News

People with age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that blurs central vision, may have a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a Taiwanese population‐based retrospective study suggests. The study, ‘Increased risk of Parkinson’s disease among patients with age-related macular degeneration,” was published in the journal BMC Ophthalmology. Age-related…

A new molecule — a peptide tweaked by scientists in the laboratory — has the potential to prevent the misfolding and toxic aggregation, or clumping, of misfolded alpha-synuclein protein, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, a study shows. This study, supported by funds from Alzheimer’s Research U.K., paves the…

Lifestyle factors and co-existing medical conditions influence cognition in people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, with physical exercise and cognitive stimulation shown to have a protective effect, a large study revealed. High blood pressure, diabetes, and psychiatric problems were found to have a negative impact on cognitive…

People with Parkinson’s disease tend to have high numbers of pro-inflammatory bacteria in their noses, according to a new study. Researchers think these bacteria may be a trigger for inflammation in the brain, which could help to set the stage for the development of Parkinson’s. The study, “Deep…

Having longer-than-normal fatty molecules and an inactive enzyme called cathepsin-B in nerve cells’ recycling centers may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in people with mutations in the GBA1 gene, the disease’s most common genetic risk factor. This is the hypothesis generated by a recent study, titled “Pathological…

More people with Parkinson’s disease than previously estimated experience pseudobulbar affect, and its emotional outbursts can be especially common in patients with depression, a study in patients at a single U.S. institution reported. “Our data suggest that the prevalence of PBA [pseudobulbar affect] is possibly higher in the PD…

Gout does not increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to an analysis based on insurance data in Korea. The analysis indicates, however, that people who have had a stroke and those with high blood pressure might have a higher Parkinson’s risk. Results were published in the study “…

Although some previous research has indicated that certain variations in the FGF20 gene increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, a new Chinese study indicates that these mutations don’t increase Parkinson’s risk. The study, “Quantitative assessment of the effect of FGF20 rs1721100 and rs12720208 variant on the…

Parkinson’s UK is investing up to £3 million (about $3.96 million) over the next two-and-a-half years to support research into inflammation that could help in developing therapies to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The funding will come through the organization’s Virtual Biotech program — the therapy development…

Supernus Pharmaceuticals has again applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that its apomorphine infusion device (SPN-830), allowing continuous treatment of Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms, be approved. “SPN-830 is an important product candidate which, if approved by the FDA, represents a novel approach for PD…