News

Health Canada will review Knight Therapeutics’ application seeking approval of Crexont, an extended-release formulation of levodopa and carbidopa aimed at providing steady symptom control in Parkinson’s disease, the company said. The Parkinson’s therapy is designed to maintain consistent levels of levodopa and carbidopa in the body, prolonging…

Two trained dogs detected Parkinson’s disease with high accuracy by smelling skin swabs of patients who had not yet received treatment, adding to growing evidence that scent carries a chemical signature that could help enable early, noninvasive diagnosis. Bumper, a golden retriever, and Peanut, a black Labrador, were trained…

A weekly injectable implant could make treatment for Parkinson’s disease easier and more effective by steadily releasing levodopa and carbidopa into the bloodstream and replacing the need to take the medications multiple times a day, according to a study led by the University of South Australia (UniSA). “Our…

A research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) will support a new study that’s investigating the biological mechanisms underlying anxiety as a symptom of Parkinson’s disease. Titled “Investigating the Mechanisms of Alpha-synuclein-induced Anxiety in a Novel Preclinical Model of Parkinson’s Disease,” the…

Neuraxpharm is partnering with Dizlin Pharmaceuticals on Dizlin’s Infudopa SubC drug-device combination therapy, which allows for continuous levodopa-carbidopa delivery in people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Infudopa SubC is a wearable device being developed for patients who experience fluctuations in their Parkinson’s motor symptoms despite treatment. “Our…

An experimental theater program improved the emotional well-being of people with Parkinson’s disease, and eased their anxiety and depression, a study reports. “Arts-based interventions could offer a novel, efficient, and inexpensive tool to complement pharmacological therapy,” the study’s researchers wrote. The program outperformed an at-home memory and attention program at…

A low-cost, self-powered pen with magnetic ink may help detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease by analyzing handwriting. When the pen was tested, it was able to distinguish Parkinson’s patients from healthy people with an average accuracy of 96%, a study reports. “Detection of subtle motor symptoms unnoticeable to…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Exablate Neuro, Insightec’s platform for noninvasive, MRI-guided focused ultrasound therapy, for the bilateral treatment of motor symptoms in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease who no longer respond to medication. The therapy targets regions within the pallidothalamic tract, a brain pathway…

Ambroxol, a common cough medicine, may help stabilize neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) and shows cognitive promise for patients with mutations in the GBA1 gene, according to results from a Phase 2 clinical trial. While ambroxol is widely used in Europe to treat respiratory conditions, it’s not approved…

Genetic analysis of saliva may offer a noninvasive way to assess the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a saliva-based DNA study led by researchers at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) in Spain. The scientists found that molecular markers in saliva can reflect whole-body disease processes,…