Steve Bryson, PhD, science writer —

The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute has launched the Australian Parkinson’s Genetics Study (APGS), a large-scale research endeavor to identify genetic factors that influence the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. APGS aims to enroll 10,000 Australian residents, men or women ages 30 and older, who have been diagnosed…

A £500,000 ($650,000) investment by the National Health Service of England will expand a clinical trial in that country of the Personal KinetiGraph, or PKG smartwatch, a wrist-worn device that can detect abnormal movements in people with Parkinson’s disease. PKG, developed by Global Kinetics and approved by the U.S. Food…

Azilect (rasagiline) as an add-on therapy to Requip (ropinrole) improved sleep, reduced the need for sleep medications, and enhanced quality of life in a small group of people with Parkinson’s disease, a study suggested. These findings support more extensive studies to confirm the sleep-related benefits of Azilect,…

A new app called NMS Assist, designed to remotely monitor the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, is being developed and tested by researchers at Plymouth University in the U.K. The goal is to offer an application that can track non-motor symptoms — cognitive problems, mood changes, and fatigue,…

ABBV-951, a continuous infusion formulation of levodopa/carbidopa, brought comparable levels of levodopa into the bloodstream of healthy volunteers as surgically implanted levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), a Phase 1 study confirmed. Because the delivery of doses can be tailored to a patient’s needs, this alternative form of delivery — a portable…

Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine), an investigational oral therapy for Parkinson’s disease dementia, led to clinically meaningful improvements within all four MDS-UPDRS assessments for patients treated daily at high dose, according to new data from a completed Phase 2 trial. These benefits, in both motor and non-motor Parkinson’s…

Offering more weekly exercise classes at a higher intensity over a wider geographical area may help to instill  better exercise habits in people with Parkinson’s disease, a study suggested. The study, “Associations between exercise classes and self-reported exercise by people with Parkinson’s disease at Parkinson’s foundation centers…

A modified form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide riboside (NR), taken as an oral supplement, increased levels of an energy production molecule in the brain and altered brain metabolism over one month in a small group of newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease patients, according to results of a Phase 1…

Finger tapping data from Parkinson’s patients using smartphone screens were linked with disease severity in a large-scale analysis that used standard assessment methods. Given that current Parkinson’s severity measurements are based on clinical observations by trained movement disorder specialists, these findings suggest that approaches such as finger tapping analyses…

In a final report on the Phase 2 AMBLED trial, scientists detailed the failure of Foliglurax (PTX002331) — once an investigational therapy for Parkinson’s disease — to significantly reduce some of the side effects associated with the long-term use of levodopa. “There was no evidence in this study…