News

Variety of Ways to Help Patients With Walking Not Widely Known

People with gait difficulties due to Parkinson’s disease make adjustments that aid in walking, but many are not aware of the variety of “compensation strategies” available to them, a study based on a patient survey reported. Some of these strategies may be more useful in certain situations or to a given…

Parkinson’s UK Opens Campaign to Heighten Awareness, Empathy

Building upon previous efforts, Parkinson’s UK has opened a monthlong marketing campaign aiming for a better understanding of Parkinson’s disease — particularly among young adults — and of the daily challenges facing patients, caregivers, and family members. Specifically, the group wants to help people more deeply understand and care…

3D Brain Organoids Capture Hallmarks ‘Only Seen in Patients’

Researchers developed “mini-brains” — midbrain-like organoids — that recapitulate for a first time two key Parkinson’s hallmarks in that organ: the formation of toxic protein clumps known as Lewy bodies and the loss of dopamine-producing neurons. A combination of two known Parkinson’s risk factors — a deficiency of the beta-glucocerebrosidase…

Walking Program Adds to Benefits of Respiratory Muscle Training

A walking program seems to boost the benefits of respiratory muscle training — which consists of specific exercises designed to improve the function of muscles used in breathing — in people with Parkinson’s disease, a small study has found. In the study, patients who followed an eight-week walking program…

Grant Supports Potential Disease-modifying Parkinson’s Therapies

The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA is supporting early work by AcureX Therapeutics to bring into patient testing potential disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease. Specifically, grant funding will go to advance the development of small molecule compounds targeting the path involving a specific protein in mitochondria — the…

Bial to Market in Europe Sublingual Film for ‘Off’ Periods, If Approved

Bial has entered into an exclusive agreement to market upon approval in Europe APL-130277 — Sunovion Pharmaceuticals‘ sublingual (under the tongue) film of apomorphine for off episodes in Parkinson’s disease. Under the agreement’s terms, Bial will be responsible for preparing a marketing authorization application for regulatory agencies there — drawing on…

$1.8M Earmarked for Cutting-edge Parkinson’s Research

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) has awarded $1.85 million to research projects focused on innovative tools and strategies to advance care and treatment of Parkinson’s disease for the 2021–2022 funding year. For the second year in a row, ADPA’s annual research funding included specialized grants to projects focused…

Preexisting Bipolar Disorder Worsens Parkinson’s Problems

A previous diagnosis of bipolar disorder negatively affects the course of Parkinson’s disease, and is associated with greater neuropsychiatric and cognitive problems, poorer treatment outcomes, and shorter survival, a study shows. Also, a greater proportion of Parkinson’s patients with preexisting bipolar disorder had a history of either condition in…