News

Intense Rehabilitation Can Help People at Earlier Disease Stages, Study Finds

An intensive and sweeping rehabilitation program, given in a hospital, led to significant short-term improvements in the functional and cognitive abilities of people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease in a recent study. That study, “Functional and Cognitive Improvement After an Intensive Inpatient Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program in Mild to…

Peruvian Family Sell Their Home to Afford Mother’s DBS Treatment

Dorys, a 66-year-old woman with Parkinson’s who lives in Peru, was able to be treated for her progressive disease through an extreme sacrifice: the sale of her family’s home. Diagnosed 15 years earlier, the disease had rendered Dorys unable to do much of anything. Her physicians suggested a surgical treatment…

Study Shows Difficulty of Adapting Movements to Obstacles

People with Parkinson’s disease are less able to adapt their movements before crossing obstacles such as mounting a curb, according to a recent study. This type of adaptation, called locomotor synergy, may explain why crossing obstacles is more difficult for those with Parkinson’s and could serve as a new…

Molecular Link Found Between Parkinson’s and Skin Cancer

Researchers have found a molecular link between Parkinson’s disease and melanoma, a type of skin cancer, in the form of protein clumps. Their study results were presented at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society this week. A hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the buildup of alpha-synuclein protein…

Neurons, Not Nearby Cells, Decide Dopamine Levels, Study Reports

Dopamine-releasing cells in the brain, much like most other hormone-producing cells, have a self-regulating feedback mechanism that controls their activity, researchers have discovered. That is, healthy nerve cells themselves determine how much dopamine will be released, the research team found, in contrast with the prevailing view that nearby cells “control”…

Health Canada Allows Start of DA01 Trial Testing Cell Therapy

BlueRock Therapeutics has received permission from Health Canada to start a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating DA01, an investigational cell therapy that aims to restore neurons lost to Parkinson’s disease. This clearance comes three months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the company’s request…

Phase 2 Trial of Cognitive Treatment NYX-458 Resumes

Aptinyx‘s Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating its investigational oral compound NYX-458 for the treatment of cognitive impairment and mild dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease is resuming patient screening after a temporary pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment is underway at multiple locations in the United States.