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An automated algorithm called StimFit may help speed up the time to finding optimal settings of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for each Parkinson’s disease patient undergoing the procedure, a new study shows. The study, “Automated deep brain stimulation programming based on electrode location: a randomized,…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a letter in support of model-based clinical trial simulators for Parkinson’s disease that are being developed by the Critical Path for Parkinson’s (CPP) consortium. In its letter, the European regulatory agency called on industry sponsors to share with the consortium data…

Alpha-synuclein clumps’ toxic effects — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — are independent of the production of the protein by neurons themselves, according to a study in mice. In mice lacking alpha-synuclein, exposure to toxic protein clumping resulted in comparable neurodegeneration, which was found to be related to the…

FGF-1, Zhittya Genesis Medical’s treatment candidate, appeared safe and effective at improving motor and cognitive function in  the first Parkinson’s disease patients given the therapy in an early clinical trial and followed for six months. That’s according to a press release from the company that also announced a…

Lower blood levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad” cholesterol, are significantly associated with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study from South Korea. In contrast, higher blood levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or “good” cholesterol, were linked to a lower…

Treatment with CST-103, CuraSen Therapeutics’ investigational oral molecule, safely led to cognitive improvements in people with Parkinson’s disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to top-line data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. By combining the CST-103, which is able to enter the brain, with a molecule…

An open-label extension study has been launched for NOPARK, a placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial that’s assessing the effectiveness of nicotinamide riboside (NR) with Parkinson’s disease. NR is the active ingredient of Niagen, a dietary oral supplement that ChromaDex markets to promote “healthy aging.” Dietary supplements, unlike…

A family of proteins called Piwis and the tiny regulatory RNA molecules they interact with — Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) — are critical for the formation of new neurons in the adult brain, according to recent research in mice. Data showed that depletion of a specific Piwi protein, called Mili, in…

Eisai is collaborating with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in research into new treatments for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The Japan-based pharmaceutical company’s aim is to meld the expertise of Washington University’s investigators in basic and clinical research for such disorders with its…

Nearly 90,000 people, 65 or older, are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every year in the U.S., representing an increase of about 50% relative to previous estimates of the disease’s incidence, a study showed. “These updated estimates of incidence are necessary for understanding disease risk, planning health care delivery, and…