News

Mutation Affecting Myelin Protein May Raise Parkinson’s Risk

A specific genetic variant, or mutation, that is associated with an increased risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may also raise a person’s risk of Parkinson’s disease, a study reported. Shared features of both these neurodegenerative disorders include causative processes and “genetic backgrounds,” the researchers noted, suggesting that a mutation affecting…

JUBIwatch Device Targets Medication Adherence

Jubilee BioTech has developed JUBIwatch, a new device intended to improve patients’ medication adherence — taking medicines at the right time with the right dose. Under development by the startup South Korean company for the past two years, JUBIwatch is a smart watch and medication management platform that uses microneedles…

Caltech Team to Use $11M ASAP Grant to Study Gut-brain Connection

A team of researchers at Caltech will be looking into the interactions between the brain and the gut in Parkinson’s, in the hope of uncovering how their interaction may affect the disease. Studies are noting abnormalities in the gastrointestinal environment of Parkinson’s patients, and a better understanding of “gut-brain connections”…

FDA OKs Phase 2 Trial of Oral NE3107 in Easing Inflammation

The launch of a Phase 2 trial into the safety and early efficacy of oral NE3107 in treating Parkinson’s disease patients with motor fluctuations while on levodopa was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), BioVie, the therapy’s developer, announced. BioVie plans to initiate patient enrollment for the trial,…

Grants Support Researching Role of Non-neuronal Cell Types

Scientists at the Duke University School of Medicine have received two grants totaling $18 million to investigate how different cells in the brain and in the gut may foster the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. The grants from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative will fund two…

Study Assesses How Music Therapy May Improve Fine Motor Skills

A clinical study is assessing whether a specific type of rehabilitation therapy — called neurologic music therapy — may help people with Parkinson’s disease recover fine motor skills, such as those required for writing, self-care, and fine object manipulation. The trial (NCT03049033) is underway at the University of…

Altoida Partners to Test Precision Device in Detecting Parkinson’s

Altoida announced a three-year collaboration with a Greek university to investigate whether the company’s precision neurology medical device can aid in the early detection of Parkinson’s disease. The agreement between Altoida and scientists at the Bioinformatics and Human Electrophysiology Laboratory (BiHELab), part of Ionian University in Corfu,…