of the trace metal selenium and its associated proteins, called selenoproteins, are altered in the blood of adults with Parkinson’s disease, a study reported. Two of these affected proteins, selenoprotein P (SelP) and selenoprotein S (SelS), were examined, and the researchers suggested that selenium and SelP levels could…

Five top models for a wearable sensor that can monitor and measure freezing of gait (FOG) — a sudden inability to walk — in people with Parkinson’s disease were developed as the result of a three-month, international machine-learning contest launched by scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel. The…

Adaptive deep brain stimulation (DBS) outperformed traditional DBS in alleviating motor symptoms and enhancing the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease, a pilot study shows. In adaptive DBS, nerve signals associated with motor fluctuations are detected in real time and stimulation is automatically adjusted to ease…

A complex of proteins involved in cellular trafficking, called the BBSome, plays a role in regulating the transport of dopamine, the nerve cell signaling molecule that’s deficient in Parkinson’s disease, a study reveals. “Given the significant medical impact of altered dopamine signaling in multiple neurobehavioral disorders, further studies of…

A buildup of fat-like lipid molecules may help to promote the inability of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that are lost in people with Parkinson’s disease, to divide and grow as they should, researchers suggest. Further understanding of the role of lipids in neurodegeneration “has the potential to open…

About 15% of Parkinson’s disease cases are tied to genetic variants and nearly all are associated with the LRRK2 and GBA1 genes, initial data from the Rostock International Parkinson’s Disease (ROPAD) study indicates. Launched by Centogene in collaboration with Denali Therapeutics in 2018, ROPAD (NCT03866603) is…

Cognitive function in adults with Parkinson’s disease either remains stable or progressively declines over time, according to a four-year follow-up study that also found that early problems with several tasks related to visual processing and spatial reasoning were among predictors of eventual cognitive impairments. Among Parkinson’s patients with cognitive…

A protein called STAT3 protected nerve cells from degeneration and improved behavioral and motor outcomes in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reveals. STAT3 potentially offers “a new avenue for treatment against Parkinson’s,” researchers wrote in the study “STAT3 protects dopaminergic neurons against…