News

The Parkinson’s Foundation was awarded nearly $800,000 to support research efforts that aim to improve the lives of the estimated 18,000 people living with Parkinson’s disease in Arizona. The focus of the new grant, from the Pat Simone Charitable Foundation, located in Arizona, is to improve genetic testing,…

Levels of a fatty molecule called Bis(monacylglycerol) phosphate, or BMP, are significantly elevated in the urine of people with certain LRRK2 and GBA1 mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. Measuring urinary BMP levels could be a useful way of gauging the effectiveness of potential treatments that target…

Probucol, a cholesterol-lowering medication previously used in Western countries, improved motor function and lengthened the lifespan of treated animals in models of Parkinson’s disease, a study found. Identified as a potential Parkinson’s treatment through an artificial intelligence (AI)-based search, probucol was found to promote mitophagy, the cellular pathway that recycles…

Parkinson’s disease patients with inadequately controlled tremors are being sought for a Phase 2 clinical trial of suvecaltamide, an oral treatment candidate from Jazz Pharmaceuticals. The Phase 2 trial (NCT05642442), which enrolled its first participant late last year, seeks about 160 adults, ages 40-80, with Parkinson’s who have…

Parkinson’s UK is continuing to support work into a wearable device — called Cue Band — aiming to lessen chronic sialorrhea, the excessive drooling that often accompanies Parkinson’s disease. Having helped with Cue Band’s early development, the nonprofit is funding a planned test of the device’s at-home use in up to…

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded $400,000 to an Augusta University (AU) neuroscientist to research a possible brain-gut connection in Parkinson’s disease. Danielle Mor, PhD, from the Medical College of Georgia at AU, will use the two-year Early-Investigator Research Award to explore whether Parkinson’s starts in the gut. Specifically,…

Inflammation in the brain is detectable at the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease and even before treatment is begun, a new study reports. The findings support the idea that inflammation may be an early driver of Parkinson’s itself, rather than merely a byproduct of the disease’s neurodegeneration, the researchers…

Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, may contribute to Parkinson’s disease by releasing tiny vesicles filled with alpha-synuclein — the protein that builds up to toxic levels in Parkinson’s — a mouse study suggests. This release, which was associated with greater nerve cell damage and worse motor function, was…

The Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC PD) study, a research effort to understand the genetic complexities of Parkinson’s disease among traditionally underrepresented people, has now expanded to six clinical sites. A better understanding of genetic variants associated with the neurological condition specific to this…

A mutation in the SH3GL2 gene that’s associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease contributes to a buildup of cellular debris in brain cells, a study discovered. According to researchers, that mutation was found to impair autophagy, an essential process by which cells recycle or breakdown components that…