Exposure to an air pollutant called fine particular matter (PM2.5) is significantly associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a U.S. population study. “Using state-of-the-art geospatial analytical techniques, we were, for the first time, able to confirm a strong nationwide association between incident Parkinson’s disease…
Opal, Clario’s wearable sensor device, was shown to detect early motor progression in people with Parkinson’s disease more rapidly than did standard clinical rating scales. These findings suggest that this new wearable technology may work better than conventional tests to identify patients with worsening motor symptoms. Such a…
Levels of the protein prosaposin, known as PSAP, are altered in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, and these changes are linked to worse motor symptoms, a study discovered. Mice lacking PSAP were more susceptible to the loss of nerve cells seen in Parkinson’s patients. Treatment with the…
Adults with Parkinson’s disease are willing to take additional medicine to manage daily off times — when the benefits of standard levodopa therapy wear off — as long as it does not increase the risk of their bodily fluids becoming discolored, according to a patient survey. Survey respondents also…
Newer glucose-lowering drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes, compared with a placebo, appear to lower a person’s risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Findings suggest a potential association between recent classes of anti-diabetic medications and the risk of developing Parkinson’s, and they…
Pupil light reflex (PLR), the automatic contraction or dilation of the eye’s pupil in response to light levels, was found to be impaired in people with Parkinson’s disease in a small study. Impaired PLR is believed to contribute to the vision problems experienced by some Parkinson’s patients. New data…
Significant alterations in the structure and function of the eye’s retina — the layer at the very back of the eyeball that’s key in transmitting information to the brain — were revealed in adults with Parkinson’s disease in a new study. Data demonstrated a significant impact of disease duration…
People with Parkinson’s disease whose electrical brain wave activity declines more slowly during deep sleep develop levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), or uncontrolled movements, faster, a study has found. These findings confirm a link between sleep-related brain wave activity and LID, and support the development of sleep-targeted therapies that may protect…
Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research, a Brain Canada program, has awarded two early-career scientists CA$100,000 (about $74,180) each in grants to advance research projects into Parkinson’s disease. Maria Ioannou, PhD, an assistant professor of physiology at the University of Alberta, is exploring alpha-synuclein protein clumping, a hallmark…
A high dose of the investigational oral therapy mesdopetam led to a significant and clinically meaningful reduction in levodopa-induced dyskinesia — the uncontrolled, involuntary movements and muscle stiffness common in Parkinson’s disease patients undergoing treatment — in a Phase 2 study, according to an in-depth examination of trial…
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