Impairment due to Parkinson’s disease of the involuntary nervous system, which controls heart rate, among other bodily functions, was associated with worse outcomes after five years — particularly relative to dementia, daily motor activities, and quality of life, a study suggested. In fact, worse cardiovascular assessment scores were linked to…
Two new mutations in the LRRK2 gene have been identified as likely causes of familial Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Further studies on these potential “disease-causing variants should help us to better understand how LRRK2 dysfunction causes [Parkinson’s disease],” the researchers wrote. The study “Functional Analyses of…
Among people with Parkinson’s undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), those who receive stimulation in a certain brain region — the medial and ventral subthalmic nucleus — are more likely to develop a distressing side effect known as mania, a yearlong study in more than 100 DBS patients reported.
Denali Therapeutics‘ DNL201, an investigational therapy for Parkinson’s disease, was well tolerated in healthy volunteers and patients, and showed evidence of engaging its target protein, according to multiple preclinical and clinical studies. LRRK2, a protein associated with Parkinson’s, is also the target of BIIB122 (formerly DNL151), which is…
People of African ancestry in South Africa with Parkinson’s disease have more copies of mitochondrial DNA within their cells than do people of similar ancestry without the condition, a study discovered. These findings contrast with studies in patients of Asian and European ancestry, who have fewer copy numbers than…
Antibodies against certain components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which helps to control blood pressure, are present at higher levels in people with Parkinson’s than in those without the disease and may drive progression, a study found. These elevated levels of autoantibodies — which make nerve cells more vulnerable…
Analyses that estimate the length of a person’s vocal tract, which involves controlling muscles used in speech, could help to identify Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. “The standard clinical method for classifying parkinsonian voice is by perceptual evaluation, which however is subjective,” the researchers wrote. “Computerized voice analysis…
Small-scale, or microstructural, brain alterations observed on the MRIs of people with Parkinson’s disease were associated with worse bimanual coordination, a type of complex movement, a study found. “[D]istinct changes in microstructure cause an impediment of structures involved in attention, working memory, executive function, motor planning, motor control, and…
Researchers have proposed a set of voice exercise games to help speech quality in people with Parkinson’s disease, which licensed speech therapists found to be a generally feasible, promising approach. If adopted in speech therapy routines, the games could motivate patients to practice more often at the home so…
People with Parkinson’s disease appear to have a gut microbiome — the population of microorganisms living in the intestines — that is shifted toward a pro-inflammatory state, a small study suggests. Looking particularly at a pro-inflammatory gut bacterial metabolite called trimethylamine (TMA), its researchers found significantly higher…
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