News

Alector and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will collaborate in developing and commercializing two therapies aimed at treating an uncommon type of dementia that can cause problems with behavior and language. Both investigational therapies — AL001 and AL101 — can be used across a range of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s,…

Impulse control disorders (ICDs) among people with Parkinson’s disease were significantly more common and more severe after a COVID-19-related lockdown than before the pandemic, according to a small study in Spain. Also, patients who developed ICDs in the post-lockdown period were younger, developed Parkinson’s at a younger age, or had more…

A new human-derived model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) — a highly selective and protective membrane whose dysfunction is linked to Parkinson’s disease — enables researchers to monitor in detail cellular events upon stress, inflammation, and therapy administration, a study shows. This model allowed the assessment of the protective effects of…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is funding a variety of Parkinson’s disease studies, ranging from projects focused on environmental risk factors and exercise to therapeutic gene targets and new tests. A total of 36 grants were awarded, amounting to $6.3 million. Several of the MJFF-funded projects are…

Treatment with ISC-hpNSC, an investigational stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease, was safe and well-tolerated over at least two years in an early clinical trial in 12 patients. Results from the small trial, which treated patients at low, medium and high doses, also indicate that the therapy eased Parkinson’s-related symptoms…

LL-37, a natural antimicrobial molecule present in the brain and gut, selectively binds to harmful clumps of the alpha-synuclein protein — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — and prevents their further aggregation and toxic effects in lab-grown nerve cells, a study shows. The discovery of such a strong suppressor…

Methamphetamine users are more likely to experience premature stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and parkinsonism, according to results of a recent study. The study, “Methamphetamine and heightened risk for early-onset stroke and Parkinson’s disease: A review,” was published in the journal Experimental Neurology. Increasing methamphetamine use is a…

Anavex Life Sciences’ investigational oral therapy Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) leads to clinically meaningful cognitive improvements while reducing motor and non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), according to data from a Phase 2 trial. These benefits also significantly associated with increases in the levels of sigma-1 receptor (SIGMAR1),…

Brain cells called astrocytes behave differently under stressful conditions in humans as compared with mice, new research suggests. Because mice are a commonly used model for research in Parkinson’s disease, these “species-specific differences” could have important implications for how such research is done, according to a team of…

More than a third of people with Parkinson’s disease who are prescribed antipsychotics stop treatment within six months of starting, a new database analysis suggests. The data also indicate that rates of treatment discontinuation are lower with Nuplazid (pimavanserin) than with other antipsychotics. The findings were published in …