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In people with Parkinson’s disease, patterns of brain atrophy over time are consistent with patterns of alpha-synuclein spreading through the brain, an imaging study in patients suggests. The study, “Regional changes of brain structure during progression of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease – A longitudinal study using deformation…

A group of cells in the hypothalamus, a specific brain region, are responsible for stimulating the production of adult-born nerve cells, or neurons, in another region called the hippocampus. Activating these new nerve cells leads to better memory performance in mice, a study reported. These findings suggest that stimulating the…

Deterioration in a small brain region called the locus coeruleus is associated with worse apathy and cognitive problems among people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. The study, “Locus Coeruleus Integrity from 7 T MRI Relates to Apathy and Cognition in Parkinsonian Disorders,” was published in …

Curcumin, an antioxidant naturally found in turmeric, was well tolerated by participants in a small Parkinson’s disease clinical trial. However, trial results did not show evidence that taking curcumin improved quality of life or eased symptoms for Parkinson’s patients. “Our study failed to show that curcumin can improve the…

An individualized, tablet-based, at-home physiotherapy training program may help stabilize the benefits of a multidisciplinary inpatient treatment approach in people with Parkinson’s disease, a recent study suggests. While differences between patients receiving standard care following discharge and those undergoing the nine-month, at-home program generally failed to reach statistical…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has upheld its decision that the Evo stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) electrode, designed to monitor brain activity in people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions in a minimally invasive way, cannot be marketed for long-term use until more safety data is provided. Last…

Gait variability, or changes in stride while walking that associate with a greater risk of falls in people with Parkinson’s disease, significantly eased with patients’ use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) but not dopamine-increasing medications, a study showed. “We found that … DBS reduced step-to-step variability in a range…

Olfactory hallucinations (OH), or phantom smells, were present in over 18% of people with Parkinson’s disease and were associated with the presence of other hallucination types, but not objective sense of smell, according to a recent study. The findings overall suggest that olfactory hallucinations are a more prevalent Parkinson’s…

Transplanting human nerve cells into the brains of mice in a model of Parkinson’s disease to replace dopamine-producing cells — those lost in patients — improved the animals’ motor function over one year, a study demonstrated. But longer studies into the grafted cells and their ability to mature are…

Preclinical research supports the potential of small molecules that modulate the immune system to halt Parkinson’s disease (PD) progression and ease motor symptoms. According to a new study, Aeterna Zentari’s autoimmunity-modifying biologicals (AIM Biologicals) were able to induce a state of immunotolerance in a mouse model of Parkinson’s…