News

As Parkinson’s disease progresses, the symptoms that are most bothersome to patients change, a survey study reports. Specifically, hallmark motor symptoms like dyskinesia (involuntary movements) and those affecting walking, balance and speech were mentioned most by those with longer disease duration, while tremor ranked high among people at earlier stages. The…

A smartphone application designed to measure and monitor the walking mobility of people with Parkinson’s disease captured a 44% decrease in daily activities during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, a study assessing the app reported. The lack of movement was due to confinement, not worsening disability, the…

Deborah W. Brooks, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs, had always had a “tug” toward nonprofit work, and after watching enough gala videos that brought her to tears, she decided to fully invest in a cause. A first meeting with the actor…

Treatment with the antioxidant metal-alloy nanozyme reduced the build-up (aggregation) and transmission of disease-causing alpha-synuclein protein in the nerve cells and brains of a Parkinson’s disease mouse model, a study reported. Investigators believe these findings support further research to evaluate nanozymes as a Parkinson’s treatment.

Note: This story was updated on Jan. 14, 2021, to note that DA01 is derived from ESCs and that the trial will take place at MSK in New York. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a request to open a Phase 1 clinical trial of DA01, an…

A diet rich in antioxidants like vitamin C and E may lower a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a large long-term study suggests. Titled “Dietary antioxidants and the risk of Parkinson Disease – The Swedish National March Cohort,” the study was published in the journal Neurology.

Xadago (safinamide) — approved as an add-on therapy to ease “off periods” that can accompany levodopa — may also help with urinary symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease, a small study reports. These early findings support previous studies showing that Xadago may be addressing Parkinson’s non-motor symptoms. Larger studies are needed…

Adamas Pharmaceuticals has acquired global rights to the Parkinson’s disease medication Osmolex ER (amantadine hydrochloride), used to treat motor symptoms, including those caused by other therapies. The purchase, worth $7.5 million, was part of a settlement agreement with the medicine’s developer, Osmotica Pharmaceutical US, according to a…

Researchers have developed a faster method of measuring the rate at which alpha-synuclein protein forms toxic clumps that reliably distinguishes people with Parkinson’s disease from those without the condition. The findings support the use of this test — which cuts by more than half the time required to obtain…

A first patient has been dosed in IMAC Holdings’ Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating its investigational umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a potential treatment for bradykinesia, a common motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease. The infusion treatment was given on Dec. 29, 2020, by the trial’s lead investigator…