Although some previous research has indicated that certain variations in the FGF20 gene increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, a new Chinese study indicates that these mutations don’t increase Parkinson’s risk. The study, “Quantitative assessment of the effect of FGF20 rs1721100 and rs12720208 variant on the…
Parkinson’s UK is investing up to £3 million (about $3.96 million) over the next two-and-a-half years to support research into inflammation that could help in developing therapies to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The funding will come through the organization’s Virtual Biotech program — the therapy development…
Supernus Pharmaceuticals has again applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that its apomorphine infusion device (SPN-830), allowing continuous treatment of Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms, be approved. “SPN-830 is an important product candidate which, if approved by the FDA, represents a novel approach for PD…
A new clinical trial is testing a novel noninvasive brain stimulation technology developed by Highland Instruments in people with Parkinson’s disease who have postural instability — difficulty with balance and the reflexes that help a person to stand upright. The trial (NCT03981055), which is funded by the National…
People with Parkinson’s disease caused by mutations in the LRRK2 gene have a higher risk of stroke relative to other groups of Parkinson’s patients and healthy individuals, according to a study from Spain. These findings add to previous studies reporting a link between Parkinson’s and increased stroke risk, and…
People with Parkinson’s disease verbally communicate less than those without the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a recent study that discovered that patients speak about 60% less than their healthy peers. Apart from the tremors and movement issues associated with Parkinson’s, the disease also can disrupt aspects of a…
Low oxygen levels during sleep and while exercising — resulting in poor endurance — are very common among Parkinson’s disease patients, despite dopaminergic treatment, an Italian study suggests. The findings indicate a need for combining motor and respiratory rehabilitation, particularly for patients with severe Parkinson’s, who show the lowest…
A newly discovered oral molecule, called PD13R, significantly lessened levodopa-induced dyskinesia, its involuntary and jerky movements, while maintaining the therapy’s benefits in a non-human primate model of Parkinson’s disease. Notably, in contrast to Gocovri (amantadine) — an approved therapy to treat levodopa-induced dyskinesia — PD13R did not affect the…
Nearly all participants in the SPARK clinical trial had evidence of abnormal dopamine activity on a brain scan known as DaT-SPECT, for dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography, according to a new study. Thus, these results suggest that DaT-SPECT — sometimes used as a biomarker in recruiting participants for clinical…
UCB is partnering with Novartis to co-develop and potentially market UCB0599, a small molecule to inhibit misfolding of the alpha-synuclein protein now in a Phase 2 clinical trial enrolling people with Parkinson’s disease. The agreement also includes an option to co-develop UCB7853 — an antibody against alpha-synuclein —…
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