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Sleep disturbances are common in people with diseases marked by alpha-synuclein buildup, but they are especially problematic among Parkinson’s disease patients on dopaminergic medications, a study suggests. Parkinson’s patients tend to have more arousals during sleep and fewer normal sleep cycles than people with isolated rapid eye movement (REM)…

A new Parkinson’s disease mouse model — carrying a common disease-associated mutation in both copies of the LRRK2 gene — recapitulates some motor and behavioral symptoms of the disease, while also showing mitochondrial abnormalities, a study showed. Problems in mitochondria, known as the powerhouses of the body’s cells, are increasingly seen…

Daily oral supplementation with açai berry lessened motor and nonmotor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study showed. These benefits were accompanied by a reduction in neuroinflammation, alpha-synuclein protein accumulation, a type of cellular damage called oxidative stress, and dopaminergic neuron loss — all implicated in…

Note: This story was updated Aug. 18, 2022, to reflect researchers awarded The Stanley Fahn Junior Faculty Award will receive a total maximum grant of $300,000 over three years.  The Parkinson’s Foundation announced it is investing $5.7 million across 33 research grants as part of its commitment to speed innovative…

Scientists have created a roadmap of the maturation steps of dopaminergic neurons — the nerve cells progressively lost in Parkinson’s disease — from human stem cells. Their work may help identify potential ways to optimize this process in the lab for new Parkinson’s cell therapies. “Our findings provide valuable…

More people with Parkinson’s disease tend to require higher-level care after experiencing a hip fracture, compared to those who do not have the disease, a study has found. Despite Parkinson’s being a risk factor for hip fracture, most patients do not undergo proper screening or preventive treatment for osteoporosis.

Very high levels of levodopa — a compound commonly prescribed to treat Parkinson’s disease — were detected in some over-the-counter supplements with extracts from Mucuna pruriens, a type of bean that naturally contains levodopa, a study has found. In many of the tested supplements, the amount of levodopa…

At least six months of physical therapy helps to ease motor symptoms, possibly allowing for lower medication doses among people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease, according to findings from a recent meta-analysis of published clinical trial data. Beneficial changes in Parkinson’s motor symptoms were observed regardless of whether patients…

Older age at disease onset is associated with greater motor and nonmotor impairment in people with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, according to a study by scientists in Luxembourg. Nonmotor symptoms such as urinary incontinence and apathy in those diagnosed at older ages were found to be mainly driven by the natural…

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine will use a $9 million grant to generate a detailed map of the “gut-brain axis,” the complex communication route between brain and belly — focusing on the gut microbiome — that is increasingly thought to play a key role in Parkinson’s and other…