News

Study Explores Imbalances in Brain That Lead to LID

An imbalance between the signaling molecules dopamine and sonic hedgehog in the brain may be the cause of the movement disorder caused by dopamine-replacing medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to findings published in Communications Biology, in the study, “Dopaminergic co-transmission with sonic hedgehog…

Smartwatch Could Help Patients Manage Blood Pressure Drops

Tracking blood pressure with a smartwatch could help people with Parkinson’s disease manage the sudden drop in blood pressure — called orthostatic hypotension — that can occur when changing positions, according to a study by researchers at the Samsung Medical Center, in South Korea. Measurements obtained with Samsung’s…

Eyes’ Pupils May Be Window Into Assessing Disease Stage

The response of the eyes’ pupils — the black circle in the center of the eye  that allows light to enter — seems to change according to the progression of Parkinson’s disease, a recent study has found. The results suggest that measuring the pupils’ response to stimuli could become a noninvasive…

Space Experiment Could Shed Light on Neurodegenerative Diseases

Researcher Amir Hirsa has found a way 240 miles above the Earth’s surface to study the aggregation of proteins that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and type 2 diabetes. Hirsa, PhD, is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering with a joint appointment in chemical and biological engineering…

Sleep Disorder Tied to Faster Disease Progression

Early Parkinson’s patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have more severe symptoms and show a faster disease progression in terms of motor, mood, and cognitive symptoms, according to a U.K. study. Moreover, these patients had a higher risk of frequent falls, freezing of gait — when…