Tremor in Parkinson’s patients affects how well levodopa treatment, via dopamine production, affects learning skills in these people — supporting evidence of a link between tremor and cognition, a study found. Specifically, its researchers showed that levodopa-treated patients without tremor had better reinforced learning skills (learning through rewards,…
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) in Denmark have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to monitor and track the dynamics of protein movement and function, which can advance the understanding behind neurodegenerative disorders such as…
Dimethyltryptamine or DMT, one of the main natural components of traditional Amazonian ayahuasca tea, promotes the formation of new nerve cells (neurogenesis), a recent study suggests. Researchers say the compound might have “great therapeutic potential” for treating a range of neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s…
Constipation and sleep behavior disorder are strongly associated with future decline in some cognitive measures in people — especially men — newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a study suggested. Its researchers recommend early assessment of sleep disorders and constipation to help predict cognitive changes in later disease stages. …
A rare neurodegenerative disorder called neuronal intranuclear inclusion body disease (NIID) may share a similar genetic mutation with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a study suggests. Patients who present with typical Parkinson’s disease may carry this mutation, respond to parkinsonian medications and not develop clinical features of NIID. The study, “Association…
Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) safely led to significant improvements in several aspects of cognition, including choice reaction time and episodic memory, in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), new data from a Phase 2 trial report. According to Anavex Life Sciences, the therapy’s developer, these findings from…
A fully automated process for growing three-dimensional (3D) midbrain-like organoids — a “mini-organ” model of the brain — has opened the door for the simultaneous testing of thousands of new potential Parkinson’s disease treatments. The midbrain, the topmost part of the brainstem, contains approximately 75% of…
A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a potential treatment of bradykinesia — slowness or difficulty with movement — in people with Parkinson’s disease is expected to soon open in the U.S. Recruitment is expected to go well, and dosing of a first patient…
Most people with Parkinson’s disease have positive attitudes about telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, a small Japanese study reveals. The study, “Attitudes towards telemedicine of patients with Parkinson’s disease during the COVID‐19 pandemic,” was published in Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience. It was funded by…
A computational model of how Parkinson’s disease evolves over time may help guide physicians in tailoring levodopa doses to a patient’s needs at given disease stages. Levodopa works to ease the slowness or difficulty in moving, known as bradykinesia, experienced by many people with Parkinson’s. But its effectiveness…
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