News

Enrollment of Parkinson’s patients has begun in a clinical trial seeking to determine whether high-intensity endurance treadmill exercise can slow progression in people with early-stage disease who have not begun taking Parkinson’s medications. Called a Study in Parkinson Disease of Exercise, or SPARX3 (NCT04284436), the Northwestern University-sponsored clinical trial…

The spread of alpha-synuclein aggregates in the brain is dependent on a protein receptor called TLR2, and also a transcription factor called NF-KB, a study indicates. Blocking these proteins — which may be done with medications inhaled through the nose — may be a useful therapeutic approach in Parkinson’s…

To better understand how Parkinson’s disease affects minorities, the Parkinson’s Foundation is aiming to increase participation of this patient population, and particularly that of Latinos, in its PD GENEration genetic testing program. Doctors don’t yet have a clear picture of how Parkinson’s uniquely affects the Latino community,…

ParkinSense, an upcoming startup out of the University of Toronto, has secured funding to advance a new monitoring system that’s designed to better assess tremors and other motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease. The new funding will drive the company’s wearable device — which it hopes will help…

A molecule showed a potential in early studies to slow the production of alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms large toxic aggregates in the brains of  people with Parkinson’s disease, a research team reported. Called A-443654, the molecule lowered to normal levels the protein’s production in nerve cells derived from a…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Sinopia Biosciences $3.3 million to advance the development of its small molecule candidate for Parkinson’s disease. Sinopia will use the grant to move the small molecule forward through investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies. An IND is a medicine that has…

Changes in the genetic material of the sebum — the “oil” on the skin’s surface — are evident in people with Parkinson’s, and analyzing this skin surface lipid may aid in diagnosing the disease, scientists report. Their study, “Non-invasive diagnostic tool for Parkinson’s disease by sebum RNA…

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…

A scientist from the University of California San Diego, whose research has focused on an enzyme seen as a primary genetic driver of Parkinson’s disease, will receive approximately $9 million in funding over the next seven years as a new Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator. Elizabeth Villa,…

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…