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Researchers at Iowa State University are evaluating whether four months of group singing sessions can improve breathing and swallowing in people with Parkinson’s disease. Changes in brain activity and stress markers also will be analyzed. The study, supported by a three-year grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, is…

Parkinson’s patients have a subpopulation of astrocytes — brain cells that support neuronal function and health — that produce a vitamin D-activating enzyme called CYP27B1 and are involved in clearing the toxic alpha-synuclein clumps that form in the disease. The small study compared deceased Parkinson’s…

Women with Parkinson’s disease in China appear to have a poorer quality of life than do men, a study of patients at a Beijing rehabilitation center reported. Researchers observed that women experienced more physical discomfort, were more likely to perceive stigma, and expressed fewer positive emotions. When caring for…

Diagnosing Parkinson’s disease might be a matter of using artificial intelligence to “smell” patients’ skin, scientists in China reported. The artificial intelligence smell system they developed is detailed in study, “Artificial Intelligent Olfactory System for the Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease,” published in ACS Omega. No single test can…

Gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility, or lack of movement, can impair the absorption and delay the effects of levodopa-based medication in people with Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Notably, the study describes the cases of two Parkinson’s patients who stopped responding to levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel — available under the brand name…

Treatment with an herbal preparation called Tongtian oral liquid, long used in traditional Chinese medicine, helped to prevent nervous system damage and normalize movement in a zebrafish model of Parkinson’s. Scientists in China reported these findings in the study, “Neuroprotective effects of Tongtian oral liquid, a…

A new carbidopa/levodopa oral therapy for Parkinson’s disease, called Dhivy, is now available in the U.S., its manufacturer Avion Pharmaceuticals announced. According to Avion, Dhivy is the first and only such therapy available as a tablet with four snappable segments, allowing for more precise dosing of carbidopa/levodopa. “The…

Metabolomics — global analyses of the many small, biologically relevant molecules in blood — may help to identify males with Parkinson’s disease who carry a mutation in the LRRK2 gene, allowing for earlier diagnosis, a study reported. The study, “Plasma Metabolite Signature Classifies Male LRRK2 Parkinson’s Disease…

Collecting finger tapping, voice, and walking data on a smartphone to be digitally processed by deep machine learning tools can accurately distinguish between people with and without Parkinson’s disease, a study of more than 7,000 people reported. This approach, known integrative digital biomarkers, may help to diagnose the disease…

In the culmination of a woman’s 10-year campaign, the government of Ontario, Canada, has agreed to recognize Parkinson’s disease (PD) as an occupational disorder linked to the use of McIntyre powder, an aluminum-based inhalant, in mining and other industries. The decision by Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) was…