News

Light therapy trial shows feasibility of home studies in Parkinson’s

Early data on recruitment and enrollment from Photopharmics’ Phase 3 clinical trial of its light-based, at-home therapy device for Parkinson’s disease — a novel treatment called Celeste — highlight both the interest in, and feasibility of, fully remote studies done in a patient’s home, according to the company. Such home-based, decentralized…

P2B001 may be ‘valuable’ first-line treatment for early Parkinson’s

P2B001, Pharma Two B’s investigational combination therapy of pramipexole and rasagiline, safely and effectively lessens symptoms in people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease, according to pooled data from Phase 2b and Phase 3 clinical trials. The combo treatment was also found to be as effective as titrated extended-release pramipexole…

Axon structure may be different shape than assumed, study finds

Axons, nerve cell projections that carry electrical signals from one cell to another, may look more like pearls on a string than the cylindrical tubes they are commonly believed to resemble, according to a study, which demonstrated that interfering with the formation of pearl-like structures impaired the transmission of electric…

Astrocytes seen helping maintain circadian rhythms: Mouse study

Neuron-supporting cells called astrocytes produce regular pulses of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that suppresses excessive brain activity, that appear to help maintain the body’s circadian rhythms and consistent sleep-wake cycles. That’s according to a study in mice. The findings, if confirmed in humans, may “help us to better understand…

Entacapone alters microbes in the gut via iron starvation: Study

The Parkinson’s disease therapy entacapone may disrupt the balance of microbes in the gut by starving them of iron, a study in healthy human fecal samples suggests. Supplementing patients with iron could prevent entacapone’s gastrointestinal side effects, but more research is needed to fully understand how the medication affects…