The parkin protein, whose mutated form is linked to certain cases of early onset Parkinson’s disease, protects neurons by lowering levels of potentially harmful oxidants, and by removing them from areas where they might do harm, a study reported. Exactly how parkin worked to help protect brain cells from this…
An enzyme called AMPK drives the clearance of damaged mitochondria, each cell’s energy source, by rapidly promoting the initial activation of the parkin protein — whose deficiency is linked to early onset, hereditary Parkinson’s disease, a study shows. Parkin, which targets defective mitochondria for degradation, a process key to maintaining…
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…
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) has a growing cache of community exercises, fitness activities, and mental strengthening skills that Parkinson’s (PD) patients can use any time and any place in response to the need for online programming due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The organization wishes…
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…
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”…
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…
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.
A neural map of the brain region central to Parkinson’s disease opens the possibility of new ways to treat this disorder and others that stem from damage to the nerve cells found there. The map, detailed in a recent study, might enable researchers to understand how specific nerve damage…
A new research project aims to determine whether medications developed to treat depression might be viable candidates for easing some troubling side effects of treatments for Parkinson’s disease, including levodopa. Parkinson’s is caused by the death or dysfunction of cells in the brain that make a neurotransmitter (brain signaling…
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